Professional baseball Chunichi Okinawa camp entered the second course from the 7th.
Hiroto Takahashi, a pitcher of the WBC = World Baseball Classic Japan national team, threw to the batter for the first time in a real-life batting practice and showed a smooth adjustment.
The Chunichi Camp in Chatan Town, Okinawa Prefecture will enter its second course from the 7th, and from here on, the training menu will increase assuming actual battles.
At the age of 20, Takahashi was the youngest Japanese pitcher to be selected for the WBC Japan national team.
Pitcher Takahashi's pitching form, during his off-season training with Japan national team pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, was similar to Yamamoto's, with his left leg barely raised.
Regarding that, Director Kazuyoshi Tatsunami pointed out that making everything the same would eliminate the good points, so I played against 11 batters while the pitching form was the same as before.
Pitcher Takahashi used the WBC's official ball, and although he had two four-balls, he struck out three and only had one hit, showing a smooth adjustment.
His fastest was 152 km.
Looking back on his pitching, pitcher Takahashi said, “First of all, I was able to throw the ball well against the batter, so that was good.
After that, for the WBC, "I want to prepare so that I can throw anywhere. The way people around me see me and what they want is definitely changing. I want to improve my ability to exceed their expectations and leave results. I want to continue," he said enthusiastically.
Manager Tatsunami also commented on Takahashi's pitching, "There were a few balls that slipped or were caught, but there were also good balls. The same goes for the pitching form, but I want him to get used to it quickly. He was speeding, and he's going up like this." I think it would be nice to go.There is a WBC, and the actual competition is early, but I want you to do it without rushing."