[Nippon Ham Kitayama Wataru]First All-Star appearance: “I don't feel like I've climbed” / Part 1 of the interview
This is a special interview with Nippon Ham pitcher Kitayama Wataru (26), who was the first to compete in the All-Star Game. The right-handed pitcher, who was eighth pick in the 2021 draft and entered the pro, served as the opening pitcher in his first year, and has since gained numerous experiences including set-upper, closer and starting pitcher. In his fourth year, he was a member of a powerful starting lineup, with a good record of 6 wins and 3 losses in the first half and an ERA of 1.40, and was selected for the first time by manager selection. They talked about their thoughts on the ball banquet, their reflections on the first half, and their enthusiasm for the second half of the match, aiming to win the league championship. We will deliver it in parts divided into two and a few.
*The interview was conducted before the All-Star Game on July 23rd and 24th.
Professional baseball
■After the first All-Star Game… “Long-and-more”
All-fast match: “If there's a development, I guess I can do it.”
Nippon Ham Kitayama (Photographer: Kurokawa Tomoaki) discusses his feelings about participating in the ball banquet
– At a press conference, my grandfather, who watched the ball banquet at Koshien in 2014, said that he “still owns the towels he has not been carefully used,'' but he also brought them with him when he went to Yusho dormitory in Kamagaya.
You brought it with you.
-It's still in the storage box on the armrest of my car
I've become a professional and start driving my own car, and I've put it in, in the car.
–That's so important
It's not that I'm going to take care of it very much, and I'm not going to let go of it all the time, but I don't think I'll throw it away. You held it carefully.
-I think my grandfather came up with the name Wataruki.
that's right. The grandpa who gave me my name. He even put it on, and suggested it to his father. Apparently my parents didn't ask for it, but the old man thought of it and said, “I thought of it like this, but what do you think?” But my parents also said, “This is fine,” and then they just put it on.
-By the way, which one is your grandfather?
He's the father's grandpa.
Kitayama and Tatsu (right) was selected as an All-Star game by coach recommendation
-At the press conference, he also said, “It's really moving that I was actually standing on the towel stage,” but have you seen the All Stars in a long time?
I agree. I wasn't that interested in it to the point that I cheered on every game of professional baseball season, but I'm into professional baseball itself. However, I knew about the famous players, and although there were individual players I liked, there were no one who always cheered on the team.
However, as for the All-Stars, there were so many cool players out there, so I remember watching it on TV that time was happy to see them, thinking, “Oh, I'm an All-Star today.”
– Are there any scenes you remember so memorable from the All-Stars?
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Born in 1983. Born in Tajimi, Gifu. In 2005, he joined Hokkaido Nikkan Sports Newspaper. After working in the General Affairs Department, he has been in charge of Nippon Ham since January 2011. He has been working in Tokyo since April 2021 and has been working in Yugun. He returned to Hokkaido in December 2011 and was in charge of Nippon Ham again.
He has been a Chunichi fan since he was a child. His first time watching baseball was in the front row of Nagoya Stadium's outfield seats. I remember slamming the first megaphone I bought, slamming it against the fence in front of me, cheering on it, and breaking it. When I watched the game from the infield seat on the third base side, I was cheering on the outside seat and receiving a mandarin orange from an old lady who had never seen her before, saying, “You're doing great work,” which is a great memory. It still feels strange to see that the extraordinary space illuminated by the cocktail rays I admired at the time is now a workplace.
