<figure id="attachment_357223" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-357223" style="width: 2624px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6cf82a4e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/ce8b5c5d477bd6420f8d89b57f10fe34.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-357223" class="wp-caption-text">1,500 fans gathered on the first day, and 1,200 on the second day, despite it being a weekday and rainy weather (&#8217;04 Feb. 20 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<p> What did &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; report 10, 20, or 30 years ago? In &#8220;Playback Friday,&#8221; we revisit the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we will report on &#8220;Tsuyoshi Shinjo of Nichi-Ham: &#8216;I want you to look at my buttocks&#8217; is still weird⁉&#8221; from the February 20, 2004 issue, which was published 20 years ago.</p>
<p> Most of the professional baseball teams started their training camps on February 1 this year, and Tsuyoshi Shinjo, the third-year manager of the Japan Professional Baseball Team (NPBT), has been reported daily to be riding his favorite red electric kickboard around the campsite in Nago, Okinawa, Japan. Shinjo was also seen looking a little &#8220;weird&#8221; at the 2004 camp when he joined Nippon Ham after returning from the MLB team.</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> He was wearing a Dolgabas summer sweater and sandals&#8230;</span></h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> As expected, he was the only one who was flying off the handle from day one.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Tsuyoshi Shinjo, then 32, of Nippon Ham, said of the highlight of the 2004 camp: &#8220;I want you to look at my butt.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I want you to see my butt. During training in Hawaii, I would practice for four to five hours and then burn my butt.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Butt hey &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;. When he was with the Hanshin baseball team, he stubbornly refused to do weight training because he thought it would ruin the lines of his lower body, and he had an extremely picky eater who ate snacks as his staple food. Well, I guess playing in the majors has helped him grow up, both in his hips and in his heart.</span></p>
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<p> The flamboyant performance began when he arrived in Okinawa, his campsite, on January 31. Shinjo showed up at the airport on a separate flight from his teammates wearing an unconventional outfit: a Dolce &amp; Gabbana summer sweater (180,000 yen) and sandals. The 500 fans waiting for him were astonished.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Fan service typical of a returnee from the majors"></div>
<p>The next day, the first day of camp, 1,500 fans, ten times as many as the previous year, gathered at the stadium in Nago, Okinawa, to catch a glimpse of Shinjo. Every time Shinjo moved, there was panic everywhere. However, Shinjo is a superstar returning from the majors, and he did not neglect his service to these fans. He made his signature &#8220;jumping catch&#8221; of a mediocre fly ball at the knockout, and he was willing to sign autographs that he had previously shunned because of the stress on his elbows and shoulders.</p>
<p> He also wore a bright red wristband that he used to wear during his Hanshin days. The heels of his spikes were also custom-made in red. Shinjo commented on this.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I&#8217;m a professional, you know. I think of it as a job to sell dreams, and it&#8217;s okay if I stand out a little. People always know where I am, and if they do, it encourages me.</span></p>
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<p> The day before he was scheduled to join the team, he announced that he was joining the team at a movie event he attended, and at his press conference he stated that he would &#8220;fill the Sapporo Dome&#8221; and &#8220;make the team the best in Japan. At his press conference, he stated that he would &#8220;fill the Sapporo Dome&#8221; and &#8220;make the team the best in Japan.&#8221; His registered name was &#8220;SHINJO,&#8221; which was still an unusual alphabet at the time, and everything he did was flashy. Perhaps it was only natural that he was so popular at the camp.</p>
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<p> Shinjo continued to be a one-of-a-kind presence in the Nichi-Ham organization, and retired in 2006 after achieving the two goals he had set for himself when he joined the team. Since then, Shinjo has always made headlines by working as a TV personality, moving to Bali to become a motocross racer, and trying to get back into the game. He has returned to Nichi-Ham as a manager for the 2010 season.</p>
<p> We never know what he will show us, and that is what Shinjo is.</p>

<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Shinjo in Okinawa the day before camp"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_357217" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-357217" style="width: 3186px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5a121546"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/9c3c0da200c92b4703ae40246d591184.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-357217" class="wp-caption-text">Shinjo arrives at the hotel from the airport. He was wearing a Dolgabas summer sweater and sandals, a style that did not seem out of place in camp (Feb. 20, 2004 issue).</figcaption></figure>
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 Shoichiro Tsuboi (1st photo), Yutaka Asai (2nd photo)

 In this issue of "Playback," we look back at what we reported 10, 20, and 30 years ago. In this issue, we look back at Shinjo's first camp in 2004, when he joined Nichi-Ham after returning from the Majors, and how he was a little "weird" and flamboyant in every way.

Playback &#8217;04] 10 times as many fans as the previous year flooded into the camp! Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who joined Nichi-Ham from MLB, in his &#8220;first camp appearance&#8221;!

Playback ’04] 10 times as many fans as the previous year flooded into the camp! Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who joined Nichi-Ham from MLB, in his “first camp appearance”!

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