Summer Koshien” Special Report: Professional Baseball Stars Rounded Out “When I Was a High School Ballplayer”!
From Shohei Otani and Yu Darvish to Kazuhiro Kiyohara, we show you the treasured photos! Those days were so fresh! 13 major league and pro baseball legends. From rare off-the-field shots to their heroic performances during games, 35 years worth of treasured photos from their "pre-debut" high school days are introduced!
Shohei Otani (29) Angels
Hanamaki-Higashi High School (Iwate Prefecture)
The world-class Shohei Otani was also thin in high school!
This photo was taken after a practice session for the Japan High School National Team at the Panasonic Baseball Stadium in Hirakata, Osaka, in August ’12. Otani attracted attention as “Darvish of Michinoku” in high school, and participated in Koshien twice, once in the summer of his sophomore year and once in the spring of his junior year.
Yu Darvish (36) Padres
Tohoku High School (Miyagi Prefecture)
Darvish responds to an interview with this magazine in the spring of his senior year in high school. He has played in the Koshien Stadium four times, in the spring and summer of his sophomore year and the spring and summer of his junior year. During the interview, when the topic of popular celebrities in the club came up, a teammate revealed, “Yu likes the Kano sisters, don’t you?
Munetaka Murakami (23) Yakult
Kyushu Gakuin High School (Kumamoto Prefecture)
Murakami participated in the Kumamoto Prefecture Tournament in July ’17. At Kyushu Gakuin High School, he was the No. 4 pitcher from his freshman year, and played in the Koshien Tournament in the summer of his freshman year. After graduating from high school, he was the mainstay of the Yakult baseball team, and in 2010, he set a new Japanese record with 56 home runs in a season and won the triple crown.
Akinori Sasaki (21) Lotte
Ofunato High School (Iwate Prefecture)
In 1919, Sasaki participated in the Iwate Prefecture Tournament in the summer of his junior year. Although he did not make it to the Koshien Tournament, he was called the “Monster of Reiwa” for his 190 cm tall fastball that hit over 160 km/h.’ In April 2010, he became the youngest player in the history of professional baseball to pitch a perfect game.
Masanao Yoshida (30) Red Sox
Tsuruga Kehi High School (Fukui Prefecture)
Yoshida played in the Koshien Tournament in the summer of ’09 as the 4th pitcher as a freshman, and again in the spring of his sophomore year, batting .313 in four games in spring and summer. In 1947, he joined the Red Sox. He became the first Japanese player to hit two home runs in one inning.
Current Major Players
Masahiro Tanaka (34) Rakuten
Komazawa University Tomakomai High School (Hokkaido)
The innocent face of Ma-kun as shown in this magazine’s interview
In the summer of 2006, Tanaka, then in his third year of high school, gave an interview to this magazine. When this magazine asked him about the attention he was receiving from professional baseball scouts, he replied, “Right now, I’m more preoccupied with the Koshien qualifying rounds than with becoming a professional baseball player.
Sho Nakata (34) Giants
Osaka Toin High School (Osaka Prefecture)
In the summer of ’07, Nakata is pictured with ball No. 87, the high school home run record at the time. He played in Koshien in the summers of his freshman and sophomore years and in the spring of his junior year, and was feared as the “monster of the Heisei era. After graduating from high school, he played the No. 4 position for two baseball teams, Nippon Ham and the Giants.
Kenta Maeda (35) Twins
PL Gakuen High School (Osaka)
In October 2006, Maeda posed for this magazine’s photographer and was dubbed “Kuwata II,” having been on the bench since the summer of his freshman year at PL Gakuen. He played in the Koshien Tournament twice, once in the summer of his freshman year and again in the spring of his junior year. He was the ace of the team and was also an excellent hitter, hitting a total of 27 home runs in high school.
Stars of the past
Ichiro (49)
Aichi Institute of Technology Meiden High School (Aichi Prefecture)
Ichiro played in the Koshien National High School Baseball Championship in March 1991 as a pitcher, and although he made two appearances, in the summer of his sophomore year and the spring of his junior year, he only managed one hit in all. After graduation, he was very active both in Japan and abroad. In 2004, he hit 4,257 hits in Japan and the U.S., which was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records.
Hideki Matsui (49)
Seiryo High School (Ishikawa, Japan)
Matsui was selected as the Giants’ first-round draft pick in 1992 and was a four-time All-Star at Koshien, appearing in the summer of his freshman year, the summer of his sophomore year, and the spring and summer of his junior year.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (42)
Yokohama High School (Kanagawa Prefecture)
In 1998, Matsuzaka was on his way home after Seibu selected him with the first pick in the draft. In an interview with this magazine, the coach of his alma mater, Yokohama High School, revealed that before the draft meeting, Matsuzaka said, “I definitely don’t want to play in the Pacific League. I want to go to the Giants.
Masumi Kuwata (55) Kazuhiro Kiyohara (55)
PL Gakuen High School (Osaka)
A duo of baseball legends who are hot favorites with the girls
This photo was taken in the summer of ’85 at PL Gakuen, their alma mater. The two former Koshien stars told the magazine, “I used to hate being the center of attention, but I’m used to it now,” Kuwata said.
