A commendation ceremony was held for Shingo Takatsu, who is currently the director of Yakult with a total of 313 saves in Japan and the United States, and Masahiro Yamamoto, a former Chunichi pitcher who set the oldest record for professional baseball, in the Baseball Hall of Fame. rice field.
The award ceremony was held at the PayPay Dome in Fukuoka City, the venue for the first round of the All-Star Game.
At the ceremony, he won the title of Best Relief Pitcher four times as a closer to Yakult during his active career, played in the major leagues and made a total of 313 saves in Japan and the United States. Played for 32 years with Mr. Takatsu, who led the team to Japan's No. 1 in Japan, and set many oldest records of professional baseball such as no hit no run at the age of 41, victory at the age of 49, and pitching in the 50s. Mr. Yamamoto attended and was presented with a copy and a bouquet of commemorative reliefs in the shape of each face displayed in the baseball hall museum.
Mr. Takatsu said, "I am grateful to all the people involved. Above all, Katsuya Nomura, the director when I became a professional, taught me the difficulty, fun, and rigor of baseball, and made me grow a lot. Thank you. "
Mr. Yamamoto also said, "I am very honored. I have been doing my best in baseball from a young age to the age of 50. From now on, I would like to devote myself to further cooperation in the development of the baseball world."