Shinya Miyamoto was 38 years old and Takashi Toritani was 36 years old.
This is the age at which a player who played as a shortstop in Japanese professional baseball in recent years was converted to another position.
During the 2008 season, Mr. Miyamoto was notified by Shigeru Takada of the time that he was going to be a third baseman, but he said he had a feeling of repulsion from the inside.
“I was still proud that I could do it in a short, and of course I wanted to compete in a short, but because it was a team policy … I can’t show my dissatisfaction.”
Later, I heard from him that it was Miyamoto-san’s way of making a decision.
Perhaps Mr. Toritani had the same feeling in his heart and should have stood in the next position only about 10m away.
Mr. Miyamoto has won the Golden Glove Award for the fourth consecutive year since 2009, when he was converted in earnest, and Mr. Toritani also won the Golden Glove Award in the 2017 season when he was the first third baseman. Even after leaving the short position, it seemed to be the result of Mr. Miyamoto’s and Mr. Toritani’s willingness and commitment to protect.
Except for the battery in the game of baseball, there is no doubt that the hardest position is the shortstop.
Of course, the second baseman is also the best in terms of the amount of movement and the need for detailed techniques, but the short is a position where the strength and accuracy of throwing are required more because the distance from the first base is farther than the second base.
It catches up with the deep ground ball between Sanyu, then flips from there and throws the ball to first base. It is a shortstop play. In order to achieve that splendid play, not only technique and strong shoulders but also overwhelming lower body and core strength are required.
Therefore, in the mid-thirties when the lower half of the body begins to decline, every virtuoso hears a voice of conversion, and is forced into a situation where he has to actually change his position.
