Hello, my name is Hagiko Yamamoto and I love baseball.
Have you ever played catch? My love for baseball started when I played catch with my father at the park when I was little. Actually, catching a ball has a very important meaning in baseball.
I once learned from a player who is active on the front lines how important playing catch is. When it comes to baseball players, they can tell each other’s abilities. At first glance, it seems like a simple act, and when I first heard about it, I was surprised, wondering what I could understand.
It is an act of checking the basics of baseball, and it is surprisingly packed with the essence of baseball, such as checking pitching form for pitchers and checking throwing motion for fielders. It seems that even players who suffer from the yips can start playing catch again.
When you throw a ball, you can see if it hits the target, and you can tell the quality of the ball by looking at whether it has good spin or how it stretches in your hand. When he catches the ball, he can see where he catches the ball and how he connects it to the next action, so he can get a good sense of the ball to a certain extent.
When I interviewed Yakult players, I heard many people say, “Pitcher Masanori Ishikawa is good at catching the ball.He is very polite.” He must be communicating with his body during routine movements.
I feel like I got a glimpse of why pitcher Ishikawa, who goes beyond being a veteran and is worthy of being called a “legend,” is still active even at the age of 44. His good control may also have been cultivated through playing catch.
During the interview, there was a section where we asked people what they wanted to research, and pitcher Yasushi Ishiyama answered, “Catching the ball.” It seems that the people he plays catch with during practice are determined somehow, but pitcher Ishiyama intentionally tries to play catch with a variety of players. By doing so, many discoveries can be made.
I think people who learn and realize things during practice can be successful as professionals. Steal what you can. This is the correct way to be a professional.
Pablo Picasso once said, “He who masters the basics masters the world.”
In terms of my work, what does “catch ball” correspond to… vocal practice? No, it seems more important, so maybe it’s a rehearsal. During rehearsals, I prioritized progress while also simulating what would happen during the actual performance.
What do professional baseball players think about when they are playing catch? They probably do it while imagining the actual situation, and the effect seems to change depending on whether or not they are aware of it.
Former Lotte player Tomohiro Kuroki once coached Nippon-Ham, and said that playing catch with Shohei Otani, who was then a member of the team, was “scary.” Otani would try his hand at breaking balls, so the ball would sometimes suddenly change in Kuroki’s hands. You can see that Otani understood the importance of catching the ball and faced it firmly.
If you have ever played catch, you probably know that you can’t keep playing catch forever. In other sports, such as soccer or basketball, if you practice passing endlessly, you might get tired of it eventually (this is just my speculation as someone who has never played the game, so I’m open to disagreements). Catchball is simply fun, isn’t it?
The essence of baseball lies in catching the ball. In order to reaffirm the appeal of baseball, I am thinking of playing catch with my husband at the park. See you next week.
★Yamamoto Shuko
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.
For five years starting in 2019, he served as a caster for “Warspo x MLB” (NHK BS).His cat’s name is Valentin
★Hagiko Yamamoto’s “Waiting for 6-4-3” is updated every Friday morning!
2024-03-01 02:09:52
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