Wrestling Champion Saori Yoshida Seen in Practice Game in Rakuten Eagle Camp

For the first time in two years, a spectator camp was held at the Kanabe-cho Baseball Stadium in central Okinawa, where the first team of the Rakuten Eagles is based. There was a small event at the campground, which is bustling with fans every day. It was around noon on February 6, the first day of the second camp. At around noon on February 6, the first day of the second camp, the fans on the third base lawn, which is used as a viewing area, started to buzz.

“Maybe, definitely not.
It’s smaller than I thought.

Some spectators with cameras peered at the home base area with telephoto lenses, while others pointed their smartphone cameras. The press hurried by. Not just photographers, but reporters as well. A female fan, who had come to see the game to catch a glimpse of the player she wanted to see, described the scene as follows.

A female fan, who had come to watch the event to get a glimpse of the athlete she wanted, described the scene as follows: “A bunch of reporters in bibs were running down the aisle, pointing their cameras at the petite woman on the ground all at once. I heard a voice saying, ‘Saori Yoshida is here,’ and that’s how the people in the audience noticed.

It was also the day of the annual camp inspection by Rakuten Group “President” Hiroshi Mikitani.

This year, as usual, the atmosphere was a bit tense when he was there.

This year, as usual, the team staff was fully prepared to receive the owner, but there was one person who was not expected to accompany him. That person was Saori Yoshida, who had won three consecutive gold medals in the women’s wrestling event.

Yoshida was wearing a black hat, black blouson, and black pants, not a very conspicuous outfit. A pale pink mask covered most of her face, but it couldn’t hide her unmistakable aura. The scene of him observing practice on the field was broadcast live on J-SPORTS.

The owner, Mikitani, seemed to have attended to him. He seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit, sitting on the bench and watching the hitting practice,” said a TV sports desk clerk.

It was a great news story during the camp. Naturally, the sports papers covering the Rakuten baseball team published breaking news articles about Yoshida’s visit.

However, these articles were suddenly removed from ……. Why on earth?

It is not unusual for celebrities to visit the camp. When such celebrities visit, the media usually send out information immediately through online articles and social networking sites.

So, why did the article get deleted this time?

According to several media sources, the team’s public relations representative told the media who were there, “Mr. Yoshida’s visit is only private, so please don’t make any articles or videos about it. If you’ve already published something, please take it down, even if it’s just now.

I don’t think they had to be so sensitive, but there seemed to be a reason for it.

In this year’s camp, all the teams have imposed restrictions to prevent corona. Rakuten is proud to say that it has the strictest rules among the 12 teams, and does not allow any media, commentators, professional baseball alumni, scorers or organizers from other teams to enter the grounds.

And yet, even though she was a guest with the owner’s approval, Saori Yoshida was able to enter the field and benches to talk with the manager and players. There is a possibility that she will be criticized for not being consistent with the strict rules that she formulated herself. He may have taken steps to prevent that from happening.” (Sports newspaper desk)

We checked with the team’s public relations department, but received no response by the deadline.

The Corona disaster requires us to be sensitive to even a single visit from a celebrity. What effect will Saori Yoshida’s “phantom visit” have on the team?