Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, who has signed a minor league contract with the Major League Rangers, invited local elementary school students for the first time to a sports facility he is constructing at his own expense in his hometown of Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture.
Born in Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture, Tsutsugo, who is from Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture, has been working on the construction of the sports facility "TSUTSUGO SPORTS ACADEMY" with his own budget of about 200 million yen in order to make it a base for local sports promotion. is scheduled to be completed in the summer of
On the 21st, 40 local elementary school students were invited to the natural turf infield that was completed this month, and voluntary training was open to the public.
Tsutsugo played catch with Rakuten's Hikaru Ota and Lotte's Shota Ueda, and when he pitched a long distance between the home and the outfield, the elementary school students who watched the game cheered.
During the question and answer session that followed, when an elementary school student asked, "How can you hit more home runs?" Tsutsugo said, "It's important to be able to move your body freely. As you try and fail many times, your body will naturally become flexible and you will be able to hit a home run."
A 4th grade elementary school boy who participated said, "Tsutsugo's long throw was amazing. I want to use what I saw and learned today to aim for a professional baseball player."
Tsutsugo said, "Children are treasures of the community. I want to make this place a place to raise children who can contribute to society in the future. Next season, every day will be a game. I want to give dreams to children. First of all, I want to do my best to aim for promotion to the major leagues."
Tsutsugo will continue to train independently in Hashimoto City, and next month, he will travel to Arizona, USA, and participate in the Rangers' camp as an invited player, aiming to enter the 40-man quota of the major league.