There is a rare pitcher who has formed a battery with three famous catchers representing the baseball world, Satoshi Nakajima, Motonobu Tanishige, and Atsuya Furuta. Yu Sugimoto was selected by Orix in the 1st round of the 1996 draft. He currently teaches physics at Hyogo Prefectural Takarazuka Nishi High School and is also the coach of the baseball team. He asked Mr. Sugimoto about the three great catchers.
Satoshi Nakajima, who played as a strong-handed catcher during his active career
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[Characteristics of the lead of three famous catchers]
── Professional baseball players are, so to speak, elite athletes. Moreover, in the long history of professional baseball, pitcher Sugimoto is still the only player who graduated from a national university with the number one draft pick. First of all, can you tell me why the elite athlete chose teaching as a second career?
SugimotoI retired from professional baseball at the end of the 2005 season. When I thought about what my next occupation would be, I wanted to be involved in baseball in some way because I was someone who had put his life on the line. At that time, two years of teaching experience was required to become a high school baseball coach, but I wanted to try.
── When you were a professional baseball player, you first joined Orix, then transferred to Yokohama (currently DeNA) and Yakult. Then, he teamed up with famous catchers such as Satoshi Nakajima, Motonobu Tanishige, and Atsuya Furuta, who later became coaches. Please tell us the characteristics of each of the three catchers.
SugimotoFirst of all, I would like you to understand that I am arrogant in discussing Mikata, who is a great catcher, and that it is my subjective opinion and impression.
In my case, when the catcher’s signature matched the type of pitch I wanted to throw, the probability of missing a pitch or getting hit was low. What the three of us have in common is the impression that “the pitcher’s good pitch is applied to the batter’s data.” I think Nakajima-san is especially prone to that. It was a lead to apply the “sensitivity” based on the experience that I had seen there, starting with the pitcher.
── How was Tanishige’s lead?
SugimotoMr. Tanishige insisted that if he felt that he would not be hit, he would use the same type of pitch and the same course whether it was 3 or 4 pitches. He was nicknamed “Tani no Shigeru”. At the time I formed a battery with Mr. Tanishige, his active life was still about half full. After that, Mr. Tanishige moved to Chunichi as an FA and played under Mr. Hiromitsu Ochiai, and it is surmised that the accumulation of leads further increased.
