Impressed by Mr. Ichiro! Mr. Ichiro (47), who retired last year and is now a special assistant and instructor with the Mariners president, gave “Ama’s first instruction” at the Chiben Wakayama (Wakayama City) baseball club on the day 4. After developing his theory on running basics, he displayed a free hit that took the nickname of a genius hit man during his active career. The students impressed me.

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The true value of “Ichiro-sensei” in the prestigious Chiben Wakayama was revealed by a free hit of the afternoon. Ryohei Hosokawa (18), who was nominated fourth in the draft by Nippon Ham, and a pair of two entered the batting cage. After rolling the bunto, I started hitting.

Suddenly, when hitting a second base ball to the right, the second ball crosses the fence. In the same school, a ball-proof net is installed behind the light side, but pleasant sounds are repeated including “bullets out of the field” that go past it. In the end, he shot more than 18 hurdles with 76 shots.

Every time the ball hit the net, the students watching it shouted “Egui!” And they screamed in admiration. Looks like he went back to being a baseball kid while studying at a prestigious school. Scoring 4,367 hits and 235 home bases in Japan and the United States, he watched the hit of a man who left a name in ball history.

“When I’m tense, I look at everything. When my muscles are tense, my performance drops, so I want to avoid that. Even when hitting, I’m nervous when looking only at the release point. Try to see everything.” Mr. Ichiro relayed those words one after another.

He also relayed his secrets to the stolen base, which marked 708 in Japan and the United States. “Stealing is decided up front. It was difficult for me to throw a ball (from the receiver) in the 1-2 second range. It was a speed that would not be successful unless it took more than 1.3 seconds.” The students nodded with a serious expression to the specific words that Mr. Ichiro gave one after another.

“I fell in love with the stand. I’m a Chiben Wakayama fan.” Mr. Ichiro who said it before. Last year, the faculty and staff of the school also played grass baseball, and the setting for the first amateur instruction was also at the school.

Orientation begins on the 2nd of this month. After carefully observing the first day, he gradually began teaching on the third day of the second day and entered the fully open mode showing his own punch on this day of the last day. In addition, I let myself decide the menu of the voluntary training. A cheerful mood with a smile from start to finish, like participating in the field stroke in it. He seemed happy with the guide he expected.