Interview with Masahiro Tateishi, Soka University: “I want to improve my defense and base-running” – Interview with Hanshin’s No.1 draft pick, a promising star!

A promising star for the future of the Tigers

On October 10, two weeks before the professional baseball draft, Masahiro Tateishi, 21, an infielder at Soka University, expressed his concern.

I wondered if they would really pick me. I have seen players who have had a tough time in previous drafts. Kenta Yamada (now Nippon Seimei), who went from Osaka Toin to Rikkyo University, was also considered a sure-fire pick, wasn’t he? I believe that the draft is a never-know what will happen. To be honest, I am surprised at the evaluations of me (in newspaper reports, etc.), but if I really have a chance, I would like to go pro at the top of the draft.

With multiple teams sure to be in contention, the mindset of a baseball player who leaves his fate to the lottery was never at ease.

This offseason, not only Munetaka Murakami (25) of the Tokyo Yakult, but also Kazuma Okamoto (29) of the Giants have been approved for posting, and Teruaki Sato (26) of the Hanshin team is also expected to come to the United States in the near future. Tateishi, an infielder who can hit, was the star of this year’s draft because the majors are sure to exodus infielders who are the face of Japanese baseball.

In the end, only Hiroshima, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, and the Hanshin team selected Tateishi, as a result of a string of teams avoiding the competition and Fukuoka Softbank and Yokohama DeNA running to select Rintaro Sasaki, 20, of Stanford University in the US, with Hanshin winning the negotiating rights after manager Kyuji Fujikawa, 45, drew the lots.

Tateishi’s nomination had been a decision made a year in advance. Tateishi, who will wear the vertically striped uniform, said at the press conference, “As a baseball fan, I can’t wait to meet Manager Fujikawa.

I haven’t worn vertical stripes since I played for Japan University. It’s really simple, but I’m happy because the vertical stripes make my legs look thicker, which makes me look a little cooler or more stylish. It has always been my dream to play in front of so many fans. I want to be a player who can be involved in the battle for the batting title every year.”

On the day we conducted the interview at the Soka University field, I teased Tateishi about his sweet, almost irresistible expression during the portrait session. He laughed. The traditional uniform seems to suit Tateishi well.

Morishita and Oyama’s batting appealed to me.”

Hanshin acquired college and professional fielder Yusuke Oyama (30) in 2004, Koji Chikamoto (30) in 2006, Teruaki Sato in 2008, and Shota Morishita (25) in 2010, all of whom have become powerful players and won the Central League this season. All of them have been a force in the Central League this season.

The team has a group of strong players who are ready to compete. I find Morishita and Oyama’s batting attractive, so I hope I can absorb as much as possible from them.

Tateishi’s strong points are his strong wrist and his hitting style, which allows him to hit hard balls to wide angles without being easily pinned down by the fastballs of opposing pitchers.

He is drawing attention because he is a rare type of right-hander who can hit long balls from second base, but for me it is just a coincidence that I play second base, and I am a right-hander because I can only hit right-handed (laughs). (Laughs.) I think I am a player who has a long way to go. I am still in the process of developing, and I would like to push my defense and base-running further.

Tateishi’s mother, Ikuyo, is a former volleyball player who participated in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as a member of the Japanese national team. Her father is also a volleyball player, and her two older sisters play in the SV League and V League. However, it was baseball that Tateishi, the youngest child, immersed himself in from the age of seven.

I was always close to volleyball, and I actually played it, but it was baseball that interested me more. My mother would have wanted me to choose volleyball, but my father is a baseball fanatic and wanted his son to play baseball. I thought he would probably choose baseball in the future, while playing both myself.

In junior high and high school, he went to Takagawa Gakuen (Yamaguchi), which had a good baseball training environment, and he dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. He also learned from his parents his jumping ability and the way he used his wrists to hit the ball with spikes.

I think it is used in my defensive moves and throws. However, my family thought I was slow, and my parents didn’t expect me to be an athlete. After watching weights and training for various sports, and through trial and error, I was able to improve my leg time and gain weight after coming to college. I think there is only room for growth in terms of my physical abilities, and I think they will continue to improve as I do more and more.

The October 31 issue of “FRIDAY November 14-21” and the paid version of “FRIDAY GOLD,” both of which are available on sale on October 31, detail Tateishi’s reasons for choosing to attend Soka University and how he spends his off-duty time.

From the November 14/21, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY