Mr. Ichiro (47), special assistant and instructor to the president of Mariners, gave a lecture at the 73rd newspaper convention sponsored by the Japan Association of Newspapers in the city of Kobe on the 26th. For the media staff of the member companies of the association. The tasty “Ichiro-bushi” after a long time is next.

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Hi, I’m Ichiro.

-It is a unique environment

Mr. Ichiro I hate it, I feel nervous (laughs)

-It will be held in Kobe. It was also reported in a local newspaper.

Mr. Ichiro No, I didn’t want to see you at all. That was yesterday. You must have been careful when I was having breakfast in a cafeteria in the morning. There was a newspaper on the counter. I accidentally saw it, but it was refreshing (pictured at the time of ORIX). They are 95 years, 25 years ago. At that time, he was still 24 years old. Hey, it was such a refreshing moment. Somehow those kinds of things disappear. Where you left it? I often talk about this, but when did I put it down somewhere? Everybody doesn’t understand. I know, it’s already verified (laughs)

-It has been a difficult year for the spread of the new corona virus.

Mr. Ichiro entered Arizona (USA) for a camp in early February. I have been helping the team the entire time. I think it was March 13. The camp was forcibly terminated that day. At that time, I will wait until April 9. It was once said to have dissolved. It’s March 20. At the time, America was not in a state where the wave could feel that much. Especially Arizona was not in such a state. But day by day I can feel it. Seattle is in bad shape too. My first thought was where I should be to maintain my current physical condition. This is Japan. As a result, it happened. In fact, I went back to Japan at the end of March. After the insulation is released for two weeks, secure a place where you can move. Get back to your physical condition. Run, throw, hit every day. I’ve been spending so far like this.

-The training level is higher than when active

Mr. Ichiro Of course this is especially true during the season when he is active, but I couldn’t push my body to that point because I was thinking about the next day and the future, but now I can. It is more difficult than when he was active. I work every day with the idea that I want to see what happens.

-What’s new in hard training?

Mr. Ichiro The interesting thing is that he went to 47, but the ball got faster. No way. I’m also practicing pitchers. Not only the training is changed a bit, but also how to use the body, and the ball becomes dramatically faster. Also, everyone who received it said: “A heavy ball is coming. Not only the teammates who practiced together, but some people who received my ball practiced together and they all said so. There is also a real feeling. This is something you cannot do without continuing. Quitting smoking is easy. I am realizing that if I continue, I will discover something interesting.