Yuki Saito Reveals Behind the Scenes of Waseda University Baseball Club 100th Captain “I couldn’t stop the flow…”｜Professional baseball｜Shueisha’s general sports magazine Sportiva official website web Sportiva

Series “Yuki Saito, Baseball Journey ~ Confession of Handkerchief Prince” Vol.29

　In 2009, the Waseda-Keio match in the spring. It was a traditional match with no chance of winning the championship between the two schools, but Yuki Saito, uniform number 1, was standing on the mound of the first round. In this game, Keio University has lined up left batters from 1st to 6th. In response to this “Saito countermeasure”, Saito shows off his high ability to respond. Saito, who throws by stepping on the middle of the plate, suddenly started throwing by stepping on the first base side in the second inning.

[Reason for tears after the Waseda-Keio War]

That’s what happened. I remember being surprised when I saw Keio’s order. Far from being particularly weak against left-handed batters, I was rather good at them, but I still don’t know why I took such a tactic. After throwing the first inning, I wondered if I could use the two-seam more effectively against the left-handed batter. So I decided to change the position where I step on the plate. It may have been the first time I stepped on the first base side.

Of course, there was a part of me who enjoyed such ideas, but I also feel that I didn’t have confidence in myself at the time. If you’re confident, you can throw the same ball regardless of whether the batter is left-handed or right-handed. But I don’t have confidence, so I guess I thought I couldn’t hold back unless I played according to the opponent.

There were times when I was told that it was a “drawer”, but I feel like I was using it as an excuse for myself who was being balanced according to the situation. The best thing is to throw a competitive ball and not get hit, but if you ask me if I can throw a ball like that every time, that’s not the case.

When the condition is bad, the breaking ball and the straight line will not be sharp. At that time, I thought that it was important to have an image of a pitcher who was slower than me and still holding down the ball, not an image of when the ball was fast and in good condition, so I tried various things. think.