◆ White Ball Tsurezure 2025, No. 19
Nippon-Ham, led by manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo, is now in sole first place in Pacific League.
Starting on the 9th, they won three straight games against Rakuten at their home stadium, ES CON FIELD. They became the first team along with Hanshin Tigers to achieve 20 wins.
In May, the team’s momentum accelerated at once, with 6 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw. The content is wonderful. It’s like a festival where Obon and New Year’s have come together. Let’s look back on the content of the 6 wins and 1 draw.
May 1st vs. Softbank ○3-2
・New recruit Ruei-Yang Gu Lin from Taiwan win first match in Japan
May 4 vs. Seibu ○ 3-2
・4th year Kota Tatsu ‘s first win of the season
May 6 vs. Orix ○7-3
・The Japanese trio of Kotaro Kiyomiya, Chusei Mannami, and Yuki Nomura hit home runs together
May 7 vs. Orix extra inning 12 innings, 2-2 draw
・All 10 pitcher used for the first time in 51 years
May 9 vs. Rakuten ○ 2-1
Starting Shoma Kanemura complete game his third game of the season
May 10 vs. Rakuten ○ 8-7
・ Rakuten hits another bases loaded slam to turn the game around after Murabayashi hits a bases loaded slam to turn the game around. A historic first.
May 11 vs. Rakuten ○ 4-0
・Taiwan’s “Fireball Man” Furubayashi pitches shutout game 98 pitches. His second win as “Maddux”
These six wins sum up Nippon-Ham ‘s strength this season.
First of all, there is the emergence of young pitcher such as Furubayashi, Tatsuya, and Kanemura. Until last year, the starting rotation was solidified with the mainstay Hiromi Ito, veteran Sachiya Yamazaki, and Takayuki Kato, but with the emergence of young pitchers, the rotation has become more substantial in both quality and quantity.
Secondly, the Japanese big hitters Mannami, Nomura and Kiyomiya have become even more powerful and have a destructive power. Mannami is currently leading the league with nine Home Run, and with Franmil Reyes, the team Home Run 39 home runs, far ahead of both leagues.
With such a strong batting lineup, there is no need for poor tactics. Last year, they had 115 sacrifice bunt, the second most in the league, and this season they have set a new NPB record by going 15 consecutive games sacrifice bunt bunt since the start of the season.
The Shinjo regime was established in 2007. Until now, the manager was the biggest star, and baseball itself tended to favor surprise attacks and unusual tactics, but gradually the rejuvenation strategy has borne fruit, and looking at the offensive in May, it can be seen that the team is changing into a Yokozuna-style sumo team.
In the match Rakuten on the 11th, Kengo Yoshida who joined the team from Softbank in the active draft, was selected as the first hitter and hit his fourth Home Run. catcher Yua Tamiya was used as the second batter. The order changes every day, and it is clear that the team is trying to stimulate competition within the team.
“This year, Nomura will be the No. 4,” he said, giving the unfinished talent the leading role, and he has been playing a great role. At the beginning of the year, he vowed to “create six or seven star players,” and as he had done so, promising star candidates have been born one after another, so the “power of Shinjo” has also been divine.
Rakuten The team’s biggest rival, Softbank, has been slowed by a string of injuries, but they still have the most points at 6.
The first team to achieve 20 wins in both leagues was in 2012 under former manager Hideki Kuriyama. That was when the team won the league championship. The manager, who once considered retiring last offseason, rethought his plan and positioned this year as a culmination of his efforts. Of course, the only thing on his mind was the word “championship.”
Before the start of last year’s interleague games, the team was in second place, 4.5 games behind Softbank, but this season they are currently four games ahead of their arch rival.
There is still a long battle ahead of us, with over 100 games to play.
After the game, a bunting class was held by alumnus Kensuke Tanaka at ES CON FIELD, where fielder gathered together for a series of easy wins. This was a preparation for the interleague games and future battles.
At first glance, Coach Shinjo appears flashy and unrestrained, but he is also a strategist who enjoys outwitting his opponents. He has his sights set on using his “May Storm” to crush his opponents and reach new heights.
Text by Kazuo Arakawa
AloJapan.com