 Yuji Yanagawa (non-fiction writer)

 Kei Kato (Kanamaru), Hiroyuki Komatsu (Fujita, Nakamura)

 Exclusive direct interview with the top picks that 12 teams are interested in!

 The 2024 Professional Baseball Draft Conference will be held on October 24, and FRIDAY has exclusive direct interviews with the top picks that the 12 teams have their eyes on! The "golden egg" who is expected to make a great leap forward reveals his "determination and confidence"...

Just before the October 24 Draft! The Big 3 &#8220;Golden Egg&#8221; Pitchers Reveal Their Determination and Confidence

 Yuji Yanagawa (Imasamaru, Sakai, Miura, Yoshida) Sankei Shimbun (Fujita)

 August has arrived and summer is finally in full swing! The sweltering heat continues, but the "hot" season of high school baseball has also arrived! Kanagawa's Giants and the prestigious Weiten... What is the true value of the "Big 5" who are making great strides at Koshien in midsummer?

The True Value of the ‘Big Five’ Thriving in the Midsummer Koshien

 Kota Inoue, courtesy of captain Naoshige Nakagawa (4th photo)

 On August 7, the summer Koshien (the National High School Baseball Championships) will open. This year, Wajima High School, which was severely damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in the New Year, lost in the first round of the Ishikawa Prefectural Tournament. But their summer is not over yet. ......

Wajima High School Baseball Team Aims to Practice on Their Own Field Again After Noto Peninsula Earthquake Damage

 Masayoshi Katayama

 Shohei Otani, Yu Darvish, and Akinori Sasaki. ...... In recent years, there have been many tall pitchers in the Majors and professional baseball. Tall pitchers are also dominating the Koshien qualifying rounds in the height of the season. Here we introduce some of the players of note and their true abilities.

Scouts Gather to Evaluate 2-Meter-Tall Pitchers Aiming to Follow in Ohtani and Darvish&#8217;s Footsteps

 Born in 1977 in Fukushima Prefecture. Former high school baseball player (substitute for 3 years). After working as an editor for a lifestyle magazine, he became a freelance writer in 2003. He has worked mainly for magazines such as "Number" (Bungei Shunju). He is the author of "Look at Losing. Seikogakuin and Tomoya Saito's High School Baseball" (Shuwa System) and "9 championships, undefeated Noshiro Tech Basketball Club: Enthusiasm and Melancholy" (Shueisha).

 Motoyoshi Taguchi

 Betsumi High School, which participated in the Spring Senbatsu Tournament for the first time, is scheduled to appear in the first round of the Kushiro Branch's preliminary round of the Spring Hokkaido High School Baseball Tournament on May 8.

 Betsukai High School, the "largest dairy farming town in Japan" with eight times as many cows as the population, made a splash when it participated in the Spring High School Baseball Tournament, and now that the Spring High School Baseball Tournament begins on May 8, how are the members of the baseball team facing the fate of "career choices" including family business?

Hokkaido’s Betsukai High School&#8217;s Debut in Spring Senbatsu Tournament Explores Pathways in Dairy and Fishing Town

 Betsumi High School, which participated in the Spring Senbatsu for the first time, is scheduled to appear in the first round of the Kushiro Branch's preliminary round of the Spring Hokkaido High School Baseball Tournament on May 8.

 Betsukai High School, the "largest dairy farming town in Japan" with eight times as many cows as the population, made a splash when it participated in the spring high school baseball tournament, and now the spring high school baseball tournament will begin on May 8.

The Crossroads of a Son&#8217;s Path and Parental Dreams from Dairy Farming Town to Koshien

 Ryu Kanzaki

 In this issue of Playback, we look back at what we were reporting 10, 20, and 30 years ago. This time, just before the spring Senbatsu in 2004, we reported closely on Darvish, who was a student at Tohoku High School at the time. What did he "ask" of this magazine with a straight face?

Before the Spring Koshien Tournament, Tohoku High School&#8217;s Captain Yu Darvish Faced Rumors of Multiple Romantic Relationships

 Yuji YANAGIKAWA (Senpei, Nenoaki, Asuzuya), Asuka EHARA (Mori), Kyodo News (Lamar)

 Ace of the new second-year team with a 150km/h max, power hitter with Sri Lankan parents, and fast left arm whose father is a former Chunichi pitcher!

 The Senbatsu (high school baseball tournament), which opens on March 18, has been rumored to be "starless," but this is not true! There is a lineup of monster draft candidates! Even if they are not well-known, there are "golden eggs" who have the potential to make it big. ......

Draft Candidate Monsters are all here&#8230;The &#8220;Golden Eggs&#8221; gather at Koshien for &#8220;Senbatsu 2024&#8221;! The true value of the &#8220;Golden Eggs&#8221; gathered at Koshien for the &#8220;Senbatsu 2024

 Born in Shimane Prefecture in 1991. After graduating from university, he spent about two and a half years as a company employee unrelated to the publishing industry before becoming a writer in October 2005. Currently, he mainly covers amateur baseball in the Chugoku region, with a focus on high school baseball in Shimane Prefecture, where he lives. He is the author of "Kando: Shimonoseki Kokusai High School Baseball Club Manager Hidetaka Sakahara and the Nine's Struggle to Win the Koshien Championship" and the writer of "From Africa to the World and to Koshien: The Steps Taken by an Outstandard High School Baseball Manager to Spread Baseball in the World" (both from Tokyo News).

 Kota Inoue

 The 32 high school baseball teams for the 2012 Sembatsu tournament, which opens in March, have been announced.

 The famous high school baseball coach who won the national championship four times in the spring and summer will return to the sacred ground wearing a different uniform. We asked Keiji Monma, 54 years old and working alone for the first time in Okayama City, what he is thinking as he aims for the top of the mountain. We asked him about his true feelings.

The present day of the famous general who returned to Koshien as the manager of Soshigakuen.

 Katsuro Okazawa/Afro

 PL Gakuen's baseball team has a new member for the first time in 9 years. The team is aiming for a miraculous comeback after the club was suspended in 2005 due to an assault case. The former coach reveals his dream of returning to Koshien and the hurdles that are too high.

Kuwata and Kiyohara&#8217;s Legacy Ignites Revival: PL Gakuen High School Baseball Returns

 Kyodo

 Keio High School won the summer Koshien championship in Japan for the second time in 107 years. The long hair and "spontaneous baseball" of the players drew attention, but what drew even more attention was the cheering in the Alps stands, which was so intimidating to the opponents. ......

Anti-Seikyo organization &#8220;Mita-kai&#8221; is growing in number due to the strength of the &#8220;Mita-kai&#8221; shown in the &#8220;Koshien Championship&#8221; by the Keio &#8220;Grand Cheering Squad&#8221;.

 Ryu Kanzaki, Asahi Shimbun, Afro, Masatoshi Okauchi, Koichi Mano, Kyodo News, Akira Tsuda, Haruki Shimokoshi, Tomonori Iwanami

 From Shohei Otani and Yu Darvish to Kazuhiro Kiyohara, we show you the treasured photos! Those days were so fresh! 13 major league and pro baseball legends. From rare off-the-field shots to their heroic performances during games, 35 years worth of treasured photos from their "pre-debut" high school days are introduced!

 Summer Koshien Special Program! The first "high school days" of these major league and professional baseball players are shown in treasured photos! From the superstar Shohei Otani to the ㇾjand duo of Kuwata and Kiyohara, see 35 years of treasured photos.

Summer Koshien&#8221; Special Report: Professional Baseball Stars Rounded Out &#8220;When I Was a High School Ballplayer&#8221;!

 Yuji Yanagawa (nonfiction writer)

 Hiroyuki Komatsu (Higashimatsu), Kei Kato (Maeda)

 The season of high school baseball has come again this year!

 The high school baseball season has come again this year! In this fall's draft, which is said to have a "bumper crop" of college pitchers, these two left-handers are the only two high school pitchers who will go first! How will they pitch in their last summer?

High School Class Left Arm Ace Draft Candidates&#8230;Kaiyuki Higashimatsu (Kyoei) &#038; Yugo Maeda (Toin Osaka) &#8220;W Close-up Filming&#8221;!

 Courtesy of the photographer (1st photo) Shinji Hamasaki

 If you hit second, there is no hope --'' That's how Tomohiro Machida, 32, second baseman for Tokoha Kikugawa High School (now Tokoha University Kikugawa High School), was described in the play-by-play commentary as he ran around the field at Koshien in the summer of 2008.

How the &#8220;Best Second in Koshien History,&#8221; an Alumnus of Shizuoka&#8217;s Tokoha Kikugawa, which participated in the Senbatsu Tournament, Became President in the &#8220;World of Welfare

 From Ryugasaki Ichiko High School to Fujishiro High School to Joso Gakuin. This is the kind of life I had because I played baseball.

 Interview with Shuichi Mochimaru, manager of Chiba's Sendai Matsudo, who has led four high schools to the Koshien National Championships: Ryugasaki First High School, Fujishiro High School, and Joso Gakuin. I want to teach the children that this is the kind of life they will lead because they played baseball.

Sen-dai Matsudo Coach Mochimaru, who has led four schools to the Koshien tournament, has a &#8220;greatness is the players&#8221; approach to coaching.

 Hiroyuki Komatsu

 Corporal punishment at a strong school that is a regular participant in Koshien.... But what is the reality! When this magazine went to the Tokai University Sugo Baseball Club, we found that the students were thinking of their coach, Hiroyasu Wakabayashi.... Shinya Miyamoto, a Yakult alumnus and temporary coach, also shared his true feelings. What is the truth?

Finally, the coach&#8217;s dismissal was announced&#8230; &#8220;What really happened&#8221; at Tokai University Sugo Baseball Club, where &#8220;corporal punishment on a daily basis&#8221; was reported.

 Former reporter for Daily Sports News and Jiji Press

 Toshinori Tanikawa

 The professional baseball draft will be held in Tokyo on April 20. It is said that this is a year in which there are many outstanding college players, and there is no end to the interest in "who will be selected and to whom," including the results in the case of overlapping selections. Any player who will be nominated this year has to be born.

There was no secret agreement,&#8221; recalled a reporter who followed Masumi Kuwata&#8217;s father.

 Several coaches of strong high school baseball teams that participated in this summer's Koshien High School Baseball Tournament have stated that they do not want their students to go to Chunichi alone. Not only is there a blurring of the development policy symbolized by Akira Neo, but there is another reason why the team's alumni also voiced their concerns.

The reason why the coaches of a strong high school baseball team shun &#8220;that team&#8221;.

 Yuji Yanagawa

 Inside report on the Summer Koshien Scouting Network that Gathers Players from All Over Japan, Practice Games to Give Everyone a Chance, and Coach Koichi Nishitani's Strategic Strategies

 Osaka Toin, the heavy favorite to win the Summer Koshien Tournament, lost to Shimonoseki Kokusai in the quarterfinals. However, the team's solid strength is expected to continue for some time to come. From scouting to team building, what makes coach Koichi Nishitani different from other coaches?

The strongest team, the Toin Osaka Toin, unexpectedly lost&#8230; Why the &#8220;one power&#8221; situation still persists

 Asahi Shimbun (Osaka Toin, Maeda) Afro (Matsuo) Jiro Yamada (Sakura, Murakami) Haruki Shimokoshi (Morishita & Hirano) Kyodo News (Takemoto & Watanabe) Hoshitani Takeshi/yellsports Chiba (Morimoto brothers)

 Opening day on August 6! Rudai Morishita (Kyoto International University), Shogo Asano (Takamatsu Sho), Kyojiro Sakura (Kyushu International University), etc.

 If Osaka Toin wins the Koshien Tournament in the summer, it will be the second school in history to win the triple crown of major high school tournaments. Osaka Toin has legendary players, including a pitcher who has been called "the best left fielder in Toin's history," but other high-profile players from other schools are expected to prevent them from winning the championship...!

Who will stop &#8220;Toin Osaka&#8221; in the Summer Koshien? All the players to watch!

 Yuji Yanagawa (2nd and 3rd photos)

 Two months have passed since the disappointing Senbatsu Tournament, in which he failed to hit a grand slam.

 Rintaro Sasaki of Hanamaki-Higashi, a "monster" who has hit many home runs, hit No. 69 in a practice game against Waseda Jitsugyo on June 5. However, his pace of homer production had slowed since he went hitless in the high school baseball tournament in March. What is the challenge for him to make a further leap forward...

Rintaro Sasaki, Hanamaki-Higashi: Where is the struggling &#8220;monster&#8221; now?

 Photographed by the author (2nd photo)

 After achieving a perfect game, his former coach made his first confession: "Even if we go back three years, I won't let him pitch.

 Akinori Sasaki became the youngest player in history to complete a perfect game. Yohei Kokubo, his former high school mentor, made his first confession about his upbringing to this magazine. He had detailed thoughts about Akinori Sasaki that had never been told to the media until now.

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

 Takeshi Shimizu

 Since April 10, when 20-year-old Akinori Sasaki became the 16th player in history to complete a perfect game, attention has also focused on his wife Torao Matsukawa. The rookie, who enjoys the deep trust of ace Ayumu Ishikawa, has been complaining to his mentor about his struggles with pressure.

Baseball Rookie Matsukawa’s Unexpected Past Revealed by Mentor

 Behind the 5-year, 10-billion-yen contract and success that shows no signs of a short preparation period...

 I have no confidence at all. Seiya Suzuki, who was traded from Hiroshima to the Cubs before the season opener, wondered why he was able to play so well so soon after his contract was delayed due to labor-management negotiations between MLB and the players' union and he had little time to adjust. Two of his mentors talked about it.

Seiya Suzuki of Chicago Cubs Baseball Team Exceeds His Mentor&#8217;s Expectations

 Kei Kato (1st photo)

 The third high school rookie in professional baseball history to start the season with a starting pitcher's mask on April 3, scoring his first professional run and standing on the plate for the first time.

 When Akinori Sasaki of the Chiba Lotte Marines became the youngest player in history to complete a perfect game at the age of 20 years and 5 months on April 11, it was Louki who played the role of his wife. How was Torao Matsukawa able to be so successful from his first year as a catcher, for whom experience is essential? His mentor revealed the answer.

#high_school_baseball

Just before the October 24 Draft! The Big 3 “Golden Egg” Pitchers Reveal Their Determination and Confidence

The True Value of the ‘Big Five’ Thriving in the Midsummer Koshien

Wajima High School Baseball Team Aims to Practice on Their Own Field Again After Noto Peninsula Earthquake Damage

Scouts Gather to Evaluate 2-Meter-Tall Pitchers Aiming to Follow in Ohtani and Darvish’s Footsteps

Hokkaido’s Betsukai High School’s Debut in Spring Senbatsu Tournament Explores Pathways in Dairy and Fishing Town

The Crossroads of a Son’s Path and Parental Dreams from Dairy Farming Town to Koshien

Before the Spring Koshien Tournament, Tohoku High School’s Captain Yu Darvish Faced Rumors of Multiple Romantic Relationships

Draft Candidate Monsters are all here…The “Golden Eggs” gather at Koshien for “Senbatsu 2024”! The true value of the “Golden Eggs” gathered at Koshien for the “Senbatsu 2024

The present day of the famous general who returned to Koshien as the manager of Soshigakuen.

Kuwata and Kiyohara’s Legacy Ignites Revival: PL Gakuen High School Baseball Returns

Anti-Seikyo organization “Mita-kai” is growing in number due to the strength of the “Mita-kai” shown in the “Koshien Championship” by the Keio “Grand Cheering Squad”.

Summer Koshien” Special Report: Professional Baseball Stars Rounded Out “When I Was a High School Ballplayer”!

High School Class Left Arm Ace Draft Candidates…Kaiyuki Higashimatsu (Kyoei) & Yugo Maeda (Toin Osaka) “W Close-up Filming”!

How the “Best Second in Koshien History,” an Alumnus of Shizuoka’s Tokoha Kikugawa, which participated in the Senbatsu Tournament, Became President in the “World of Welfare

Sen-dai Matsudo Coach Mochimaru, who has led four schools to the Koshien tournament, has a “greatness is the players” approach to coaching.

Finally, the coach’s dismissal was announced… “What really happened” at Tokai University Sugo Baseball Club, where “corporal punishment on a daily basis” was reported.

There was no secret agreement,” recalled a reporter who followed Masumi Kuwata’s father.

The reason why the coaches of a strong high school baseball team shun “that team”.

The strongest team, the Toin Osaka Toin, unexpectedly lost… Why the “one power” situation still persists

Who will stop “Toin Osaka” in the Summer Koshien? All the players to watch!

Rintaro Sasaki, Hanamaki-Higashi: Where is the struggling “monster” now?

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

Baseball Rookie Matsukawa’s Unexpected Past Revealed by Mentor

Seiya Suzuki of Chicago Cubs Baseball Team Exceeds His Mentor’s Expectations

Torao Matsukawa of Lotte Reveals Why He Was “A Man Who Exceeded Expectations” in High School