Rakuten’s Hideto Asamura Reflects on 2,000 Hits and Surviving Daily Fielding Drills Four Times Harder Than Normal

“I was hit by a ball with protective gear on.”

About a month has passed since his remarkable milestone. Just after 9 a.m., with only a few players around, Rakuten’s Hideto Asamura (34) appeared at the indoor practice field, wearing a calm expression. He spoke for himself:

“The road to 2,000 hits was anything but smooth. I feel relieved that I won’t be asked, ‘How many more hits to go?’ anymore,” he laughed.

Asamura became the 56th player in history to reach 2,000 hits on May 24 in a game against the Nippon-Ham Fighters. This season, he endured a long slump, including a personal worst of 35 consecutive hitless at-bats. On the postgame hero podium, he tearfully confessed, “It got harder the closer I got (to the record).” True to his words, his life and career have been anything but a straight path—and here, we hear it from him directly.

Despite his talent, Asamura was often scolded by his high school coach at Osaka Toin for being late or playing carelessly. Drafted in the third round, he joined Seibu in 2009 but didn’t make a single first-team appearance as a rookie. A major turning point came in his third year, when he met hitting coach and former player Masahiro Doi.

“I remember training with protective gear on my left side, getting hit by balls to keep my left shoulder from opening up too early. Coach Doi once told me, ‘Don’t flinch from the ball—watch it as long as you can. If you know how to let pitches go, your swing will naturally improve.’

Not only would I get hit, but occasionally he’d throw easy pitches. When I managed to keep my shoulder closed, I started hitting hard line drives to the right. Eventually, I learned to adjust my hitting depending on the pitch location and spray the ball across the field.”

His defense was just as rigorously trained. Though originally a shortstop or third baseman, Seibu already had stars like Hiroyuki Nakajima and Takeya Nakamura, so Asamura had to train at first and second base as well.

“I took brutal fielding drills every day at all four infield positions. We called it ‘four-times-the-norm’ fielding—it felt endless. After special drills, I’d be completely wiped out. All I could think about was getting home to rest. But thanks to that, my lower body got a lot stronger. That strength gave me more stability in my stance, helping me shift my weight properly onto my back leg when batting.”

The foundation for his 2,000 hits was laid during those intense training days with Seibu.

In the June 26 issue of “FRIDAY July 11” and the pay-per-view “FRIDAY GOLD,” he talks in detail about his struggles since joining Rakuten, including why he continues to play in games even with a fever of 41°C and how he hit rock bottom and “became afraid of baseball.

For more details and multiple photos, please click here.

From the July 11, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”