Keio High School Baseball Club: The Power of Entrusting Develops People

Inside the Shinkansen departing from Shin-Osaka Station for Tokyo Station. Having finished the major task of covering Koshien for 22 nights and 23 days, my heart, which should have been filled with a sense of fulfillment, was filled with nothing but regret.

August 24, 2023. This happened the morning after the joyful "Juku-ka" echoed through the summer Koshien. Having continuously covered the Juku High School team from the Senbatsu tournament to the Spring Kanagawa Prefectural Tournament, the Kanto Tournament, the Summer Kanagawa Tournament, and the Summer Koshien, I received numerous requests to appear on wide shows. Before I knew it, "Enjoy Baseball" had become a social phenomenon. Who could have imagined that the day would come when I, an amateur baseball reporter, would appear live in the studio of Yomiuri TV's "Miyaneya"?

On "Miyaneya," I explained the characteristics of the Juku High School baseball club in a way that was easy for the general public to understand. The players with silky hair. The "Fair-skinned Princes" with their perfect sunscreen. The unique culture of calling the manager "-san" in high school baseball, where vertical society usually remains strong. The passionate support from graduates overflowing with love for their alma mater...

"That was very easy to understand."

The TV staff member said so with a smile and saw me off as I got into a taxi heading for Shin-Osaka Station.

I stared at the scenery from the Shinkansen window and thought. Is Juku High School's baseball really that "easy to understand"? No, surely not. I want to go deeper and get closer to the essence of their strength. There must have been various dramas even for the generations that couldn't make it to Koshien. I want to go and hear their stories.

The subjects of my interviews reached 21 people, including instructors such as Manager Morilin, Director Akamatsu, and former Manager Ueda, as well as student coaches, current members, alumni, and Manager Sue of their great rival, Sendai Ikuei. Behind the stylish team color were days of youthful passion, trial and error, and hard-fought struggles. The interviews totaled 33 hours. The more I interviewed, the more I became captivated by the Juku High School baseball club, and I wrote it all at once in two months while listening to the cheering song "Rekka" as BGM.

I learned from "Enjoy Baseball" that true pleasure only exists beyond hardship. I would be happy if you could enjoy the results of "Enjoy Writing," in which I put my soul into every single word. If you read it, you will love Keio baseball ten times more. I became a sports reporter to write this one book.

Keio High School Baseball Club: The Power of Entrusting Develops People

Hiroshi Kato

Shincho Shinsho

240 pages, 902 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.