Will winning the WBC really increase the baseball population? Concerned “Voice of the field” “It’s not enough to win the 1st and 2nd tournaments …” “There is no flow to enter the baseball team”-High school baseball-Number Web

One month has passed since the WBC victory, which directly conveyed the wonder and fun of baseball. When I was covering junior high and high school baseball, I began to hear players say, “I thought it would be nice to play baseball again” and “My motivation exploded!” The aftermath of that frenzy seems to be spreading in a good way.

The meaning of the victory interview “The width of the dream is expanding”

The WBC came at just the right time in terms of impact on amateur baseball. Senbatsu High School Baseball (Spring Koshien) is being held, followed by the women’s high school baseball, the national softball and hardball junior high school baseball tournaments, and the opening of the university baseball league games across the country. It overlapped with the time to connect In fact, many WBC-related phrases were quoted in the opening ceremony speech of the national convention.

In retrospect, coach Hideki Kuriyama said at the press conference after winning the championship.

“The number of children is decreasing, various sports are doing their best, not only sports but also entertainment, and various things are doing their best. I inherited the fun and awesomeness of baseball from my seniors, passed it on to the next generation, and left it.Only that kind of environment must be preserved as much as possible by everyone.In that environment, we won this time. Without it, there are things that cannot be easily communicated.”

Instead of using the words “baseball’s declining popularity” and “baseball population decline,” he expressed that “the range of dreams is widening.” He spoke of his strong mission as a baseball player, interweaving his respect for other sports and the entertainment world. Director Kuriyama’s wish can be rephrased as an issue for the baseball world. While watching a parent and child playing catch in the park, the author himself began to think about what the popularization of baseball will be in the future.

Influence of victory “I played baseball for the first time”

It seems that the batting center has come back to life. Mr. Koji Sato, representative of the Double Day Field Batting Stadium in Machida City, Tokyo, talks about the WBC effect in a cheerful voice.

“During the spring break (right after the WBC), the number of visitors increased, and we returned to the pre-coronavirus vibrancy.

[next page]Even though the club is booming, “the number of club members is not increasing”…Why?