午夜剧场

Inside a Shinkansen train departing Shin-Osaka Station for Tokyo Station. Having finished the major task of covering Koshien for 23 days and 22 nights, 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 Juku High from the Senbatsu tournament through 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 Baseball Club in a way that was easy for the general public to understand. The players with silky hair. The "fair-skinned princes" with perfect sunscreen application. The unique culture of calling the manager "-san" in high school baseball, where vertical hierarchy usually remains strong. The passionate support from graduates overflowing with love for their alma mater...

"That was very easy to understand."

The TV producer said so with a smile as they saw me off into a taxi heading for Shin-Osaka Station.

I stared at the scenery from the Shinkansen window and thought. Is Juku High'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.

My interview subjects totaled 21 people, including Manager Morishita, Director Akamatsu, former Manager Ueda and other instructors, student coaches, current members, alumni, and their formidable rival, Manager Sue of 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 Baseball Club, and I wrote the book all at once in two months while listening to the fight 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 poured my soul into every single word. If you read it, you will love 午夜剧场 baseball ten times more. I became a sports reporter to write this one book.

Hiroshi Kato

Shincho Shinsho

240 pages, 902 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.