Shinya Tsuruoka, a 40-year-old professional baseball and Nippon-Ham catcher, announced his retirement and said, "I'm full of feelings I've done," looking back on his 19 years of professional life.
Tsuruoka belonged to Nippon-Ham from 2003 to 2013, and during this time he was active as a main player, such as forming a battery with Yu Darvish, who currently belongs to the Major League Padres.
After transferring to Softbank, he returned to Nippon Ham in 2017, and started to serve as a battery coach from the beginning.
In November, Tsuruoka wanted to retire after being told by the team that he would not sign a contract as a player next season, but decided to retire.
At the retirement interview, Tsuruoka looked back on his 19 years of professional life and said, "I'm full of feelings. When I was a kid, I was aiming to become a professional baseball player, and it was a dream-like time and a wonderful time. "That's what I said, occasionally with a muffled voice.
One of the most memorable scenes was that Nippon-Ham became the best in Japan in 2006. I was putting my life into one play in the game. I want to make use of the happiness that Nippon-Ham was able to witness one page rooted in Hokkaido in my future life. "
When asked who was the most memorable pitcher with the battery, he said, "I wouldn't have been this far without Darvish, so I'm really grateful." So, he revealed that he had reported his retirement directly, and said with a smile, "The content of the conversation is a secret between the two, but it really made me feel like everything was rewarded. I was a wonderful person." did.
At the end of the press conference, Kensuke Tanaka, who played with Nippon-Ham in the same year, handed me a bouquet and was given a word of hope.