Manga are all the rage these days, and there are many interesting manga with a baseball theme. Famous ones include “Dokaben” (Akita Shoten), “Touch” (Shogakukan), and “MAJOR” (Shogakukan), but this time I would like to introduce a baseball manga that has influenced me.
When I was young, I was obsessed with reading “Captain” (Shueisha). I remember that there were comics at home, probably bought by her father, and that she often read them along with the TV anime.
The main character of the story, Takao Taniguchi, transfers from a prestigious junior high school to a public junior high school, but because he wears his previous school’s uniform when participating in the baseball team’s practice, other club members expect him to do well. Masu. However, in reality, Taniguchi was a permanent substitute who could not play in any matches.
From then on, Taniguchi worked hard to live up to everyone’s expectations and developed the ability to compete with players from powerful schools. Because of his captaincy, he was chosen as the team’s captain.
One of the great things about this manga is that the story doesn’t end when the captain graduates. When a captain is replaced, the protagonist moves on to the next captain. It teaches us that teams can change drastically depending on the people.
There are many actual professional baseball players who like “Captain,” and I once heard Nippon-Ham manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo say, “I pick up this manga when I want to do my best.” Player Ichiro and pitcher Masahiro Tanaka also seem to like this manga.
Later, while my friends were reading girls’ manga, I became obsessed with a baseball manga. It’s “Ookikuku Furikabutte” (Kodansha), which taught me the “Iroha” of the sport of baseball.
“Touch”, a masterpiece of baseball manga, was a manga depicting youth, but “Oofuri” is “THE baseball manga”, and a volume can end in a few innings rather than just one game. The tactics of the pitcher and batter on the mound, as well as the feelings of the pitcher and batter, are clearly depicted, and even though I had never actually played the game, this manga helped me gain a deeper understanding of baseball.
How does the protagonist, who has slow ball speed but amazing control, win against batters? As a child, I watched the ball in the manga with bated breath. Every pitch a pitcher throws has a meaning. It’s no exaggeration to say that this is the manga that laid the foundation for me as a baseball caster.
When I was a university student, I loved reading Stopper Busujima (Kodansha). A friend of mine gave it to me as a birthday present, saying, “I’m sure you’ll like it” (he has great taste), and it was also a great manga.
The author, Harold Sakuishi, is a popular manga artist known for works such as “Gorilla Man” and “BECK” (both published by Kodansha). “Stopper Busujima” is best because it is set against a weak team in the Pacific League. I felt a lot of sympathy for the main character, Daihiro Busujima, who joined the team with the help of a scout who had bad behavior and grew as a stopper, and it was very satisfying to read about how a weak team gains strength and makes strides. .
In addition to Busujima, there are also dramas with the unique characters, such as a teammate who dropped out of high school and went to the minor league to train as a warrior. Perhaps because it was serialized in a youth magazine, it depicts not only the purity of the players, but also the toughness and dirtiness of adults. Apparently, I like these quirky baseball comics more than traditional comics.
Please let us know your “lifetime baseball manga” too!
Then, at the recommendation of my husband, who loves manga, I started reading Draft King (Shueisha). I started reading it because I was told, “I want to know what people who like baseball would think if they read it,” and it was really interesting, so if you’re interested, please read it.
In “Stopper Busujima,” which I introduced earlier, it was the team scout who arranged for the main character, Busujima, to join the team, but in this manga, the main character (Ganriki Gohara) is a professional baseball scout, an unprecedented setting. .
The scout’s job is to find rough stones all over Japan. I can imagine that, but the story depicts how difficult it is to find a talent that no one is paying attention to. Scouts from each team use their connections and “legs” to find tomorrow’s stars.
For example, it is common for players who are not good enough to enter the professional ranks after graduating from high school, but whose family background makes it difficult for them to play professional baseball (non-professional), and then draft them two years later. Promising junior high school students sometimes find a high school to attend through cross-border admission. Although he was a backup pitcher for a powerful school, he recognized his commitment to baseball, his high level of awareness, and his talent as an infielder, and recommended that the player be acquired, and the player later developed into one of the world’s leading shortstops.
The main character, Gohara, recommends the second pitcher from a powerful school as a shortstop (c) Tetsuro Kuromatsu/Shueisha
What this manga taught me was that the value of a scout is determined by how well he or she can build a relationship of trust with the players.
In the story, there is a scene where when a player retires, the first thing they do is contact a scout, and when I asked people who were actually professional baseball players, it seems like this is often the case. When I talked about this manga to Mr. Motohito Iguchi, who is working with me on “Warspo x MLB” (NHK), he was very interested. He must be deeply grateful to the scouts who first discovered his talent and led him to join the club.
A call made by a scout for a former professional player to the scout in charge when he retired (c) Tetsuro Kuromatsu/Shueisha
Scouts are behind the scenes that we don’t usually see, but when we learn that they have really deep bonds with players, we often wonder, “Who was the scout for that player who is currently active?” I’m going to have a good time.
The team not only needs strong hitters and great pitchers, but also players with exceptional leadership. In that sense, it can be said that scouts serve as the first “eyes” and support the foundation of team building.
So, I will summarize the scouting report for “Draft King”.
– Innovative and unprecedented approach.
・You can learn about the core aspects other than the game, so it’s irresistible for baseball fans.
・There are only a handful of players who can become professional baseball players, but you can see what scouts are looking at.
・When acquiring players, we think about how they can grow, including their room for growth. This evaluation axis can also be applied to everyday work.
– Don’t try to force players to become professionals. Scouts are primarily concerned with what is best for the player.
・Anyway, I can feel the author’s love for baseball. You will be drawn in by the details that are drawn after careful research.
Rating: AAA
Quick review: It made me think about a lot of things, including what I’m going to do with my life after I retire as a professional. I definitely want you to read it.
When I look back on the baseball manga I’ve read so far, I find that my selection clearly reflects my personal tastes and preferences. But I thought that was also interesting. Please also tell us your favorite baseball manga.
★Shuko Yamamoto
Born October 2, 1996, from Kanagawa Prefecture. Free caster. He grew up in a family that loved baseball, and before he knew it, he became a baseball freak.
Since 2019, he has been a caster for “Warspo x MLB” (NHK BS1).His cat’s name is Valentin
★Hagiko Yamamoto’s “Waiting for 6-4-3” is updated every Saturday morning!
2023-09-23 18:45:20
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