2024-03-18 22:00:00
Shohei Otani joined Nippon-Ham in 2013 and took on the challenge of playing a two-way game. Naoyuki Yanagihara, a Sports Nippon Shimbun MLB reporter who has been reporting on Otani for 10 years, has written a book called “Chasing Shohei Otani, reporter’s 10 year soul notebook” (Wani Books), we will introduce an episode from his first year as a pro.
Photo = Jiji Press Photo
Shohei Otani of Nippon Ham (at the time) won his first official match (June 1, 2013, Sapporo Dome)
The first question that troubled Otani
A certain day in April 2013. Seeing him live for the first time, Otani looked confused. Well, to be more precise, he let it float. A box office interview was held at the front entrance of Kamagaya Stadium following practice. Toward the end of the performance, he asked Otani, “Do you want to become a national star like Nagashima-san or Matsui-san in the future?” This was the first question I posed to Otani.
It becomes an excuse. This question was given to me in advance by the desk. Although it had nothing to do with the content of that day’s practice, I didn’t question whether this was what sports newspaper coverage was all regarding. At the time, there was no connection between Otani and Mr. Nagashima or Mr. Matsui. Otani said with a wry smile, “Well, especially…” and tilted his head to the side.
Looking back, it was a question aimed at a “headline,” typical of a sports newspaper. I still reflect on it. I’ll probably never forget the indescribably confused look on Otani’s face at that time.
In principle, the opportunity for interviews is “once a day”
Otani announced his intention to challenge for the major leagues before the draft in the fall of 2012, but Nippon-Ham drafted him. After many negotiations, he decided to join the team following careful consideration. After joining the team, Otani only interacts with the media once a day. There’s one reason. This is because he is always extremely busy preparing for meetings, practicing, and taking care of his body as a two-way pitcher and hitter. This rule continued until he left the team in 2017, and will continue to be followed even following he transferred to the Angels.
At that time, my opportunities to visit Kamagaya began to increase rapidly, either as a “journey reporter” who helped the Nippon Ham correspondent on his days off, or on days when the Nippon Ham correspondent was inconvenient for other matters.
Sponichi’s Nippon-Ham correspondent belongs to the Hokkaido General Bureau (currently Hokkaido Branch) and lives in Sapporo, so a reporter from the Tokyo headquarters had to cover Nippon-Ham’s second-team coverage. The main purpose was to interview Otani, who was adjusting to the second team due to pain in his right ankle. The employee dormitory in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, where I lived, was only regarding 30 minutes by train from Kamagaya, so geographical factors were a big factor.
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