How Keio High’s Baseball Team Won Koshien with the Power of Delegation

Last summer, the Keio High School baseball team won its first Koshien championship in 107 years. The victory of the Keio High School baseball team, which upheld the slogan “Enjoy Baseball,” became a social phenomenon, and at the same time, it also had the significance of reexamining the conventional concept of high school baseball. Hiroshi Kato, a member of the editorial board of the Hochi Shimbun, closely followed the Keio High School baseball team and published a book titled “Keio High School Baseball Club: ‘Mamasu Chikara’ Nurtures People” (Shinchosha). Why did Mr. Kato, who is also the author of “Sandamame no Meisho: 1140 Days of Nomura Katsuya,” write about the Keio High School Baseball Club? We asked him about the depths of the team’s success as seen through the eyes of a reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering high school baseball (all statements in parentheses below are Kato’s).

-What prompted you to start covering Keio High School?

It was when Keio High School was selected to participate in the Spring ’23 National Invitational Tournament. After working as a desk clerk, I went to Keio High School for the first time in nine years. I was looking for Katsuji Kiyohara, the son of Kazuhiro Kiyohara. At that time, the captain of the team, Omura Haozumi (Sorato), said, “I want to change the old structure of high school baseball and overturn common sense. I want to change the old structure of high school baseball and overturn common sense, and for that reason I want to become the best in Japan. However, considering the public’s reaction, I felt that his words were too strong, so I could not write an article about it. Deep down inside, there was a part of me that felt, ‘It’s not going to work anyway. I gave myself a selfish reason and did not write the article. This self-questioning led me to become more involved in reporting.

-In your 20 years of covering high school baseball, did your image of high school baseball become more solidified?

Until about 20 years ago, it was a common sight that the coach was angry during the game. I thought, ‘Is this fun? On the other hand, I also had the sneaking suspicion that this was the way high school baseball was supposed to be. However, Keio High School was a different vector. Since I started covering the game, my own way of thinking has changed.

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-What factors contributed to this difference from conventional high school baseball?

I think the thinking of Mr. Takahiko Mori, who has been the manager of the Keio High School baseball team since 2003, was a major factor. Mr. Mori revealed his concern that ‘traditional baseball-type personnel will be replaced by AI. They do what they are told, greet people well, but do not create new things. This is no longer the case. He often talked about the “great crisis of the baseball world” due to the decrease in the number of players. That resonated with me deeply. What is needed, then, is to play baseball always thinking. The management necessary to achieve this was to nurture people by “leaving it to them. I believe that the history of the team’s efforts in this regard, built up over the years and passed down through the generations, led to the team’s victory in the Koshien championship.

-What do you feel is the essence of baseball that lets the players do what they want to do?

What do you feel is the essence of “Mawase Baseball”? “Unlike the image of ‘Enjoy Baseball,’ Keio’s practices are very hard. What makes it tough is that they demand a rationale for every single play. Practice sometimes stops, and the players have to explain why they chose the play they did. Training to instantly determine the best solution is very difficult. Rather than having Director Mori and baseball team leader Kohki Akamatsu do this, the student coaches take the lead in making these judgments. The student coaches have a unique system in which students from Keio University are in charge of coaching, but they have a great deal of authority. They are also deeply involved in the selection of majors (regulars) and minors (reserve team). I was also impressed by the fact that there is no needless shouting. One of the characteristics of Keio High School is that the coaches leave things up to the student coaches.

-It is easy to say “leaving it up to the coaches,” but it is a difficult theory to put into practice.

It is a theory that is applicable not only in the baseball world but also in the business world. I have also applied this theory to my junior journalists, and some of them work hard with a twinkle in their eyes when they are given the responsibility. I thought that this is the key to creating a vibrant organization. However, it is very difficult to find the right balance, and it is a matter of trial and error (laughs). Mr. Forest’s attitude of ‘watching growth’ is not that of a single leader, but always looking ahead rather than at immediate victories. We just have to win in order to have the ability to transmit our message. In that sense, I felt that he accomplished the kind of work that would open up a wind tunnel in Japanese society and the sports world, where there is a sense of stagnation.”

-In the final game against Sendai Ikuei, Keio High School’s cheering created a special atmosphere in the Koshien Stadium.

In all my years of coverage, I have never experienced an atmosphere like that day. It was a little different from the frenzy at the time of Yuki Saito of Waseda Jitsugyo, the fever of Kanatari Agriculture, or the “Gabai Whirlwind” of Saga Kita. The closest thing would be Taisha High School this summer. The number of cheering fans was the same, but the passion of each and every one of them was really great. …… What surprised me the most was that the players played and performed their best without fear in such an atmosphere. Minato Maruta, who hit a lead-off home run in the final game, had never hit a home run in an official game before. He makes that happen on the big stage. With that blow, he won the Koshien Stadium on his side.”

-What is the unique culture of Keio High School?

The introduction of the recommendation entrance examination system in 2003 was a turning point. From that point on, there were internal students who went on to higher education, students who took the general entrance examination, and students who took the recommendation entrance examination. In the case of the baseball team, 40% of the students enter the school internally, 30% enter the general entrance examination, and 20-30% enter the recommendation group. The recommendation groups come from strong seniors and boys from all over the country. However, the difference from other schools is that there are cases where the recommended groups are also rejected in the entrance examination. A minimum grade point average of 3.8 is also required. The baseball team’s intentions are not reflected here. There are about 40 slots available for recommendations for the entire school, and students from various fields, not just athletic teams, are admitted. Therefore, there is inevitably some variation from year to year in terms of the simple strength of the team. It was also interesting to note that the recommended teams did not always dominate the regulars.

-In the summer of 2012, the team finished in the top 16, and in the fall tournament, they were eliminated in the top 8. In the summer of 2012, they finished in the top 16, and in the fall tournament, they finished in the top 8.

The general entrance examination group has the willpower of having cleared the most difficult private schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Those who enter internally have grown up in a unique culture. The recommendation group has pride in baseball. The years when these three different groups created chemistry were strong.’ The 23rd year was just such a generation. In our interviews, many people said that the previous year’s team had more capable players and more power. However, the ’23 team also had more close communication with the forestry director.

When asked who the key players on the team actually were, the names of Katsuji Kiyohara and the director’s son, Kento Hayashi, came up. Katsuji was not a regular in his last summer, and Kento did not even make the bench. I felt that the fact that these two names were mentioned showed how each of them played a role in the team, how a chemical reaction took place, and how the team grew stronger and stronger. In fact, the team became stronger with each successive victory at Koshien, with the final against Sendai Ikuei being the strongest.

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-As a reporter who has seen the KK generation, did you have any special feelings when you covered Katsuji Kiyohara?

I admired the KK duo from when I was a child, and after joining Hochi (newspaper company), I was also Masumi Kuwata’s beat reporter when I was in charge of the Giants. I am probably the only reporter who has covered Shogo, Katsuji, Maki, and Matt. I feel happy. If I were to speak only of my feeling, Katsuji-kun overlapped with his father in many ways. He was a mood maker, and so was his approach to baseball. His teammates also said, ‘Katsuji-kun drew a lot of attention from the media, and his attitude toward baseball was a source of strength.

I have the impression that Shogo-kun has inherited his mother’s flamboyance and sociability in a strong way. His bright personality and star power are really strong, and it is a different dimension when he is batting fourth in the Tokyo Six University baseball team after a six-year blank. Keio’s culture made this challenge possible. His mental and physical toughness and mental control to follow the path he believes in are also amazing. Although he was not selected in the draft, as a reporter, I would honestly like to see him play baseball a little more.

-What was the most surprising aspect of covering the Keio High School baseball team?

I interviewed 21 people involved in the Keio High School baseball team, and they all had one thing in common: their stories were very interesting. In short, they have a very high ability to verbalize their opinions. To this end, they are training as a team by reading business magazines and exchanging opinions. As for Katsuji’s story, normally, when there is a high-profile player like Katsuji, people around him tend to get carried away. But because of his ability to think and talk, people around him don’t treat him as special at all. The same is true of Maruta, who has been talked about as the “Prince of Keio. When I asked him about his dreams for the future, he said, “I want to open a jazz bar in my old age,” without hesitation (laughs).

-Finally, what aspects of the Keio High School baseball team will we be watching for in the future?

What do you think of the future of the Keio High School baseball team? However, I have a sense of hope that another interesting generation will emerge and accomplish great things. In my interviews, none of the leaders seemed to be saying, ‘We will follow the precedent. Perhaps this will continue to be the case in the future.

When I myself was in my 20s, I used to write for ‘popular manuscripts. With a sense of almost triumphant supremacy. But after covering Keio High School, I was inspired by their attitude toward learning and the process of learning. Now, I strongly wish to stay close to the players and get closer to their true feelings and essence. I would like to continue to cover the games in the field as long as I have the strength to do so.

Click here to read “Keio High School Baseball Club: ‘Power to Let Go’ Nurtures People!