A Veteran Coach at Meitoku Gijuku in Kochi: “High School Baseball Is Losing Its Appeal”—Overheated Scouting and Shifting Perspectives

A Warning Against Overheated Scouting

The post-game remarks of Shiro Mabuchi (70), head coach of Meitoku Gijuku High School in Kochi, always resemble a Buddhist monk’s sermon.

In particular, when leaving Koshien, rather than adhering to the adage “A defeated general does not speak of his troops,” he speaks at length about his players, explaining the turning points in the game and casting a stern yet warm gaze upon them. Then, after saying, “We’ll go back and practice,” he returns to Kochi on the same day whenever possible.This summer, after suffering a walk-off loss in the ninth inning to Nichinan Gakuen (Miyazaki) in their opening game, the veteran manager was even more eloquent than usual.

“It’s frustrating, but… there was a time when I thought this team might not make it to Koshien and was on the verge of giving up.We don’t have any pitchers who throw 150 km/h, nor do we have much power. Still, I think we’ve proven that if we play ‘the essence of high school baseball’—incorporating bunts—we can make it all the way to Koshien.”

Meitoku Gijuku is located in a valley in Susaki City, a region known for its thriving bonito fishing industry, and the players live in a boarding school in a place where they can’t even slip away easily. Cell phones are still banned, and visiting the field—where a sign reading “Meitoku Baseball Dojo” hangs—feels like stepping back in time to the Showa era.Mabuchi himself has served as a coach at Meitoku since Showa 62 (’87) and was appointed head coach shortly after the Heisei era began. He led the team to a national championship in the summer of ’02 and holds the fourth-highest all-time win total at Koshien with 55 victories.

I once managed to anger this renowned mentor, who has spanned three eras. It was in the spring of ’19. At the time, a series of promising players from the affiliated junior high school were choosing not to advance directly to the high school but instead enrolling in powerhouse schools in other prefectures.

I asked him whether today’s high school baseball players might be shying away from the idea of living in a remote area, immersed in team life and baseball day in and day out—in other words, whether Mabuchi’s style of baseball was out of step with the times.He responded angrily, “I don’t think so,” emphasizing his track record of producing professional baseball players while sounding the alarm about the overheated scouting (player recruitment) in high school baseball.

“Teams that gather talented players are the ones that win at Koshien. High school baseball is becoming less and less interesting.”

Mabuchi’s words seem to have foreshadowed the current state of high school baseball. Three summers ago, I visited the Tokai Chuo Boys, a junior high school hardball team widely regarded as a top contender for the national title.Key players Shunsuke Ono and Yoshifumi Esaka went on to Yokohama High School (Kanagawa Prefecture) and, despite being underclassmen, contributed to the team’s Senbatsu championship victory last spring. Catcher Ritoru Yamada, who went on to Chiben Wakayama High School, also reached the Senbatsu final that year andand has grown into a player who represents his generation.

In other words, in Reiwa-era high school baseball, the schools that promising middle schoolers choose to attend predict the power dynamics a few years down the road, and the scouting winners are the ones who conquer Koshien. Once again, here is Coach Mabuchi’s sermon following the game against Nichinan Gakuen.

“If things continue like this, high school baseball will decline. I’m always saying that even if a player is small or slow, if you teach them carefully starting with catch and get them to use their heads, they can make it to high school baseball. It’s the coach’s job to make the most of the players who enroll. Still, I’m already 70. I’ll retire in two years (at the 110th anniversary tournament).”

Though Mabuchi made that parting remark, he had previously announced his retirement at age 60 about 15 years ago and at age 65 ten years ago. The veteran coach is not going anywhere, and his skin will likely remain deeply tanned for years to come.

A Two-Person Room Over a Four-Person Room

Policies such as “no drinking during practice” and “bunny hops”—which were commonplace during the Showa era—have long since become considered unreasonable, and many baseball players now question the effectiveness of building shoulder strength through repetitive throwing drills and strengthening the lower body through exhaustive running drills.

However, coaches who rely on this “grit-based” philosophy still exist. For example, Hiroaki Murata (40), the manager of the Yokohama team, did not remove ace pitcher Shoki Oda from the game until he had thrown a complete game of 186 pitches in the Kanagawa Spring Tournament semifinal against Toiko Gakuen.Even though it was a close 8–6 game, isn’t making him throw nearly 200 pitches considered overuse? Nevertheless, there is no end to the number of young players drawn to the Yokohama High School brand, and promising players from across the country continue to knock on the school’s doors.

Junior high school students in the Reiwa era choose where to continue their education not only based on how easy it is to reach Koshien but also on whether the environment offers the best opportunities for their personal growth. In addition to the size of the playing field, the availability of an indoor practice facility, and the quality of training equipment, the number of students per room in the dormitory is also a key factor. Kenta Takasaki High School in Gunma is popular among junior high school students for its facilities.

In this summer’s Koshien tournament, first-year student Eita Ohashi started as the pitcher in the third-round game against Sano Nihon University (Tochigi). He is a “future star” who reportedly received recruitment offers from more than 30 schools while playing for the softball team at Sundai Gakuen Junior High School in Tokyo.

“I’d heard that members of the Japan national team were also enrolling here, so I wanted to grow by competing at a high level. The training facilities were a big draw, but the spacious baths and the fact that the dorm rooms were for two people were also major factors. The school I was considering had a nice dorm, but the rooms were for four people… I was also drawn to the fact that they have long individual practice sessions.”

Indeed, when you visit Kentai’s grounds, you get a strong impression of players scattered throughout the campus—including the bullpen and the practice field—diligently working on their individual drills.In addition to the well-organized locker room, the facility is fully equipped with a sauna, oxygen capsules, and hydrogen capsules. Furthermore, for pitcher Ohashi, the fact that coaches—including Head Coach Hirofumi Aoyagi (54) and Department Head Keisuke Ikata (45)—strictly manage the pitching staff’s pitch counts was a decisive factor.

“They instruct us on which days to pitch and which days not to, but they leave the fine-tuning up to us. As for running drills, the main focus is on a regimen of repeated medium-distance runs rather than endlessly running long distances.”

Ryuga Sato, who was drafted by the Orix Buffaloes in the third round from this school last year, underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer of his sophomore year due to a left elbow injury. Director Ikata explains:

“Based on Sato’s experience, we’re very careful about injury prevention. Every Monday, we set the rotation for the weekend’s games, and the pitching staff adjusts their training accordingly. During games, the coach keeps a log to manage pitch counts. If a pitcher feels stiffness in their shoulder or elbow, we’ll have them sit out for a week; we also intentionally schedule days for intensive throwing or days dedicated to thoroughly refining their form.”

From the September 4, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*