“I want (the players) to show in the four games that we have no choice but to choose in March. I have no choice but to win it myself (to join the national team).”
Before the warm-up games against Australia (including practice games against Nippon-Ham and Giants), Samurai Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama spoke about the significance and importance of this match.
This year’s Samurai Japan candidate members consisted mainly of young members, with 15 of the 28 members being selected for the first time. In other words, it was also the selection of the Japanese national team for the 5th World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March next year.
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Pitchers who showed high adaptability
As a result, I think that it was four games that were able to provide a lot of ingredients to Director Kuriyama with a lot of harvest. This time, Kuriyama’s checkpoints for the pitchers were as follows.
(1) Adaptation to WBC balls
(2) Looking for a pitcher who can be used in the starting group, especially the second starter
(3) Assessing the middlemen who were often selected for the first time
(4) Narrow down pitchers
There seemed to be no problem in dealing with the balls used, but if I had to pick one, it would be the impression that Aki Sasaki (Lotte), who started in Australia’s second game, and Kyomi Yuasa (Hanshin), who started in 4th, were struggling a little. was there. What they had in common was the control of the forks.
In the past, it has been pointed out that the forks of WBC balls are easy to come off, making it difficult to control the ball. This time, the large number (giant) who went up to the mound to hold down the ball sometimes seems to need time to get used to it.
However, the way in which all the pitchers managed to get through without allowing any runs despite their suffering should have given a good impression to Manager Kuriyama. I think the starting pitcher Sasaki, the middleman Yuasa, and the majority of the guards were given passing marks just for that.
In the starting lineup, Shota Imanaga (DeNA) and Shuta Ishikawa (Softbank) showed flawless pitching. In particular, Imanaga’s changeup and slow pitching that makes full use of curves are effective in international competitions where hitters actively swing.
“I was relieved for the first time in a long time, and I was watching while thinking that it was amazing.”
Regarding Imanaga’s pitching, his presence has increased so much that Director Kuriyama left such words.