Mr. Shintaro Ejiri, who turned into a company employee after being notified that he was out of force in the off-season of 2014
An athlete’s second career is considered one of the issues in the sports world these days. After finishing the active life that always comes, many players are worried about how to live a second life that will spend much longer than the active life and what kind of career they will draw. In order to raise awareness of this issue, alumni of the Softbank team, which is focusing on supporting players’ second careers as a team, have started a new series of thoughts with corporate managers and top runners in various fields.
The first is Mr. Shintaro Ejiri, who played for Nippon-Ham, DeNA, Softbank, currently works for Hawks subsidiary “Acrobats”, and is also active as one of his own alumnus, and Takamiya Gakuen Yoyogi Seminar Vice Chairman, ” SAPIX YOZEMI GROUP” co-representative and Ph.D. The first part is about the reality of the professional baseball world based on Mr. Ejiri’s experience, the common points between the player’s notice of non-competitiveness and the applicant, and the importance of time management leading to a second career.
Toshiro Takamiya (hereafter referred to as Takamiya) “Mr. Ejiri played for Nippon-Ham, DeNA, and Softbank for 13 years, and is still working as an employee of Softbank.”
Shintaro Ejiri (hereafter, Ejiri): “I have only played for the Hawks for two years.
Takamiya: What was your career as a member of society in those eight years?
Ejiri: “Actually, when I received the notice that I was out of force, the team asked me if I wanted to be a scout. I wanted to continue playing, so I took a tryout, but there were no offers, so I decided to retire.At that time, I was told, ‘Would you like to become a businessman?’ Then, I felt that the world was expanding, and taking a step in that direction was my start as a member of society.”
Takamiya: After that, will you continue to work for the Hawks?
Ejiri “At first, I worked as an office worker in Shimbashi. I worked as a salesman for an IT distribution company called SB C&S for three years. It’s scary. I don’t know anything about business emails, and I don’t have anything.
Takamiya: “Is there anything that you have cultivated in baseball that you can use in your second career?”
Ejiri “I think there are many things that I can live with as a former professional baseball player. Now, there are parts that I use as a weapon, but every year I kept thinking that if I don’t consistently produce results, I will be fired.” I think it might be valuable in a second career as well.”
