Hiroshi Shintani, director of Shobi University, Saitama Seibu Lions Ladies, for 16 years in the women’s baseball world
There are “dual wield” leaders in the Japanese women’s baseball world. She conducts at Shobi University Women’s Baseball Club on weekdays, and on weekends she quickly changes to coach Saitama Seibu Lions Ladies. That person is Mr. Hiroshi Shintani, a former Seibu, a right-hand man who was active in Nippon-Ham. “The hard part is when both teams play against each other in the national tournament and the Venus League. The players say,’Which coach do you want to enter on the bench?'”
At Shobi University, he has been the director since the birth of the women’s baseball club in 2006, but Lions Ladies was established in 2020. In honor of his “senior”, he entered the university bench in a direct confrontation until last year, but this year he will wear Saitama Seibu’s uniform. Lions Ladies won the match in the Venus League on April 23, 6-3. “I had a little pain in the eyes of the students (laughs),” he recalls.
I have been involved in women’s baseball for 16 years. In addition to the number of teams, the level of baseball is “I think it’s more than 10 times higher,” while squinting at its development, “It’s still a minor sport, women’s baseball. I’m sure, “he says with harsh words. Her heart is …
“Athletes and the people around them are also longing for boys’ baseball and playing baseball while thinking,’I wish I could be that.’ But no matter what good things you make, NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) It’s not as fun as it is now. “
Certainly, professional baseball has a long history, with a format and fan base that have been established over time. If women’s baseball aims to grow in the same way, it will take equal or more time, and it will not be possible to get out of the minor path for a long time. To make women’s baseball a major sport, Mr. Shintani is warming up new ideas.
“I think I have to play women’s baseball, not baseball. If I don’t think of it as a sport that is completely different from men’s baseball, I don’t think women’s baseball will develop any further. This is the limit if you have to make rules or think about your own style for uniforms. Considering the future development, you have to move away from the concept of “baseball” that you had until now and change your mindset. I think”
