Former SoftBank No.1 catcher “used cocaine in his own store?

It was out of a sense of lightheartedness.”

When asked by the prosecutor why he used illegal drugs, the defendant testified and apologized, saying, “I deeply regret it.

On December 4, the Nagoya District Court heard the first trial of Ayatsugu Yamashita, 32, who was charged with possession of cocaine at his bar in Naka Ward, Nagoya City, in violation of the Narcotics Control Law.

Yamashita allegedly possessed approximately 0.458 g of powder containing cocaine in the bar. Around March of this year, he began using cocaine at the suggestion of an acquaintance. Yamashita admitted that there is ‘no doubt’ about the contents of the indictment. The prosecution asked for one year in prison, and the trial was concluded on the same day.

He was not afraid to talk to his seniors in a friendly manner, saying, “Are you serious?

Yamashita is also a former professional baseball player with a promising future. He was drafted first overall by Softbank in the fall of 2010. Why did this athlete, who had attracted attention as a “hard-hitting catcher” since his days at Narashino High School (Chiba Prefecture), turn to illegal drugs? We would like to introduce some of the danger signs from his active career.

The year Yamashita was selected in the first round of the DRA was a “winning year” for Softbank, which took Yuki Yanagita in the second round and Takuya Kai and Kota Senga in the developmental round. Among them, Yamashita’s hitting sense had been outstanding since his high school days. His distance and mating ability were already at the professional level.

However, from the beginning, Yamashita’s attitude showed no awareness of his professional status.

In a word, he was a bit of a player. He used to address his seniors as ‘Are you serious? He was often late for practice because he was at the wrong time. He would throw the ball back to the pitcher in a heap, and I never got the sense that he was serious.

This was in contrast to Kai, another catcher, who was covered in mud and started training early in the morning, saying, “I’m not good at this. Even back then, SoftBank had a strict management system, with the third team up to the third rank. Yamashita was not a member of the team, as he repeatedly showed his dissatisfaction with umpire’s decisions and other appalling behavior.

Rumors of “black dating”

Yamashita, who had been expected but failed to produce results, was traded from SoftBan to Rakuten in the off-season of ’17. In the summer of 2009, when the Corona epidemic was raging in Chunichi, he ate out, which was forbidden, and was placed under house arrest for 10 days. He retired from active duty in the off-season of 2010.

There had been rumors since his active career that he was involved in a “black relationship” with an anti-social person,” he said. When I heard the news that he had been using illegal drugs, I thought, ‘Yamashita could have done it. It’s a real waste of his talent. ……” (another sports newspaper reporter)

If only he had refused to be naive and practiced hard…. Yamashita, who betrayed the expectations of the fans and the leadership, will now spend the rest of his days reflecting on his actions.