[JO1] Hochi Kokoyakyu 211206

Takumi Kawanishi JO1
Profile
Born on 23rd June 1999 in Hyogo prefecture. Started to play baseball at the Japanese style baseball club during his first year of elementary school as a pitcher, shortstop and catcher. Part of the Japanese style baseball club in middle school as a shortstop and pitcher. In the fall of his first year of Highschool he was on the bench as center fielder. During highschool he had 8 home runs all together. He was chosen as a member of JO1 in an audition program and made his major debut last year. The single “STRANGER” was the 4th single in a row that placed first in the Oricon weekly ranking. On December 15th the newest single “WANDERING” will be released.
TN: the difference between “Japanese style” baseball 軟式(野球) and “western” baseball 野球 is that the japanese style is played with a hard rubber ball.

Series Part 6
Final
The member Kawanishi Takumi (22) of the global boy group JO1 who used to be a highschool baseball player formed his “dream team” with the 11 JO1 members.
After the one year series of him being the main character of this magazine, this 6th issue will be the final one.
Taking both roles of player and coach he made his dream order.

Team name
“Samurai JO1 dreamz”
“I referred to the name of a local joint baseball team that I joined during the 6th grade. Back then, I was number 3, shortstop and also the pitcher. “

During my highschool years, my fellow club members decided on the order for the intrasquad games, but this was my first time as both coach and player. I earnestly thought of the batting order and the positions. This is my dream team “Samurai JO1 dreamz” !
TN: Intrasquad games are when the team divides itself into two squads and plays against each other.

Number 1 • left fielder
Kinjo Sukai (21)
178cm / throws and hits with his right hand
He has the fastest legs of the team. His power is amazing, so as the first batter he also has made an Inside-the-park home run. As number 1 I want someone who can hit long balls and can also steal bases. He also seems to have strong shoulders / a strong throw.
TN: Inside-the-park home run is a home run in which the ball wasn’t batted out the field.

Number 2 • short stop
Shiroiwa Ruki (24)
175cm / throws and hits with his right hand
Well, his head is like a shortstop. For shortstops the head is important. Because my favourite player Sakamoto Hayato (Giants) for example, is quite handsome. Ruki-kun is surprisingly thin, but he is someone nimble who can do anything, even small tricks.
TN: Giants = Yomiuri Giants, the baseball team from Tokyo and Takumi’s favorite team.

Number 3 • pitcher
Mamehara Issei (19)
173cm / throws right and hits left
Mame has the leading role. He has experience as a highschool baseball player. Some time ago he was a pitcher in a tv program and his control was good. Also, he likes Eldred who was active in Hiroshima. He will also be our Cleanup hitter.
TN: Brad Eldred, an American baseball player who played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carps until 2018.
Cleanup hitter: usually the number 4 and the most powerful hitter who cleans up the bases = gives the other runners time to run.

Number 4 • First baseman
Tsurubo Shion (20)
178cm / throws and hits with his right hand
Maybe because he can’t move much (laughs) He is tall and he might have the body form of a first baseman. He got power and he seems like he could do a home run.

Number 5 • Right fielder
Sato Keigo (23)
181cm / throws and hits with his right hand
He is tall and he is a right fielder with a powerful throw. A laser beam like Itoi Yoshio (Hanshin). With that image I choose him.
TN: Hanshin = Hanshin Tigers, the team of Osaka & Kobe

Number 6 • third baseman
Kono Junki (23)
174cm / throws and hits with his right hand
A mood maker who often shouts. Like Matsuda Nobuhiro (SoftBank), I want him to get more and more hyper. When I went to the batting center together with the members, Junki-kun was the best hitter.
TN: SoftBank = Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Number 7 • center fielder
Kawanishi Takumi (22)
170 cm / throws right and hits left
During my second year of Highschool, I was number 7, the center fielder. I also batted as the number 1 but personally I think this area is good for me. It feels comfortable. But as number 7 you have quite the chance to get around, don’t you?

Number 8 • catcher
Ohira Shosei (21)
176cm / throws and hits with his right hand
I think Mame can also play the catcher position, so I was unsure, but I chose Shosei. He has baseball experience and he got something unexpected in him. With an outwitting lead, he seems like he would give signs that the opposing batter can’t read. The reason why he is number 8 is that I want him below me (laughs).

Number 9 • second baseman
Kawashiri Ren (24)
173cm / throws and hits with his right hand
I decided this on the spot. His movements are sharp like the ones of a second baseman. The number 9 is important for connecting to the top positions. Ren-kun is the only one who I can entrust with this. I feel secure (with him in this position).

Reserve

Head of the dorm
Kimata Syoya (21) 171cm / throws and hits with his right hand
He is persistent, so he could also do pinch-hitting. Like Kamei Yoshiyuki who has retired? That’s too much said (laughs) If we were to defend, he could be second baseman. TN: The head of the dorm in (Japanese) baseball is often a retired player who manages the dorm where all players live and seems equally important as the coach.
pinch-hitter = a substitute batter

Captain
Yonashiro Sho (26)
180cm / throws and hits with his right hand
He will shout from the bench. As expected, the leader is the captain. His uniform number is 10 and during defence play he will be first baseman. If we played with DH system, Sho-kun might be the DH.
TN: DH - Designated hitter, a 10th player who bats in place of the pitcher. While it’s a common system in the US, the Japanese central league (of which the Yomiuri Giants are a part of) doesn’t use it.

JO1 dream team

Slogan
Go To The TOP
~ Run, Hit, Defend~
“I used JO1’s slogan as it is, [followed by] running, hitting and fielding. First, running is important.”

Asking player and coach Kawanishi

Q: The baseball style you aim for?
I want to keep the score at zero. We need to do the defence right. That’s why the pitchers are important.

Q: Will the pitcher be a complete game or with a relief pitcher?
Basically, the ace is the complete game. I would go with Mame who I completely trust, but depending on the situation, I do relief pitcher. Kinjo Sukai is the closer. His ball is fast. He is tsundere, so he also has a slow curve. He is good at tactics. I can also go as a starter. When Mame still played, he was center fielder, so we could exchange positions all the time.
TN: Basically the questions means whether the pitcher will stay the whole game or whether another pitcher takes over eventually.
A slow curve is a ball that has a spin that causes it to dive as it approaches the plate. It is considered as a more advanced pitch with a risk of injury.

Q: How do you score points while attacking?
I don’t want to do sacrifice bunts. I want everyone to swing as hard as they can. Isn’t that much more fun? I want everyone to be after the first pitch, the first strike actively. Everyone can hit a home run. They have the power. Moreover, we also have fast runners. During my highschool years, the coach told me “Run as you please”, so I might tell Sukai, too, “run as you like”.
TN: Sacrifice bunts is the act of deliberately bunting (a ball that is intentionally tapped into the play) which allows the baserunner to advance on the cost (sacrifice) of the batter.

Q: Can you aim for the victory at the Koshien?
That’s a little too hard. We are still weak. First we run, get stronger and then we start from the first round of the regional championships.
TN: Koshien is the Japanese High School Baseball Championship, taking place in summer and the largest scale amateur sport event in Japan, it takes place in Nishinomiya, Hyogo. Koshien is also the name of the district of Nishinomiya where the stadium (Hanshin Koshien Stadium) is located.

Takumi’s message
No matter when, give your all
That thanks to Hochi Kokoyakyu I was able to do something baseball related again makes me really thankful for this one year. I grew to like highschool baseball even more than before. I received a lot of power by watching the Koshien and seeing how everyone gave their very best in their play. Also for me the three years of highschool baseball were important. It was really hard and exhausting, but nowadays those are good memories and I learnt a lot of things. Since I became an adult there were also times that passed uneventfully, but after all I want to enjoy everything and give my very best. Exactly because in high school baseball, it’s over once you lose, I think the only way not to have regrets lingering is to give your very best. Just keep giving your all and don’t get injured, I will keep on supporting you.