Former Ofunato High School Coach Reveals the Anguish and Burden of Raising Akinori Sasaki

More than a month after Akinori Sasaki (20, Chiba Lotte) achieved a perfect game, there is one person who has remained silent. It was Yohei Kokubo, 35, a former coach at Ofunato High School. Kuniyasu, the former manager of the school’s baseball team and now the head of the department, did not send Sasaki to the mound for the final of the Iwate Tournament in the summer of 2007 against Hanamaki-Higashi.

His decision to choose Sasaki’s future over his first appearance in the Koshien Tournament in 35 years was both a wise decision and self-righteous, and was the subject of a great debate that swirled with both sides. However, after watching the success of the monster from 2021 who has awakened in his third year as a professional baseball player, there is no one left to criticize the young manager’s decision.

He said, “I don’t know if I made the right decision just because I achieved a perfect game as a pro. Losing the game (2-12) was not the right way to fight. In the end, I couldn’t build a team that could win even without Akinori’s pitching. Was there no other way to win? I have been thinking about this for a long time. One thing I can say is that even if I could go back in time to three years ago, I would not have used Akinori in the final against East Hanamaki.

Kuniyasu gave this exclusive interview after the first round of the coastal qualifying round of the Iwate Spring Season Tournament on April 29 this year.

Kuniyasu is a somewhat eccentric baseball player. He has been so wary of the media that after the summer of three years ago, when many reporters packed his practice games and official games, he refused to give any interviews, and even set his phone number to block all calls from registered newspaper reporters. I continued to commute to the coastal areas of Iwate, and they eventually agreed to interview me, but they wouldn’t give me their cell phone numbers, and my interviews were limited to the days of official games.

Now no one comes to Iwate. …… When Hiroki hit a 147 kg bat as a high school freshman, I thought he would become a world-class player like Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani. Ever since then, there has been a lot of pressure on me not to break him.

In the Iwate Tournament in 1919, Sasaki threw 194 pitches in the fourth inning against Morioka Shiko High School in extra innings. Kuniyasu, who had used Sasaki with too much care, could not order him to leave the mound in the middle of a game against a seeded school, which was the first hurdle to the Koshien tournament.

He said, “We got caught up in the ninth inning and the game went into extra innings, and my pitch count kept going up and up. I think the number of pitches that should be thrown out is different for each pitcher; it might be 70 pitches or 120 pitches. Even with the same one pitch, a straight ball and a curveball put different stress on the shoulder and elbow. In the end, you have to make a decision based on the condition of the player. I still think they should have dropped him in the middle of that game. ……”

Three days later in the semifinal against Ichinoseki Kogyo, Sasaki threw 129 pitches to complete the game, and the team won 5-0. From the beginning of the game, there was more than a point difference in power in this game. The team could have sent Sasaki down to pitch the final game.

The bench has its own ideas, and there were circumstances in the game that I couldn’t answer. I think we should have dropped him for the Morioka 4 game, but I don’t think so for this game. First of all, we had to win to move on. This may sound like a contradictory answer, but as long as it is a tournament, you cannot win with just one pitcher. If we only allow pitchers with the number “1” on their backs to pitch, it will not motivate the other pitchers. With that in mind, we did not have Akinori pitch in the finals. Winning a tournament is really difficult.”

On the day of the final, Kuniyasu decided at his own discretion not to use Sasaki, based on the way he walked and the expression on his face. He did not explain much to Sasaki, nor to the other players. If we consulted him even for a moment, he would surely appeal for Sasaki to come on board. Kuniyasu knew that if that happened, he would have no choice but to use him.

My biggest fear was that he would break his elbow,” Kuniyasu said. Would his elbow ligaments and biceps muscles be able to withstand a ball weighing more than 160 kilograms? That was my concern. Even if he had thrown the ball in the final, he might not have broken down. But there is no doubt that it was the day when the risk of failure was highest. So I don’t regret not letting him pitch.”

After the defeat, Kuniyasu’s leadership was questioned, and there were moves by the alumni association to dismiss him.

No alumnus is happy when his alma mater loses,” Kuniyasu said. They support us because they want us to win. If the same coaches cannot win with the same coaching policy, they will either change their coaching methods or replace the coach. I think it is just like running a company.”

Kuniyasu stepped down as director last summer. However, Kuniyasu says his departure had nothing to do with the defeat three years ago or the actions of the alumni association.

My home is so far away that I commute six hours there and back every day,” Kuniyasu said. I decided then that it would be better for the players’ development if a teacher who lives near the grounds were the coach.”

Sasaki’s perfect game was confirmed on his cell phone after practice.

He said, “I was like, ‘Hmmm’ (laughs). I didn’t think he would or would not do something that big, so that’s surprisingly how I feel about it. Of course, I am happy with his performance; he has become accustomed to the NPB world and is able to throw his ball with composure. There is more to pitching than what the speed gun says. I want him to pursue a ball that no other pitcher can throw.”

Sasaki’s younger brother is also a member of the current Ofunato High School team, and although he is a sophomore, he has been assigned as the “No. 1 ranger.

He has good feet and a strong shoulder. He is a good player.

Although he has retired from coaching, the warmth with which he watches over the health and development of his students has not changed from three years ago.

From the June 3, 2022 issue of FRIDAY