Professional baseball 2022 opening special feature
The momentum of giant Sho Nakata does not stop. Last season was a year of betraying fans with a release drama that started with his own troubles and a big slump with a low batting average even after the transfer of the giant. However, this season, which is his 15th year as a professional, has been in great shape since early spring. Although the consecutive hits in the external game stopped at 9, he still keeps a high batting average. In the open match against Orix on March 12, last year’s Pacific League rookie of the year, Hiroya Miyagi, struck an oversized shot on the back screen.
Is Nakata’s momentum real? We spoke with Junzo Uchida, who has been wearing uniforms for 50 years in the professional baseball world and has made a name for himself as a batter coach. How does Seiya Suzuki in Hiroshima and Kazuma Okamoto in Giants analyze the factors behind Nakata’s strong performance?
Sho Nakata who transferred from Nippon-Ham to Giants in the middle of last season
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What is the impact of gaining 20 kg?
──How does Mr. Uchida see what Nakata looks like now?
“First of all, I feel that the mental factor is very big. Last year, I joined the giant from Nippon-Ham, but I was too motivated to do my best, so I didn’t put it in the turn at bat. Let’s not see that feeling this year. “
──You had extra strength last year, didn’t you?
“The worst thing about batting is that you get so strong that you have to do something about it, and you get pulled. If you hit the core, you will fly far away, but the certainty will drop. Even if you fly 150 meters, you will run a home run. It ’s not two bottles. ”
──I have to have that kind of strength this year.
“Since last year, my spine has stretched from my stance, and I’m standing naturally without feeling any strength. I can relax and take the initiative of the lower body, and I can’t feel the strength of my upper body. Originally, I just pulled it to the left. It can be said that the condition has returned because he is a player who has the power to hit in the opposite direction from the center. “
── Looking at Nakata last year, did you have any technical concerns?
“I was worried that I was swinging with the toes of my left foot floating. The fact that my toes floated is evidence that my body opened early and I was hitting with only the strength of my upper body. If you are the one, it will be inserted into a fast ball, and the bat will not stop at the changing ball that escapes to the outside angle because you are conscious of “let’s move the point further”.
