Hiroshima Carp manager Takahiro Arai talks: “Face to face with the players! That’s all I believe in.

Direct Interview
The team overturned the pre-season rumor and is now in an impressive race for the top spot!

I’ve been waiting for you, Mr. FRIDAY!　I’ve been waiting for you!

When the FRIDAY reporter visited Mazda Stadium in early May, the Hiroshima Carp had lost seven straight games. The team had been without Shogo Sakakura (26), Shogo Akiyama (37), and Elefris Montero (26) since the beginning of the season due to injury, and the atmosphere was heavy. ……

I don’t know what to think about the people around me, but I don’t know what to think about the people around me. I don’t know what everyone around me thinks, but with so many injuries to the mainstay of the team, I consider it a “blessing in disguise” that we have been able to keep our winning percentage at around 50 percent. There are 143 games in a year, so it is not the time to rush yet.

The early part of the season is the best opportunity for players who are not fixed as regulars. If one of the main players gets injured, I hope more young players will be able to say, “Please rest while I play.

That was my mistake.

Behind the words of Takahiro Arai (48), which are spun from his aloof expression, are reflections on last season.

In 2012, Hiroshima’s four starters, Daichi Osela (33), Aren Kuri (33), Hiroki Tokoda (30), and Nobuhito Morishita (27), played a lion’s share of the game and won a lot of low-scoring games with their solid defense.

In August, the team increased its accumulated reserves to 14 and entered the last half of the season in first place, but in September, the team stalled significantly and dropped back to fourth place with 20 losses during the month. DeNA replaced them in third place and won the championship with a stunning come-from-behind victory.

I made a mistake,” he said. The year before last, our main fielder left the team one after another in the summer, so to avoid repeating the same mistake, I rested our veteran players from the start of the season and gave young players a chance to play to conserve everyone’s energy. Hiroshima is the most mobile team in the Central League.

I thought things were going well, but in September, when I said to myself, “Okay, let’s go full throttle! But in September, when I said, “All right, let’s go full throttle,” the mentality of the players became exhausted. They still had energy, but they couldn’t give a good performance.

Particularly noticeable was the pitching staff: the team’s defensive ratio, which had been in the 2-point range until August, deteriorated to the 4-point range in September.

In mid-August, teams began to change their starting rotations, and they began to pitch their ace-class pitchers against the top-ranked Carp. When we faced the Giants’ Shoyuki Togo (25), DeNA’s Katsuki Azuma (29), and Chunichi’s Hiroto Takahashi (22), our pitchers took the mound from the first inning with the mentality that they could not give up a single run. I think these games went on and on, and they became mentally exhausted, making it difficult for them to change their minds.

So this year, I would like to increase the scoring power of the batting lineup. Batting does not improve overnight, so I need to be patient as well. If the regulars are not performing well, I want to give the younger players a chance to improve the batting lineup and the team as a whole.”

I have never used a smart phone in my life.”

Of course, he also maintains a constant dialogue with the players. Tsuyoshi Shinjo, 53, the manager of Nippon Ham, is said to communicate with his players through Instagram DMs, but Arai advocates a “face to face” approach to strengthen the mentality of his players.

He says, “Face to Face, Eyes to Eyes, Heart to Heart!　These are the basics. That’s all I believe in.

I often hear words like SNS, X, and Instagram, but I have never used a smartphone in my life, and I still use a cell phone. Players often say things like, “Looking at social networking sites depresses me,” but I don’t understand what they mean. If I had a smartphone and got bashed on social networking sites, I don’t think I would care.

Because I had a lot of experiences during my active career. I was allowed to bat 4th for the Tigers and received all kinds of scolding and encouragement from the enthusiastic fans. …… (laughs) When I think about it now, I think that those experiences made me stronger. Have you ever played Dracula? It’s “Hagure Metal King. My mental defenses are (laughs).”

Arai’s “Arai style of management” is to always be open-minded, and even when things go wrong, to immediately look ahead to the next step. And it works because of his ability to assess the personalities of each player.

Last year, Kaito Koen, 24, the young mainstay of the Carp, was selected to play the fourth position for the first time in his career, but he learned his batting order from a white board in the locker room without any words from Arai.

Koen is a serious person in spite of his appearance (laughs). I didn’t want to put pressure on him and make him harden up, so I thought it would be best not to say anything.

Management is not something that can be done by a machine. The director’s role is to push and pull, to ignite the players’ spirit and make them perform beyond their current capabilities.

But Masaya Yano (26) is the type who lights up on his own without me having to do anything (laughs). His energy and defensive ability really help me. His batting hasn’t improved yet, but I can’t ask too much of him.

I told him, “Just protect him well. Of course I want him to hit, but I just want him to be relaxed and keep his motivation high.

Before the season began, many pundits predicted a B-class season for Hiroshima, but the team is now battling for the top spot in the crowded Central League.

Many pundits predicted a B-Class season for Hiroshima before the season started. If we only look at the overall strength of the teams, Hanshin, the Giants, and DeNA may be better than the rest. It is understandable that there are people who predict the lowest ranked team.

But that is precisely why it would be such a great feeling to overturn the opinions of those around you, win the championship, and win the Japan Series!　For the sake of our fans, we have no choice but to do it. I’m not a pundit, so I can’t talk about possibilities, but myself and the players are aiming for 120% victory and Japan Series victory.

Looking back, Arai’s career as a player began as a last-minute sixth-round draft pick and ended with three consecutive glorious Central League championships. Now, the red leader, who has broken the rules of the game, has entrusted his young carp with the hope of winning Japan’s top championship, the only one he could not achieve himself.

I’m like the ‘Hagure Metal King. My mentality is (laugh).

From the June 6-13, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY