Coach Kuwata’s Unrealistic Expectations Result to Giant’s Mainstay Swallowing Bitter Comments

His control is as bad as ever. 

It’s too far out, there’s no way you can hit a ball right down the middle with two strikes. 

Masumi Kuwata, 53, chief pitching coach of the Giants’ first team, has been making a series of bitter comments. The targets of his criticism are two young pitchers, Shoyuki Togo, who has won nine games two years in a row, and Yuuki Takahashi, who won 11 games last year. Both pitched a four-pitch walk in a practice game on February 24, and were expected to be the pillars of the starting lineup, but they have been pitching in disobedience. Manager Tatsunori Hara lamented, ” The two guys I’m worried about are …….

The Giants have not had a consistent starting pitcher to follow in the footsteps of their ace, Tomoyuki Sugano. The normally mild-mannered Mr. Kuwata must not be too happy about it. His unusually harsh comments were a reflection of his expectations for Togo and Takahashi. I think it was a message of encouragement, saying,’We can’t do without your hard work.

There is another way of looking at it. Coach Kuwata’s bitter words were not directed only at Togo and Takahashi.

He also served as a special coach for the University of Tokyo’s baseball team and is considered an American-style theorist, Mr. Kuwata played for the Major League Baseball (Pirates) and completed the graduate school of Waseda University at the top of his class. but this is by no means the case. I am uncomfortable with the current situation where the major league system is easily adopted.

These days, a pitcher is considered to have fulfilled his role as a starter if he throws 100 pitches in five innings. Certainly, pitching four days in a row, and in the Majors, where pitchers travel long distances on tours, 100 pitches in five innings would make sense because pitchers are fatigued. However, in Japan, where pitchers pitch five to six days in a row, a question mark arises: Wouldn’t it be better to throw 120 or 130 pitches?

Ideally, Mr. Kuwata thinks that pitchers should pitch a complete game like the starting pitchers of the Showa era.

The naive belief that “there’s always someone behind you

Last year, Togo made 26 starts and threw one complete game, and Takahashi made 26 starts and threw no complete games. The reason behind this is said to be that the major league system has become more prevalent and starting pitchers have become more lenient.

Kuwata is not satisfied with the recent atmosphere that says, “If you pitch until the 5th inning, you can leave the rest to relievers. In his view, you can’t pitch even five innings without a strong desire to pitch a complete game. I hope that he will be prepared to pitch as a starter, without the naivete of saying,’I have relievers behind me.

Of course, Coach Kuwata is not just a “gutsy” person.

In March and April, when it is chilly, he gives six days in the middle of the month. In the warmer months of May and June, he is thinking of a rotation of five days. Mr. Kuwata has a mild-mannered image and He may want to dispel that impression and bring out his tough side.

In fact, he has said,’I don’t care if the players hate me. It is true that he was in the majors, but it seems that he is trying to create a stir in the current situation of the American way. What It is a hybrid style that incorporates the best aspects of Japan and the Major League system. It is a hybrid style that incorporates the best aspects of Japan and the Major League system.

Coach Kuwata’s goal is a “pitching revolution. Will the young pitchers, who have been instilled with the major league style, resonate with him and bring about a revolution in the Giants?