Double-digit win in the 1A… Coach Hoshino, who was fighting for V, ordered him to return home
In August 1988, Chunichi, led by Senichi Hoshino, was leading the Central League. Under such circumstances, Mr. Masa Yamamoto, who was studying in the Dodgers, was recalled to Japan. It was to further raise his strength for the league domination. His left arm, which has grown rapidly in the United States, has become a hot topic in Japan, such as participating in the 1A All-Star Game. At the vero beach camp in March, I was not allowed to pitch a single game in the local open match, which was a lie, and the change in expectations was like a lie. However, it is said that he initially refused this order to “come home” by saying, “I don’t want it.”
“Yama! Hoshino is telling you to come back.” Even when Mr. Ike Ikuhara said this, Mr. Yamamoto did not shake his head. The 1A Vero Beach, which I belonged to, won the first term in the previous term, and had the right to participate in the playoffs of the Florida State League starting on September 1st. Because I wanted to see it through to the end.
There is another reason. “I didn’t want to go back to Japan and be scolded by managers and coaches. Also, if I did my best in America, I should be able to get a contract at least for the next year. But if I come back and get hit, After all, I might get fired for something like this.It’s the most dangerous because it’s my fifth year.I could do it in the United States, but here in the 4th Army.I thought it wouldn’t work in Japan.” The next year, in order to compete in Chunichi, it was also something I thought about playing for sure.
Mr. Ike said, “Yes,” and went home that day. The next day, the phone in Mr. Yamamoto’s room rang. “I didn’t understand what the female operator was saying because she was talking so fast,” but then the caller changed. “I was told, ‘I’m Hoshino,’ and I said, ‘Yes.’ I’m sure Ike-san was telling me how I felt.” I have decided to return home.
