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

What did “FRIDAY” report 10, 20, and 30 years ago? In “Playback Friday,” we take a look back at the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we bring you ” Yu Darvish’s naked talk about Koshien and his worries ” from the April 2, 2004 issue, 20 years ago.

In the spring of 2004, the pitcher who attracted the most attention at Koshien was Yu Darvish (then 17) of Tohoku High School in Miyagi Prefecture, the runner-up in the previous summer’s tournament and the number one draft candidate in the fall. This is an article that closely followed Darvish just before he left for Osaka.

His back strength and grip strength have almost doubled since entering high school.

He asked me, “How are you doing? If last summer was 100, I’d say I’m at 150 now. He won the championship at the Koshien! I’m hoping to win one by one, rather than just winning at the Koshien.

This line was uttered just before entering Osaka on March 13. He said he was in 1.5 times better shape than last summer, when he hit 149 km/h.

Last spring (when I lost in the second round), I was about 80. I hurt my side and right arm at the opening ceremony. I also hurt my back in the summer, so I wasn’t in good shape.

At the opening ceremony of the Senbatsu Tournament the previous spring, Darvish was pulled by a fan and hurt his side and arm. He said he was no longer concerned about that.

I think I was careless. I think I was careless, too. But I don’t get too worked up about it because it’s Koshien. I don’t have a goal of throwing a ball as fast as I can. I am more suited to getting hits than striking out. I think that way, the team’s rhythm is better suited to me.

When he entered high school, he suffered from growing pains, but at 194 cm tall, his growth finally stopped, and he began to develop adult-like muscles. When he entered high school, his back strength was 120 kg and his grip strength was 38 kg on each side, but his back strength doubled to 240 kg and his grip strength doubled to 57 kg on each side. However, Tohoku High School coach Masahiro Wakao said that his mental strength had grown even more than that.

After the summer Koshien, I appointed Ari as the team captain, and he went from having an “I’ll take care of myself, I’ll take care of myself” mentality to being more considerate of others. I think I have become more relaxed and considerate of others.

Although Darvish has been the focus of nationwide attention, he also showed us a glimpse of his normal high school life. His favorite thing to do in his dormitory life is to go shopping at a convenience store about 200 meters away,

I browse through Friday’s and other magazines. Can’t you do something about the binding of those magazines? If we really want to buy something, we pay for it together with other members of the club.

(laughs). When we were allowed to peek into the dinner table, we found that he and his teammates were having a good time talking in Kansai dialect. When Darvish said that Aya Ueto was the most popular celebrity in the baseball club, Darvish said, “Oh,” in a disgruntled voice, and was teased, “She likes old ladies.

After the meal, Darvish suddenly asked the magazine , “I have a favor to ask you. Would you please write about it?” I asked him about it, and this is what he had to say.

I was told that I was wearing nanamata (……). I’ve never seen it, but I’ve read on an Internet message board that I’ve been seeing seven girls at the same time, and people are saying I’m seven-timing it. （They say they saw me walking in Kokubuncho (in Sendai City), and another day I was with a different girl. This is a complete lie. I have never been to Kokubuncho. It’s just too much (laughs).

In the spring Sembatsu tournament of that year, Darvish achieved the 12th no-hit, no-run game in the history of the tournament against Kumamoto Technical High School. However, he injured his right shoulder and was unable to pitch in the quarterfinals, losing in the last eight. He also lost in the third round of the summer tournament, so he did not bring the championship banner back to Tohoku. Nevertheless, he was drafted in the fall as the “monster since Daisuke Matsuzaka,” and entered the Japan Professional Baseball Draft. His subsequent successes need no explanation.

He has been active in the major leagues since 2012, and his performance in last year’s WBC, where he led Japan to victory as a key player in the Samurai Japan team, is still fresh in the minds of the Japanese public, and his matchup with Shohei Ohtani in the opening game between the Padres and Dodgers in the Major League Baseball season opener on March 20 in Seoul caught the attention of the whole country. Darvish had already been a “big name” since he was in his third year of high school.