Hanshin Women’s Coach Uemoto realizes… Women’s baseball is “full of charm” Obsession is “more than you can imagine” | Full-Count

Hiroki Uemoto, who retired in 2020, will be the director of Hanshin Women from this year

Hiroki Uemoto, an alumnus of the team, will lead the women’s hardball baseball team “Hanshin Tigers Women”, which is in its third year of formation. Until last year, he was the manager of the elementary school team “Tigers Junior”, and from this season he became the manager of the women’s team.

Uemoto joined the Hanshin Tigers in 3rd place in the 2008 draft, and was appointed player chairman in 2014. Despite his small stature of 172 centimeters, he played a total of 698 games with striking power and solid defense, and supported the team with the work of “Ibushi Gin”. After retiring in 2020, he became a coach at the Tigers Academy, which was established to promote baseball, and has conveyed the appeal of baseball to children.

And from this year, I will teach female players. “When I was active, I had the opportunity to watch the first pitch, but when I was in the position of the manager and actually saw the practice, the level was high. There is a difference in physical strength between men and women, but there are many attractions that are unique to women’s baseball.” Reveal.

Women’s baseball uses a metal bat, and the ball is the same hard ball as the men’s. We have already held practice games, but I feel the difference from the boys in terms of tactics and play.