“Are we really going to restart baseball?” “I’m serious about it.” During the summer of his third year in high school, Shogo Kiyohara’s best friend asked him over and over again. What is Shogo Kiyohara’s true face revealed by his best friend and mentor? “As long as I play baseball with the last name Kiyohara, I’m prepared for that.”[3rd of 4 times]
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Yushi Fukuzumi, who is a childhood friend of Shogo Kiyohara and has continued to be friends with his family, recalls that when he heard that Shogo, who had been away from baseball, was going to play baseball again in college, “At first I didn’t understand what it meant.”
“I mean, it’s not normally possible for someone who didn’t play baseball in middle school or high school to play baseball in college.” I kept asking, “Really?” I was happy that he was playing baseball again. It was the first time since elementary school that he played on the same team. At the same time, I thought I couldn’t lose to Shogo.”
“I’m going to play baseball with the last name Kiyohara. I’m prepared.”
Before entering university, the two went to say hello to Takahiko Mori, who was their homeroom teacher when they were in Kindergarten. Mori, who is currently the director of Keio High School, has warmly watched over Shogo and Fukuzumi’s growth since their father’s uproar during an impressionable period, even after they left kindergarten.
“I think there was a feeling within Shogo that Moriba (Coach Forest’s nickname) would be happy if he resumed playing baseball. He’s like a father figure to me, and he still cares about us.”
Shogo visited Keio University coach Tetsuya Horii in late fall 2020. Horii told Shogo, who wanted to join the club after going to university, as follows.
“I heard he hasn’t played baseball for six years, especially since he’s Kazuhiro Kiyohara’s son.It’s tough in many ways.”
Then Shogo responded as follows.
“As long as I play baseball with the last name Kiyohara, I’m prepared for that.”
Seeing Shogo’s strong gaze, Horii also decided to spend four years with Shogo.
“At that time, I thought that even if I could play in four years, I would only be a pinch hitter, so I remember saying, “Just joining the bench would be a great success.” (Horii)
There are two real reasons for the restart of baseball
Before entering university, Shogo used an indoor practice facility run by Fukuzumi’s father as one of his practice bases. Shogo gets used to the hardball ball he picked up for the first time while practicing with his father, Kazuhiro, and his younger brother Katsuji, who had become close again after his suspended sentence ended.
However, a player who has been absent for six years joins the baseball team of Keio University, one of the top six universities in Tokyo. That is unusual, and in a club where so-called elite baseball players gather, it may be difficult for him to even play, let alone be on the bench. Still, Shogo is Kazuhiro Kiyohara’s eldest son. Anyone can predict that the coverage will be even more heated than it should be.
Why did Shogo restart baseball? Fukuzumi looks back on those days once again.