On the 24th, Nippon-Ham ‘s infielder Yuki Nomura (25) stayed behind to bat for about 30 minutes after the end of the team’s practice. He started the season as the No. 4 batter, but was sidelined for a month in May due to a torn left rib. After his return, he was often left out of starting line-up, let alone the No. 4 batter, and ended the first half of the season. In order to regain his lost No. 4 position, he vowed to fight back in the second half of the season, starting with the game against Lotte on the 26th (ESCON).
At 4:30pm, after the end of the practice, all the players had gone home. Nomura appeared from behind the bench with a bat in hand. He stayed behind for about 30 minutes to practice hitting long tee shots. “I haven’t had a good turn at bat, or made good movements. I’ll hit a few more to check, or see if I can make the same movements,” he said, carefully hitting each ball.
It was a sign of his determination. He started the season as the opening No. 4 batter, hitting two home runs in a game Seibu on March 30th (Belluna D) and scoring his first six RBI. However, he was sidelined on May 15th due to a left flank strain. He returned on June 13th, but his batting average, which was .291 before his sideline, dropped to .255 at the end of the first half of the season. “I wasn’t in good shape. I’d been working on making adjustments on a daily basis, and since I came back (to the first team), there were more days when I couldn’t hit. I remembered the feeling, but I wasn’t in a situation where I could make adjustments,” he said, analyzing the cause of his slump.
During the long tee that day, before going into batting motion, he checked his posture by raising his left hand horizontally toward pitcher. “I want to move my upper body straight. I make a lot of errors by curling or arching too much, so I want to hit the ball in the same place with the same swing no matter what kind of ball it is,” he said, hitting all the balls toward center field.
During the All-Star break on the 22nd and 23rd, he didn’t even hold a bat, allowing himself to reset his mind. “I want to get good results in batting order that was given to me first. I want to hit well and fight in that position through the second half of the season.” He will get results that satisfy everyone and try to take the No. 4 spot again.
(Haruki Kawakami)
… Verhagen joined the first team for the first time in about three months. He is expected to pitch as the second reliever after Shibata, who will make his starting debut against Lotte on the 26th. “He’s been growing all season. His speed and breaking ball are getting better and better, so I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
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AloJapan.com