Junzo Uchida is surrounded by bats sent to him by the many great players he has mentored, including Hiromitsu Ochiai, Kazuhiro Kiyohara, and Hideki Matsui (Photo: Shinya Nishizaki; photo taken in November 2019).Current trends in the majors are also likely to be on Suzuki’s side. The fly ball revolution has led to more hitters taking upper swings, and pitchers are tending to increase the number of high four-seamers, which could be a tailwind for Suzuki, who is good at hitting high, as he did last season with a nearly 40% batting average.    “In the majors, hitters who can handle high pitches are closer to success. Suzuki is not the type to drop his right shoulder and swing uppercut, nor is he the type to get his right shoulder out early and strike. He can swing from the top position at an angle that allows him to get the bat out most quickly, so he should have no trouble hitting high. And Suzuki is not only good at hitting the ball far, but he is also an excellent defender and runner and his good pitch selection allows him to get a lot of ground balls. His strength is that he can contribute to the team’s victory in every aspect,” said Uchida. Ichihara recalls his high school days when he saw Suzuki, who ranked fifth in the league in fielding balls.  He often threw his hands at balls, especially when he had a chance. I often told him, ‘Be patient. Since I was still in high school, I couldn’t do that right away, so I had to do it gradually, but I think I learned a lot from that. In Hiroshima, through experience, I learned to be patient and get the fore-ball after the mark became tighter.   What makes Suzuki different from other players as he continues to grow and accumulate success? Coach Ichihara cited, honesty.  He was a child who listened to what others had to say. When he was in his third year of high school, professional scouts came to watch his practice games every week, everyone tends to put in a lot of effort and grow taller if they want to go pro.  I told him, “Scouts know everything about you, such as how far you can fly when you bat or how fast you can throw the ball as a pitcher. I think they are looking at your attitude.” I was particularly impressed by the way he ran as fast as he could to first base and never slowed down in his attempts to reach the next base, and with how he did not slack off when it was hot and tiring for pitchers when he would have been tempted to cut corners.  It is easy to imagine that he had good seniors in Hiroshima, taught him, watched and learned from them, and absorbed more without hesitation if he thought it would benefit him. What I find most impressive is that even though he has become such an active professional player, he has not lost his naivete and his ability to listen to what others have to say.