“I would be happy if you could spend your days energetically and happily through baseball.
I’m looking forward to playing baseball with the children who used this glove in the future! Let’s play baseball! ”
Japan was abuzz with the news that Shohei Otani would be donating three gloves to elementary schools across the country.
I wonder if he was confused by the sudden news.
I’ve seen a few opinions from adults, such as, “Even if I only get three,” or “I won’t want to worry about them getting stolen or falling apart, so I’ll display them.”
I wonder what the children who received the message thought. With this in mind, I asked elementary school boys who play baseball in Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, Otani’s hometown, about the Otani Glove, and they answered, “Hmm. I heard something about it (on the news)…” and “I’d like to try it, but…” We didn’t get the response we expected. I think it would be a huge hit once the actual product arrived and was unveiled, but there were many children who didn’t get it just from the news.
I want to try using “Otani Glove”
On the other hand, some children are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the gloves.
Kano-chan, a third-grade baseball girl who lives about a 10-minute drive from Otani’s alma mater, Hanamaki Higashi High School, told me about her small ambitions.
Kano-chan is joining the local baseball team. She is the only girl on the team, but her brother, who is two years older than her, is also on the team, and her coaches and teammates treat her equally.
Kano-chan looked like she was having fun practicing, but sometimes she felt lonely.
He revealed what was inside his heart.
“When I asked my (girl’s) friends to play baseball, they said they wouldn’t play.”
This is a very serious problem.
“Does Kano-chan like baseball?”
When I asked him this, he looked straight ahead and answered:
“Yeah. I love it.”
“I see. Who is your favorite player?”
“Player Otani!”
When I asked him about Otani’s gloves, he looked straight at me.
“I’d like to try it out. I’d like to invite my friends over to play catch with that glove.”
I don’t know if my friends will join the team. However, I would like to use my favorite player Otani’s glove and play my favorite baseball as a good friend. I want to share what I like with my friends. That’s what I think.
It’s not just Kano-chan, there are probably elementary school students all over the country who want to play catch with Otani gloves and invite their friends over.
Connecting baseball to the future.
Otani’s thoughts are clearly conveyed to the children.
Efforts to connect local baseball in Otani
In mid-December, the gymnasium in Otani’s hometown of Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, was filled with lively voices.
250 elementary school students participated in the “Playball Festa, an exchange event for high school and elementary school students,” held by the Iwate Prefecture Koya Ren Kitoku Branch, and enjoyed playing baseball with high school baseball players.
2023-12-31 14:43:02
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