On the third day of the Yakult professional baseball camp in Urasoe City, Okinawa Prefecture, pitcher Keiji Takahashi, who has been selected to represent Japan in the WBC = World Baseball Classic, threw more than 40 pitches in pitching practice, making the WBC slippery. I raised the response to the official ball of the as a future challenge.
Last season, pitcher Takahashi played a part in the starting rotation from the opening of the season and contributed to the team's consecutive league title with a career-high eight wins, and was also selected as a member of the WBC representative team.
Pitcher Takahashi entered the bullpen on the 3rd, following the first day of the camp, and practiced pitching against catcher Yuhei Nakamura, who was also selected as a representative member, using the official WBC ball.
Pitcher Takahashi says that he has practiced using official balls during the off-season, but depending on the ball, it feels dry and slippery, and he feels that it is especially difficult to handle the straight.
During practice on the 3rd, I threw 43 pitches, including curve balls such as sliders, while checking the feel of my fingertips.
According to Nakamura, pitching on the 3rd was "I was worried about the ball, and I was only able to put out about 20% or 30% of my original strength." So, I think it will become important how to fix it from there."
On top of that, he said, "I want to build a body that I can throw boldly in the national team in a completed state. There are many great players, but I want to do my best to hold down my assigned innings and contribute to the world's best." I spoke with enthusiasm.