Shota Morishita (23) of Hanshin, who is aiming to become the first professional baseball player in team history to win consecutive championships, is attending camp with the aim of further improving his batting skills.
The key to this is a new companion that looks just like a club.
Shota Morishita:
``I can physically feel that he has improved a lot technically, whether it's batting or defense, so I think he's in great shape.''
Morishita, who was selected to represent Japan in an international match to be held in March, revealed the situation at the Okinawa camp as follows.
Behind his positive comments, there was a positive response to the new initiatives he started in the off-season, taking advantage of what he learned from last season.
Even though Japan has the most experience, there is still a “lack of technology”
Last year, when he was drafted number one and was a rookie, he was assigned the number three role in 48 games.
He contributed to Japan's No. 1 title for the first time in 38 years with his competitive batting that decided the match.
On the other hand, his batting average remained at .237, as he often used the bat with his hands and tried to hit the ball with little force, resulting in mediocre hits.
Shota Morishita
: ``I think it was good that I was able to hit in a competitive situation, but I wasn't very satisfied with the results.It's good that we won because the best thing is for the team to win, but as an individual, I'm still not satisfied.Batting average/home runs - RBIs and stolen bases as well. (In all aspects) there was a lack of skill.”
Shake it off with your new “partner”! !
Morishita aims to further improve his batting in preparation for the season in which he aims to become the first in team history to win back-to-back championships.
His goal for camp is to ``hit the ball even harder'' while maintaining his characteristic strong swing.
In order to achieve that goal, I made a big decision during this off-season.
We decided to change the shape of the bat, an important tool that can be said to be directly connected to batting results.
why? He explained how he changed it.
“Use your whole body, not your hands, to shake off and hit the ball with more force.”
Based on what we learned from last season, we need to use our entire body to hit the ball with force, which leads to a hit from a good professional pitcher. This was because I realized that I needed to make my swing more powerful.
Left: Last season's bat Right: New bat
The bat on the left is from last season.
The new bat is on the right.
The part of the grip that you hold in your hand has been made significantly thicker.
Even when the reporter who interviewed us held it, we could clearly see that the thickness was different.
It looked like a "club".
Morishita intentionally made the grip thicker, like a club, so that he couldn't use it with his hands alone.
The idea was to swing the bat using the entire body, keeping in mind the rotation of the upper body, make the swing powerful and sharp, and hit the ball with great force.
Shota Morishita
: ``If you use a bat with a thin grip, you'll be able to swing it with your wrist.It's like swinging a broom, and you'll end up swinging it.However, today's bats are shaped like wooden sticks, so you can't swing with just your wrist. If you can't use your whole body, you won't be able to hit back firmly, so using your body will transmit more force than using your hands.In
order to bring out the power that humans naturally have, it's called ``swinging with your body structure.'' That way, the force will be transmitted, and the probability of catching it will increase, so I use this bat to correct my swing."
At the beginning of the camp, I wasn't able to hit the ball as far as I wanted, but by using the new bat every day, I started to see sharpness in my swing in the middle of the camp, and I was able to hit the ball faster during batting practice.
In his first match against Kohaku, held on the 11th, he repelled a 154km fastball and hit a hit in front of left field, showing that he has improved.
Shota Morishita
: ``When I'm having good times, I'm hitting the ball pretty well, but I think that percentage is still low.However, the fact that I'm hitting the ball well means that I'm also hitting in good condition.'' I feel like I'm gradually getting better as I adjust to my own feelings.''
``I have no choice but to do what I do. If I don't get results, it's my fault, and I've been playing baseball all my life, so I don't want to lose in baseball.''
Contribute to base running...
While he is feeling good about his batting, another area he is trying to improve is his base running.
I received thorough guidance from Norihiro Akahoshi, an alumnus who was invited as a temporary coach.
He says that the technique that allowed him to steal a total of 381 bases was very helpful.
Mr. Akahoshi pointed out that his upper body immediately rose when he started, making it difficult to accelerate smoothly.
He gave advice such as ▽to start running while keeping a low stance, and ▽to point the toes of your right foot toward second base in advance to make it easier to start.
Shota Morishita
: ``I've never practiced stealing bases with that in mind. Just by being conscious of it, it makes a big difference, and I feel it's fun because I'm expanding my range of base running.This has something to do with autographs, but I've never practiced stealing bases. I want to go to the lid digit.”
2nd year jinx “No!”
As the camp enters its second half, there will be a lot of actual practice, and the open game will begin soon.
He is about to take on the challenge of his second season with his new partner, who is like a club, using the unparalleled experience he gained from contributing to Japan's No. 1 team.
Shota Morishita: ``
The team itself has won the championship and is number one in Japan, so I think it has proven that they are a strong team.I want to be a regular member of that strong team for a long time.The first year was a great
result. Because I haven't been able to leave any behind, I don't think I fall under the 2nd year jinx.I still feel like I'm a 1st year student, and the experience from last year has been incorporated into that, so I can see how I've grown. I want to play while showing off.”
Interview by Takuto Nakamura, in charge of Hanshin