What Hibiki Shinohara Learned From Kaima Taira—and the Lesson Yu Darvish Taught Him

Instruction from an Elite Pitcher

“I haven’t gained a huge amount of weight compared with last year, and the only real change to my delivery was a slight adjustment to how I lift my leg. Honestly, I’m surprised myself that I’ve gotten results like this.”

The 19-year-old said this with a shy smile, but there was unmistakable confidence in his eyes. Hibiki Shinohara of the Saitama Seibu Lions recorded a top velocity of 148 km/h during his time at Fukui University of Technology Fukui High School. In modern baseball, where even high school pitchers can throw fastballs approaching 160 km/h, that was not an outstanding figure. Rather, he was selected in the fifth round of the draft because of his precise command.

However, in just over a year after turning professional, the young Lion has developed into a hard-throwing pitcher capable of reaching 158 km/h, and became the first Japanese high school graduate since Yoshinobu Yamamoto (27) of the Dodgers to record 20 holds in his second professional season. As the team’s relief ace, he has become a driving force behind the Lions’ resurgence.

Even Shinohara says he does not know exactly why such a dramatic transformation occurred. What is certain, however, is that he spared no effort in pursuing that growth.

“What I realized painfully during my rookie season last year was that I simply didn’t have enough stamina to make it through an entire season. That frustrated me, and with the single-minded desire to improve and take my pitching to another level, I volunteered to join Kaima Taira (26) for his offseason training. When people think of pitchers’ offseason training, they probably imagine a lot of running, but the main focus was core training and pitching practice using data.”

Taira is known as one of the most analytical pitchers in professional baseball, and his offseason training sessions attract not only players but also trainers, baseball analysts, and others. It was there that Shinohara acquired a powerful new weapon.

“I learned a changeup thrown with the middle finger extended—the so-called kick change. It’s a pitch Taira doesn’t use himself, but he taught me how to throw it, and when I had a specialist analyze the numbers, they said, ‘You can use this in actual games.’ My fastball velocity has also increased, so I think the difference in velocity and the drop on the changeup will become even more effective.

“Taira also advised me that, ‘When you throw, ideally your pelvis should rotate first, followed by your core.’ When I watched video, it seemed that I had actually been doing that since last year. But there’s a difference in reproducibility between doing something without knowing why and understanding it consciously and continuing to do it. Even though my velocity has increased dramatically, I haven’t lost the command that is one of my strengths. I think that’s because my mechanics are working well.”

In February, Shinohara also received instruction from Yu Darvish (39) during the Samurai Japan training camp, where he participated as a support member.

“He taught me a two-seam fastball. The grip itself is fairly standard, but he told me, ‘Put the energy into your index finger when you release the ball,’ so I’ve become much more conscious of that. If I can freely control the kick change and two-seamer in addition to the slider I was already throwing, I think it could make starting games easier for me in the future.”

The July 31 issue of “FRIDAY,” released on July 16, and the paid edition “FRIDAY GOLD” take a closer look at the 19-year-old Hibiki Shinohara away from the mound.

For more details and additional photos, click below ↓

From the July 31, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”