Former Draft Candidate and Keio University Graduate Sends Support to Shogo Kiyohara

“I never thought I wouldn’t make it to the pros.”

“I’m sure Kiyohara-kun is receiving many job offers from various companies, but I hope he takes the time to find what he truly wants to do, even if it means becoming a job-hunting ronin.”

Shogo Kiyohara (22), a graduate of Keio University, was not selected in last October’s professional baseball draft and chose to pursue a career in business. Being the son of former professional baseball player Kazuyoshi Kiyohara (57), he attracted significant attention during the draft, but unfortunately, his path to the pros did not materialize. The person who spoke about him was Seigo Yada (31), who once excelled in Keio University’s baseball team and later experienced three missed draft selections himself. Now working as a business owner, Yada passionately shared insights about his own baseball career and his feelings toward his university junior, Shogo.

“It might only have been recently that I was able to truly reflect on not being drafted, digest it within myself, and speak about it with honest feelings. Back then, I was just in complete shock. I had received 11 scouting reports from 11 of the 12 teams, so I never even imagined that I wouldn’t be selected. I hadn’t considered the possibility of not making it to the pros, so right after the draft, I was just thinking, ‘Seriously?'”

Yada, who hit 76 home runs during his high school career at Keio High School, went on to Keio University, where he became a regular starting player from his second year in the spring. Known as the “second coming of Yoshinobu Takahashi” (former Giants player) due to being a left-handed slugger like his senior, he was noticed early as a draft prospect. During his time at university, he hit 15 home runs and was selected for the university’s national team, with expectations of being chosen in the upper rounds of the draft.

In 2015, during his fourth-year autumn, the scouting reports from NPB teams began arriving as the autumn season started.

“There’s a section where you write about why you want to join the NPB, and I took great care in writing each of the 11 reports with my thoughts, keeping the character limit in mind. I didn’t set any restrictions on draft position either, like saying I wouldn’t join unless I was picked above a certain rank. I was willing to join any team, at any position, as long as it was a contracted team.”

And then came the fateful draft. Yada was watching the draft broadcast in his university dorm. As the names of his classmates, Toshitaka Yokoo (Nippon Ham to Rakuten) and Taikan Yamamoto (Giants to Tigers to Dragons), were called out, Yada’s name was never mentioned.

Eventually, Yada joined the corporate team JX-ENEOS, but he continued to struggle with the feelings from that time for a while.

“Two years later, I absolutely had to go pro. I had to do something about it, but if I couldn’t make it then… That was my mindset. On the other hand, it wasn’t helpful. I put so much pressure on myself thinking, ‘I have to perform well in the Corporate League,’ and it made things worse.”

Despite that, in his first year, Yada achieved impressive stats in runs batted in and home runs, ranking among the top in the nation for corporate teams and almost securing a triple crown. He felt a sense of achievement, believing he could succeed at the corporate level as well.

However, during his second year, he struggled right from the start, going 0-for-7 in his first tournament.

“In my mind, I thought, ‘It’s okay to have two games without a hit,’ but there are a lot of good players at ENEOS. For the team to win, it’s better to use players who are in better form than those struggling. The team wasn’t playing baseball just to turn me into a professional player. They were playing to win.”

Yada knew that he had a tendency to be inconsistent, and although he had been kept in the lineup during his first year despite some fluctuations in form, in his second year, he was suddenly benched. From then on, he experienced a situation he had never encountered before in his baseball career: being used as a pinch hitter.

“Since Little League, I had always been a regular, a key player, so I had never been in a pinch-hitting role. That began during this period, and although I knew I had to deliver results to make it to the pros, I was mainly used as a pinch hitter. The pressure got to me, and I started spinning my wheels. I might have been disconnected from the team. I was tense, and I probably made myself hard to deal with at the time.”

 

“I have only made choices that everyone thought were good.”

In that situation, Yada faced his second draft. This time, he received only two scouting reports from teams.

“During university, I had received 11 scouting reports. This time, it was just two. And I wasn’t performing well, so I thought there was no way I’d get drafted. I thought it was impossible.”

Then, in January of the following year, Yada left JX-ENEOS.

“My goal was never to play baseball for a long time, it was always to become a professional baseball player. So, if that wasn’t going to happen, I wanted to work. I decided to set 25 as the age to make that decision. That’s why I thought the next season would be my last chance to pursue my dream of becoming a pro. As one option, I sent a video of my play to every Major League Baseball team, even if it was a long shot. Surprisingly, I got a positive response: ‘If you’re coming to America, we’ll take a look.’ So, with that in mind, I thought I should take a chance on my life, and I went to America to participate in tryouts there.”

Although he had decided to take the leap and go to America, he ultimately did not achieve the desired results. However, that challenge became a major turning point in his life.

“Up until then, I had always made choices that others thought were good. Even with choosing a high school, and after graduating, my future path was decided in the same way. No one ever told me ‘no’ on those choices. When I didn’t get drafted, I received various offers, but in the end, I chose a company that everyone would consider a good one. So, up until then, I hadn’t taken any risks that others would try to stop me from taking. Going to America was the first time I broke out of my shell and chose an option that others were worried about. I think that was the point where I was able to take a step forward.”

before, so going to the US was the first time I came out of my shell and made a choice that everyone was worried about. I am now able to take the first step forward.

After his challenge in America, he returned to Japan and chose the Shikoku Island League Plus’s Tokushima Indigo Socks as his final opportunity.

“I received a passionate offer from the owner of Tokushima, who said, ‘Let’s work hard together.’ I felt that this was a place where I could give my all in the end. The team also had the goal of sending players to the pros, so I felt that I could end my career with satisfaction here.”

Although his season with Tokushima didn’t produce results he was fully satisfied with, he was able to approach the draft with more optimism compared to his time in corporate baseball.

“During my time in corporate baseball, I was always feeling anxious, with a sense of frustration and the anxiety of not even getting a chance to play. But in Tokushima, I told myself to enjoy it, knowing it would be my last season. I was also given opportunities that I could be satisfied with, so if it didn’t work out, I would accept it. Of course, I would be happy if I got called, but I was also prepared for the possibility that it wouldn’t happen. I experienced three drafts—one in university, one in corporate baseball, and one in the independent league—and each time I felt completely different emotions.”

Before putting together a 18-member team

There was no draft pick in the third round either, but surprisingly, he felt a sense of relief.

“I felt a sense of relief, like ‘Finally, it’s over.’ I had the desire to turn professional, but there was also a feeling of needing to give it my all because of all the people who had supported me. So, in a way, I was relieved.”

After finishing his last season as a baseball player and putting away his bat, he quickly started a new chapter by joining an IT company in January the following year. He had always wanted to start his own business, but after being approached with an enticing offer, he joined a company that provided marketing support to other businesses. One year later, the owner of his former team, Tokushima Indigo Socks, invited him to become the team’s president.

“Even after I retired, I regularly met with the owner, discussing ideas like ‘How can we improve things?’ Then, one day, he said, ‘Come join us.’ When I started my job, I had shared my long-term goal of wanting to start a business, but it had only been a year, so I was uncertain. However, the company president encouraged me, saying, ‘Go ahead,’ and that gave me the confidence to make the decision.”

During his three years as the team representative, there were many things he saw that he hadn’t noticed as a player.

“The salary of independent league players is largely supported by money from local companies who want them to boost the community, rather than from playing baseball itself. I wanted players to understand this better. Personally, there were times when I felt tired during community activities as a player, but when I saw players who were tired yet still performed energetically in front of children, I became even more grateful as a staff member.”

Around the third year of his tenure as team representative, he finally decided to start his own company.

“Through discussions about my previous work experience, I was asked for help in a completely different business from the baseball team, and that led me to think, ‘If that’s the case, I’ll start a company.’ So, I launched my business in 2021.”

After fulfilling his three-year commitment to the team owner, he stepped down as team representative to focus solely on his newly established company.

“Talking to baseball-loving clients about my experiences has been really exciting. My current business focuses on content marketing to support companies in recruitment and promotion. We help businesses increase applications, inquiries, and purchases through owned media and recruitment websites. Along with consulting and content creation, we also launched our own recruitment media, ‘Elamek,’ in January. Until September last year, I had a registered company but operated it almost like a sole proprietorship, doing most things by myself. However, since October, I’ve started bringing in team members to grow the company. We currently have three employees and around 15 contractors. There’s a stronger sense of responsibility now, and I feel a pressure to create sales and profits, which makes me work even harder.”

Having gone through many experiences as a baseball player and started off smoothly in his professional life, does Yada have any words of advice for Kiyohara Seigo, who is about to enter society?

“Our situations and positions are completely different, so I don’t want to seem presumptuous giving advice. But I believe he’s going to hear a lot of different things from people. With that, there’s pressure to be watched closely in everything he does, which must be difficult. I met Kiyohara briefly at a baseball clinic when he was in elementary school, but I never met him during his university years. However, I’ve watched him play from the stands. He’s big, powerful, and I always thought he was a great player. He has star potential. Last year’s draft, I was paying attention to what would happen with him. I wished they’d pick him up. I really wanted to see him succeed in NPB. I thought it’d be great if he went to teams like Seibu or Giants. As a fan, I would’ve loved to see ‘4th batter, first baseman Kiyohara.'”

“However, even though I wanted to see him go pro, I didn’t want that in a way that meant he had to give up on baseball. I know how tough and painful the social leagues can be. There are difficult aspects in independent leagues as well. I can sense that he’ll succeed in society, and I’ll continue to support him.”

Having reached a point where he can openly talk about the struggles of those days with an easy smile, it’s likely that Yada’s satisfaction from having done his best helps him do so. One day, we look forward to hearing Kiyohara Seigo talk about his time as a baseball player with a smile.