The opening season of professional baseball is just around the corner, and while the spring season is buzzing with baseball topics such as high school baseball and major league baseball, there is a former professional baseball player who has started a new challenge of his own. This is Shohei Tateyama (43), a former right-handed ace of Yakult who overcame three right elbow surgeries and earned the nickname “Phoenix.” In February, the Kitanihon Company of Maruhan, the largest pachinko hall company, announced its new entry into adult baseball, and has been appointed as its first manager.
Manager Shohei Tateyama observes the movements of the players while collecting data during a selection aimed at acquiring players for the Maruhan Kitanihon Company’s hardball baseball club. February 28th at the Sogo Sports Park Baseball Stadium in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture.
After retiring from active duty in 2019, Tateyama worked as a pitching coach at Rakuten and other companies, leaving the team last year. He has no experience playing adult baseball, and this is his first time directing as a manager.
The new club, which will be based in Sendai, has just been announced, and the stadium and coaching staff have not yet been decided. How did you build a team from scratch, starting with only a coach? What did you want to do after leaving professional baseball? What kind of director do you aspire to be? We spoke to him about his unusual challenge. (Wakako Takemura)
◆Starting up from scratch “I feel nothing but excitement”
On February 28, at the Urayasu City Sports Park Baseball Stadium, about 80 players hoping to join the company stood on the mound and swung their bats.
Players who came to receive selections for the Maruhan Kitanihon Company baseball club on February 28th at the Baseball Stadium in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture.
Mr. Tateyama, who was watching the action with a tablet in hand, said, “I’m very happy that so many people gathered in February, so soon after the announcement was made.We didn’t have a field, we didn’t have uniforms, and we didn’t have any seniors or juniors. “I can only feel the excitement of working together to create something,” he said, expressing his expectations for building a team.
As the saying goes, starting from zero. The team began recruiting players before preparing the staff and training environment. In the absence of coaches or scouts, “Rhapsode” is used to assess players’ abilities.
◆What we checked with player data
It is a system that measures and analyzes trajectory data of pitches and batted balls, and is being adopted not only by Japanese and American professional baseball teams but also by high schools and universities. Detailed data such as ball speed, number of rotations, and axis of rotation can be measured for each ball, and can be checked in real time on a tablet or other device.
An example of pitching data analyzed using Rhapsode. Ball speed, rotation axis, rotation speed, etc. are displayed in real time. Pitchers can check their own data for each pitch on a tablet etc. (From Rhapsode’s official website. Screenshot)
During selection, I watched the players while checking the data on my tablet. I thought he was focusing on his ability, but I was surprised to find that he was looking at whether he could throw with proper form without risking injury.
From the data, it is possible to understand the angle and usage of the elbows and wrists, and to predict the risk of failure. There were 30 pitchers who participated in the selection on February 28th. Tateyama said, “There were two or three pitchers who thought there was no risk of injury, and about 10 who thought it would be somewhat safe.On the contrary, there were three players who thought it was dangerous.”
I was surprised, but at the same time, I also thought that it was very typical.
◆The surgical scars from 191 stitches all over his body were “unavoidable at the time”
Mr. Tateyama has undergone 10 surgeries, including three Tommy John surgeries, and has a total of 191 surgical scars all over his body. As he struggled with injuries during his active career, he has always had a strong commitment to scientific pitching techniques based on body structure and data.
Yakult pitcher Shohei Tateyama’s surgical scar on his upper right arm (photographed in 2015)
Tommy John surgery is an elbow ligament reconstruction procedure that is known for being used by pitcher Choji Murata in the past, and more recently by pitcher Shohei Ohtani. Tateyama first took the test in the spring of 2004, his second year as a professional. He spent a full year in rehab, and when he returned to the game in 2005, he won the title of having the highest winning percentage in 2008 and the most wins in 2009.
He also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2013 and 2014, and returned to the first team in 2015, starting 11 games and winning 6 games, contributing to Yakult’s first championship in 14 years. He was presented with the Comeback Award for his phoenix-like ability to come back no matter how many surgeries he underwent.
In an interview with a reporter who was covering Yakult at the time, he said, “When I turned professional, I felt that it was a world where I couldn’t compete with my ability.While I was looking for a faster pitch and a sharper breaking ball, I got injured.In order to survive as a professional player. I remember him saying, “I had no choice.”
What are your thoughts now that you have become a director?
◆Returning the favor to the baseball world by reducing the risk of injury to players through experience and knowledge
“I still think it was unavoidable back then. But I won’t let today’s players do that. Invisible deviations in form put a strain on the body. By looking at it (with data) and correcting it, , the risk of injury can be significantly reduced. I’ve always been injured, so I think doing activities like this is my way of giving back to the baseball world.”
Yakult’s Shohei Tateyama, returning from his third right elbow surgery and playing as a starting pitcher at Jingu Stadium on July 24, 2015
It was with this feeling of “repaying the favor” that he left professional baseball teams (including independent leagues) only last year and took the “Student Baseball Qualification Recovery Training” necessary to coach high school and university students. “If you belong to one team, you can only see the players from that team, and the range of activities you want to do is narrowed down.”I want to help more people with my experience and the latest knowledge,” he says, disseminating information to various generations. I started on a new path.
He has signed an ambassador contract with Rhapsode Japan, where he provides guidance on how to use data, and is also the co-owner of a gym in Zushi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, where he is also working to popularize “hypoxic training.” He provides live commentary on games and teaches pitching techniques on his YouTube channel “Tateyama Shohei Channel.”
Shohei Tateyama, manager of the Maruhan Kitanihon Company baseball team, talks about the benefits of the low-oxygen gym and the benefits it will provide to the new team. On the 2nd, at Hyex Zushi in Zushi City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Meanwhile, Maruhan called out to me. He was hesitant because he was planning to work as an individual, but he ended up joining a team. “The biggest deciding factor was that I was OK with continuing to do what I wanted to do.” Mr. Maruhan also aims to motivate his employees with his baseball club and contribute to the local community, and he said, “I want to support the idea of disseminating information and saving people through baseball.” So I decided to accept the offer.
◆“Hypoxia” is more effective indoors than running outside
In addition to rhapsode, there is another scientific theory that Tateyama would like to introduce to the team. It’s “hypoxic training.” At his gym in Zushi, where he is based, he sets the oxygen concentration in the room to the same level as the area between the 8th station and the summit of Mt. Fuji. By exercising inside, you can get the same benefits as high-altitude training while staying indoors.
When I entered the hypoxic room with the blood oxygen level meter between my fingers, the reading dropped from 98 to 80 within seconds. The oxygen concentration in normal air is approximately 21%.A screen on the wall displays the oxygen concentration in the room, which is 14%, which is about the same as the 9th station of Mt. Fuji, which is 3,572 meters above sea level. On the 2nd, at Hyex Zushi in Zushi City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
It has also been introduced at the National Center for Sports Science (JISS), where Olympic athletes train, and has also attracted attention for its adoption by Josai University and Kokugakuin Mainland Upper Division, which have grown rapidly in recent years in events such as the Hakone Ekiden.
Since Maruhan is based in Sendai, where the temperature is low, an indoor practice facility is important. Looking ahead, he says, “You can get more benefits indoors than running outside, and improve your cardiopulmonary function without damaging your body.Although it is still relatively unknown to the general public, I think it will become a mainstream training method in the future.”
◆“ID Child” → Check your answers using Furuta’s teachings
When asked about the type of manager he aspires to be when leading a team for the first time, he mentioned Atsuya Furuta, the manager from his time with Yakult. “I learned a lot that will help me later in life. I still use Furuta’s equation to check my answers.”
Manager Shohei Tateyama talks to players during a selection event aimed at recruiting players for Maruhan Kitanihon Company’s hardball baseball club on February 28 at the Sports Park Baseball Stadium in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture.
Speaking of Mr. Furuta, he is known as an intelligent catcher who was instilled with “ID baseball” by manager Katsuya Nomura, who built Yakult’s golden age in the 1990s. “ID” is an abbreviation for “import data,” and refers to team management based on data rather than relying on experience or intuition. It’s obvious now, but at the time it was groundbreaking baseball theory.
“Furuta’s Equation” is the title of a television program, book, and YouTube channel filled with Furuta’s baseball theory. It made sense to me that this was the origin of Mr. Tateyama’s desire to find scientific basis for his pitching form and training.
The members of the new team have not yet been decided. Still, the team has high goals: “Get into the final four of the national tournament in three years, win the national championship in five years, and produce seven professional players in seven years.” I’m looking forward to seeing how Director Tateyama goes about his challenges, saying, “I’m not completely confused as this is my first time working as a member of society and my first time as a director, but I also have high hopes for my own potential.”
Shohei Tateyama43 years old, born on March 17, 1981 in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a right-handed pitcher. He joined Yakult in the third round of the 2002 draft after attending Nihon University Fujisawa High School and Nihon University. He had the highest winning percentage in 2008 and the most wins in 2009, with a total of 85 wins and 68 losses in 279 games, and an ERA of 3.32. After retiring in 2019, he served as a pitching coach for Tohoku Rakuten and independent league BC Fukushima. .
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◆ “777” fever for the first time in 30 years thanks to the activities of the baseball club
According to General Manager (GM) Masahiro Honma, who is the head of the Maruhan Kitanihon Company’s baseball team, the plan to create a baseball team emerged within the company in September last year, and the offer to Tateyama was made in January of this year. You will be surprised by the sense of speed.
Selection venue for the Maruhan Kitanihon Company Hardball Baseball Club, a new entrant to adult baseball: February 28th at the General Sports Park Baseball Stadium in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture
This is the first time for Maruhan to have an athletic club. Compared to the East Japan Company in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the West Japan Company in the Kansai area and westward, the Northern Japan Company, which covers other areas, is less popular in terms of recruiting, so they decided to create a baseball club as a way to secure human resources.
The approach to Mr. Tateyama is also quite interesting. While picking up about 10 candidates, President Han Jun caught the eye of YouTube’s “Tateyama Shohei Channel.” I was captivated by his wealth of knowledge and ability to communicate, and decided to stick with Tateyama-san. Since neither the company nor GM Honma had any experience with baseball, they began with an unusual greeting: “Nice to meet you, I saw you on YouTube,” and it took four rounds of negotiations to win him over.
There was a reason for the speed of launching the project in about six months from the idea. “There was an opportunity within the company to do something big to coincide with July 7, 2020,” says GM Homma.
In 1995, we built Maruhan Pachinko Tower in Dogenzaka, Shibuya as our first store in Tokyo. In addition to its location in the middle of a young people’s town, its efforts to change the image of traditional pachinko parlors, such as the introduction of couple seats, have attracted attention, and on July 7, the first day of its grand opening, the number of visitors exceeded 15,000. It was said to be a great success.
“The pachinko industry has been in turmoil due to the coronavirus pandemic, so I hope the baseball club shines as a symbol of recovery.I want to energize the next generation with “Fever,” the first in 30 years since the Heisei Three-Seven.” He revealed why he is particular about the “Reiwa Three-Seven,” which is a pachinko parlor with three “7s” in it.
◆ Worked as a pachinko parlor while active, and worked in the restaurant and golf industries after retiring.
Amateur baseball is a place for players who aim to become professionals after graduating from high school or university, but in the case of corporate teams, they join the company as employees (including contract and part-time employees), and during their active years they balance their work with baseball. After retiring, he often works as a company employee.
Players who came to receive selections for the Maruhan Kitanihon Company baseball club on February 28th at the Baseball Stadium in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture.
At Maruhan, he practices baseball in the morning, and in the afternoon works as a clerk at one of the five pachinko parlors in Sendai city. GM Homma said, “The Maruhan Group has a variety of industries such as the food and beverage department, golf course management, and tourism, so there are many different paths you can pursue after retirement.I think people will be attracted to the fun of a second career.” He appealed.
We plan to hold a second selection in the Tohoku region in June, and will eventually secure about 25 members. He has drawn up a blueprint for moving into the dormitory in January 2025, camping in February, and competing in the adult baseball tournament starting in March. The team is moving forward with the selection and construction of its home stadium, indoor practice field, clubhouse, and other facilities at a rapid pace, with the aim of completing the facility by the end of the year.
Adult baseballA form of amateur baseball played by working adults. The governing body, the Japan Baseball Association (JABA), stipulates that “all players do not receive compensation from the competition.” There are corporate teams whose players all belong to the same company or organization, and community-based club teams.The number of corporate teams, which used to number over 200 in the mid-Showa era, has declined due to the economic downturn and has remained at 90 in recent years. The number of club teams has increased year by year, with a total of over 300 teams. The main national tournaments are the City Competition and the Japan Championship, and the winning teams in 2023 are Toyota Motor Corporation and Osaka Gas. At the draft meeting, 14 players were selected from adult teams, including outfielder Takaki Watarai (ENEOS), ranked No. 1 in DeNA.
2024-03-29 07:30:39
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