Baseball notebook” with his mother is published! Deviation 71, Morii, who signed with the Athletics, told this magazine about his “grand dream”. | FRIDAY DIGITAL

Baseball notebook” with his mother is published! Deviation 71, Morii, who signed with the Athletics, told this magazine about his “grand dream”.

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Morii was interviewed in the baseball club room at Toho High School. He signed a minor league contract with the Athletics.

It was in mid-January that Shotaro Morii, 18, traveled to the United States with his family and the manager of the baseball team at Toho High School (Kunitachi-shi, Tokyo), where he is enrolled.

A few days later. In the days that followed, Morii took a big step toward realizing his dream. On January 16 (Japan time), the Athletics announced that they had signed Morii to a minor league contract. The contract was worth $1.515 million (about 240 million yen), the highest amount ever paid to a Japanese amateur player.

I’ve thought a lot about my future, and I’ve come to a decision that I’m ready to make.

Morii expressed his joy on Instagram, which he had just opened.

In October of last year, this magazine closely followed Morii, who was aiming to play two sports in the major leagues. We would like to reproduce some of Morii’s words, including some that have not yet been published, and introduce his “grand dream” as he revealed it to us (the following comments are from Morii).

My reflections have become my blood and flesh.

Since I started in November of 2009, I have been working on this project for three years. There are eight books in all.

Morii showed us his baseball notebooks, handwritten notes exchanged with his mother, Junko, a yoga instructor. Morii says that until junior high school, he had a stooped back, bad posture, and was stocky. Junko felt that Morii was not “beautiful enough to be an athlete,” and suggested that he try yoga. In yoga, you don’t just do a prescribed pose; you have to think about where your body is centered and what kind of movements you need to do in conjunction with your breathing.

Since I started yoga, I have been able to think objectively about my body’s movements. I can now think objectively about how I should move my bat to increase the distance of the ball, and what kind of arm movement will increase the speed of the ball. In addition to yoga, I exchanged opinions with my mother about what I had practiced that day and what I had noticed in my “baseball notebook. By putting it in writing, it would stay in my memory. And if you look back at the notebook and practice, your reflections become flesh and blood.

Thanks to the yoga practice he did three days a week for 30 minutes to an hour a day and the advice of his mother, Junko, Morii, as a high school student, hit the ball far beyond the 87-meter right field of Toho High School, and his fastball began to exceed 150 km/h. Toho High School is one of the most prestigious schools in Tokyo, with about 10 students accepted into the University of Tokyo every year. He became a frequent media figure as a “professional athlete with a deviation score of 71.

However, …… is not a good place to start.

I sent in a “No” letter to the 12 professional baseball teams before the draft meeting in October ’24.

Before the draft meeting in October of 2012, I submitted a “No” to the 12 professional baseball teams. The experience of the local atmosphere strengthened my desire to try out for the majors. I wanted to try out for the Majors. I will probably start out in the minors, but eventually I would like to make it to the big leagues.

At the end of the interview, when we asked him to write his aspirations for the majors on a piece of colored paper, he spelled out his big dreams in vigorous handwriting.

Cy Young Award, home run king, World Series champion.

Morii said, smiling, “It’s a long way to go, but I’m sure I can make it happen.

I know the road to realization is far and difficult. But I want my goal to be big. I want to try to achieve a dream that no one has ever achieved.

Morii, who hopes to gain experience in the minors for a while, and then in three to four years, he would like to play in the majors as a two-way player. 18-year-old Morii’s great challenge is about to begin. (Some titles in the text are omitted.)

He was ranked second in the nation for shoulder joint softness in a physical fitness test in which 200 schools participated last spring. The shoulder blades can create the “angel wings” as shown in the photo.
Shoulder joint softness is also an important factor for a top-notch two-sport athlete.
Three years of “baseball notebooks” written in his mother’s handwriting.
A grand dream written on a piece of colored paper
On the wall of the baseball club room, the names of Morii and his classmates are displayed along with many memories. A page from his youth
  • PHOTO Hiroyuki Komatsu

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