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2022.01.23
Valentin (C) Getty Images, who was also the mainstay of the Netherlands national team at the WBC
myThe swallow army surpasses other teams in that it excels in acquiring foreign players.。
In the old daysDave Roberts、Charlie ManuelIt goes back to, but even after that, I was amazed by the Japanese people.Bob HornerBeginning withLarry Parrish、Jack Howell、Dwayne Hosey、Thomas O’Malley、Roberto Petagine、Alex Ramirez, And to the pointVladimir Valentin…… Athletes who didn’t hit more than 30 because they left so spectacular results sometimes forget. It is ambiguous to remember who the player who “did not get” the title of King Homerun.
The swallow party rarely mentions words such as “helper.” This is because it is not always the degree of contribution such as “helper”. As you can see from last year’s Japan Series,McGough, Osuna, SantanaNo matter which one was missing, the best in Japan would not have come true.
◆ What is the “blind spot” hidden in Yakult aiming for consecutive victories?
■ Valentin in 2013 with outstanding results
Even soValentin was an outstanding figure。
He released 30 titles eight times in nine seasons during his tenure at Yakult, especially in 2013 by Sadaharu Oh, the current chairman of the Softbank Hawks and a special team adviser.Breaking the record of 55 home runs, the most in the professional baseball season, The record was extended to 60. The slugging percentage is really .779. Now, nine years later, both are Japanese professional baseball records. It is the king who exceeds OPS1.234 of this year,Hiromitsu Ochiai、Randy BassThere is no dispute that it was an outstanding season with only three of them.
As one of the men born in 1965 in the season when the giant V9 started, he was a fan of the giant, no, Shigeo Nagashima, as well as his father. As a matter of course, when I was a child, I was covered with a baseball cap with the “YG” mark. However, when he started playing baseball and entered the Little League, the Tokyo tournament was naturally held at Jingu Stadium and marched on the ground when he was in the fifth grade of elementary school. In fact, for that very reason, I became a Yakult Swallows fan from that time. Since then, he has been a swallow party for a long time since the team win rate was lower than the batting average of Tsutomu Wakamatsu, who has the second highest batting average as a Japanese player.
However, I myself am a “light fan” compared to other swallow parties. Until the start of the season, I don’t even care what the starting lineup will be like that year, and I’d rather go to Jingu for 10 games a year. While watching the game, information on seasonal players is input from the enthusiastic fans around. This is because there were so many losing games from the beginning when I became a fan that I had a habit of watching the game with a slanted attitude, “I wonder if I will win today.” It’s a body that spends more time drinking beer than watching play. I’ll never forget to shake the vinyl umbrella for a long time.
■ “Coco love” of the swallow party that does not change even if Yakult leaves the group
As expected, I went to Jingu only in 2013. When I went to Jingu on September 11th in anticipation of No. 55, Kan Otake of Hiroshima brilliantly threw a professional baseball tie record into the stand. Due to the schedule, the match at Jingu just continued, so during this time, all of them went to the packed home. However, three races did not fire after that. On the 15th, due to work reasons, I could not catch the play ball, and when I arrived at the entrance of Jingu Stadium, the attack on the bottom of the first round had started and the announcement of “2nd Third Kawabata” was playing, so I went to the stand. I ran for a run.
When I arrived at the reserved seat on the first base side stand and looked back at the ground, it was just Valentin’s turn at bat. I was relieved to stroke my chest, but I didn’t even have time to breathe. When he hit the straight of Daiki Enokida, the starting pitcher of Hanshin Tigers, from the count 2 ball 1 strike, the hit ball was sucked into the left middle stand. Needless to say, there was a great cheer that seemed to crush my ears. If the cheers are too loud, you will be deaf for a moment … Is this the only time you have had such an experience?
No. 57 jumps into the left pole when he shakes the 4th ball from the 2nd at bat and 3rd ball that came around in the 3rd inning. In 2003Lee Seung Yeon（Lee Seung Yoop) Recorded 56 “Asian recordI raised the gun for two at-bats in a row. It was worth the effort and I was able to witness the new Japan and the new Asia.
Except for the Japan Series, I have played against Yakult for 5 games in a row, so far, this is my only experience this season. After that, I was lucky enough to witness up to No. 60 at the stadium.
When “Our Coco”, who continued to record more than 30 seasons after that, decided to transfer to Softbank, it hurt like many swallow parties. From the examples so far, there are very few examples such as a player who jumped out of Yakult and then bloomed.At best, he kicked the invitation from the giant and transferred to a majorMasato YoshiiTransferred to Nippon Ham with (currently Lotte Pitching Coordinator) and currently serves as GM.Atsunori InabaIt will be about.
And, as expected, Valentin was forced to leave the group without a chance to play at Softbank.
However, that does not change the “Koko Ai” of the Tsubame Party. I’m proud of you retiring as the record holder for the most home runs in the professional baseball season. Thank you, Valentin. And thank you for your hard work …….
I would like you to hold a retirement match as a player of my swallow army … Mr. Yakult, isn’t it difficult?
◆[Sports memoir]Professional baseball 2013 season MVP, Masahiro Tanaka for PA, Valentin for SE!
◆ What is the “blind spot” hidden in Yakult aiming for consecutive victories?
◆ What are the strengths of Yakult’s new helper, AJ Cole?
Author profile
Tamasaburau ● Essayist, BAR critic, sports producer
After working as an editor for “Weekly Jewels” and “FM Station”, he went to the United States. He studied creative and journalism at New York University and has been active as a freelancer since this time. Returned to Japan after working at Berlitz Translation Services Inc. and CNN Inc. headquarters.
He is also active as a sports producer, such as managing a collaborative site between MSN Sports and “Number” and managing the MLB Japanese official site.
He is also a magazine first issue enthusiast with a collection with an estimated market price of over 10 million yen.
A Tokyo Yakult Swallows fan since he marched at Jingu Stadium during the Little League era, when the winning percentage of the team was lower than the batting average of Tsutomu Wakamatsu. MLB was a resident of Queens, so I recommend the New York Mets.
