“Right now, I have confidence.”



Hodaka Yamakawa of Seibu, who was crowned home run king and RBI king last season.

The reason why I got out of the slump for a while and gained confidence was the simple answer of "center return".

And now, he is pursuing the "ideal home run" for the WBC, which he calls "the stage of his dreams."


(Sports News Department Reporter Keisuke Jin)

The basics of baseball are "center return"

This is the 10th anniversary of my professional career.



Yamakawa, who was selected for the WBC Japan national team for the first time, said, "I will push myself harder than ever before," and has continued to adjust at a faster pace than usual from voluntary training.

That didn't change even after the team moved to Nichinan City, Miyazaki Prefecture, where the team's camp was held.



After the general practice, Yamakawa continues to swing the bat until the sun goes down almost every day.



There was an ideal "answer to the blow".

(Yamakawa Hodaka)


“If you just want to hit the ball far, you should use your weight shift to pull it to the left, but hitting is a matter of probability. It's difficult to hit home runs or hits with a high probability if you only hit left field.I realized that the basics of baseball is ``going back to center''.Hit the board on the back screen.That's the ideal batting for me."

The “light” that can be seen through a thorough analysis of the slump

In 2019, his sixth year as a professional player, Yamakawa won the home run title for two years in a row. In 2020 and 2021, due to injuries and poor batting, his batting average was in the low 20% range and his home runs were in the 20 range. I stayed.

While he was losing confidence as a slugger, the first thing Yamakawa tackled was researching "what are the conditions for a good batter?"



From active players to OBs, we thoroughly watched and analyzed the footage of all kinds of batters, and from there we came up with a simple answer: "center return".

(Hodaka Yamakawa)


"I think there must be conditions for a good batter. And when I'm in good shape, I think I naturally do the same. I've really seen everyone's batting, including OBs. After a thorough analysis, we arrived at the answer that ``the basics of baseball is to return to the center.''

Last season, Yamakawa, who changed his mindset from pulling to the center, hit 41 homers and 90 RBIs, winning the home run king for the first time in three years and the RBI king for the first time. To do.

Although he looked back, saying, "I've had a good response, but I still have a long way to go."

(Hodaka Yamakawa)


"I was right in what I was saying. The two years of sluggish performance were really hell, but I am who I am today because of that experience. I have the feeling of 'I will definitely hit it.' I gained confidence based on the theory that if I can do the center return well, I should be able to hit it, not my confidence on the side.”

The role model is the captain of the American national team

Yamakawa, who created a new batting style in this way, has a player of the same age as his role model.

Trout, captain of the WBC USA national team.



Trout is one of the leading heavy hitters in the major leagues, with a career batting average of more than 30% and mass production of home runs by batting centered in the center direction.



Yamakawa is referring to Trout's high technique of hitting any ball strongly toward the center.

(Hodaka Yamakawa)


"I've seen most of Trout's videos on the Internet, but first of all, he can swing the bat strongly against any type of pitch or course, and the ball flies cleanly toward the center. And the most amazing thing is that he's been hitting home runs on the back screen for years."

Hints for a “new bat” from fellow samurai

Yamakawa was also preparing powerful new weapons for the WBC and the season after that.

It's a new special bat with a hollowed out tip.



For a professional baseball player, it was Munetaka Murakami of Yakult who fought alongside him as a member of the WBC Japan national team that decided to improve the equipment, which is very important.

Yamakawa felt that Murakami, who was the youngest player ever to win the Triple Crown, also hit the ball strongly toward the center, just like Trout.



So he asked Murakami to give him a bat, and he was surprised at the shape.

(Yamakawa Hodaka)


"When I looked at the bat I received, the tip was completely hollowed out. He said, 'It's very maneuverable.' I'm definitely not inferior to other players in terms of the number of home runs. I was doing it with that feeling, but Murakami not only surpassed my own number of home runs, but also won the triple crown.When I saw those numbers, I thought I had to change.

Yamakawa immediately started practicing with a new bat inspired by Murakami.



As a result, the slightly lighter weight improved the bat's operability, and he says that he was able to get the feeling that it was easier to swing through the ball on any course.



(Yamakawa Hodaka)


“It became very easy to handle just by hollowing it out. By making it easier to swing through any course, the probability of hitting the ball in the direction of the center has increased as long as you hit it at a good point. I didn't make it with the WBC in mind, but I came up with this bat after a lot of trial and error, so I'm confident that I can hit fast balls and moving balls from overseas with this bat."

Aiming for the world's best with "confidence"

Yamakawa, who was an unknown player in high school, did not participate in Koshien.

After that, I practiced earnestly and became a professional baseball player, and in my 10th year as a professional baseball player, I was finally selected for the WBC Japan national team.



With the confidence gained through various experiences and self-improvement, I will aim for the “ideal home run” and “the best in the world” on the stage of my dreams.

(Yamakawa Hodaka)


“When I was in high school, I saw Ichiro-san’s timely hit and decided, ‘Someday, I will definitely stand on this stage. For the 21 years since I started playing baseball, I've been thinking only about baseball every day, and I'm finally able to stand on this stage.I want to go into the bat with all my thoughts, and I want to put out everything I've done so far.I want my team to win. I want to hit a home run."

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