Hisashi Iwakuma, who became the special coach of the Mariners in the major leagues, met and said about the suffering pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, "If you gain confidence, you will definitely get results, so I want to fight together." talked.
Mr. Iwakuma, who retired from active duty only last season, was announced on the 12th that he will be appointed as a special coach of the Mariners, a major league baseball team that he belonged to for seven years from 2012, and met online on the 13th after dawn.
Mr. Iwakuma said, "I was thinking about retiring and relaxing for about a year, but I am honored to receive an offer immediately. I am very happy to be able to work with Mr. Ichiro," and became an instructor for the team. I was delighted to be instructing the players with Mr. Ichiro.
Regarding the image of the coach he envisions, he said, "I wasn't told by the coach when I was active, and I don't want to push it from above, so I want to convey the individuality of the players."
Also, regarding pitcher Kikuchi, who is currently playing in the Mariners with the same uniform number "18" as himself, "I have the impression that I have not been able to demonstrate my abilities in the major leagues. If I gain confidence, I will definitely be able to leave results. I want to be close to each other and fight together because I think, "he said, and put an ale on his left arm, who suffered a total of eight wins in the two years of Major League Baseball.
Mr. Iwakuma will be based in Seattle, the home of the team, and will support scouting activities in Japan, starting from the camp scheduled to start in the middle of next month.