This season marks Yakult’s Soma Uchiyama’s fourth year as a professional baseball player.The past three years have been truly intense.
In 2021, when he was a rookie, due to a special case in which a member of the team was infected with the new coronavirus, he was registered as a member of the first team immediately after the season started. He participated in the Freshman All-Star team and won the MVP award, and also played in 74 games as a designated hitter and catcher on the farm. He was with the first team from the first day of spring training in his second year, as he had many opportunities to stand on stage and was able to appeal. In the opening game against Hanshin, he scored his first hit and first RBI as a professional. The team won their second straight title, and in the second game of the Japan Series against Orix, the scene in which he was used as a pinch hitter at first and second base with no outs in the 9th inning and hit a tying three-run hit is still fresh in my memory.
Last season, his third year, he settled into the first team and spent time practicing as an outfielder in order to increase his chances of playing. He was primarily used as a right fielder in the league, appearing in 94 games. He hit a total of six home runs in close contests, including those from ace pitchers such as the Giants’ pitcher Tomoyuki Kanno, and his long-hitting ability was shown off with each game.
Won runner-up at Koshien when he was at Seiryo School
Joined the team in 3rd place in the draft. Although he was never treated as a “eyeball”, he has steadily made the most of the opportunities he has been given due to various circumstances, such as the absence of regular catcher Yuhei Nakamura due to injury.
During his time at Seiryo High School, he became a regular shortstop from the summer of 1st year, and in the summer of 2nd year, he won runner-up at Koshien with then ace Yasunobu Okugawa (Yakult) and others. In the fall of his second year with the new team, he returned to his primary job as catcher, and has always been a pillar of the team, guiding the team as captain.
At 171cm tall, he is not the tallest among professional baseball players, but when he stands on the field, he doesn’t look that small. I think Uchiyama’s physical strength is one of the reasons for this.
His father has competed in national karate tournaments, and he attended his father’s karate dojo from the age of two. When he entered elementary school, he started playing baseball, and as a child he played karate and baseball. The strength and thickness of his core, which he has cultivated since childhood, makes his physique look larger.
During his time at Seiryo Junior High School, he played two positions, shortstop and catcher, and was also selected to represent Japan in the U-15 Asian Championship. In other words, Uchiyama has been chasing the ball as a “dual wielder” since he was young.
2024-02-19 13:18:02
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