Intentional walk, that is, when the pitcher intentionally throws four balls to walk the batter to the base, is a relatively common strategy in baseball, especially in professional baseball gas.
Particularly when the team is leading by a large margin or not trailing by much, and the batting order happens to rotate to the opponent’s strongest hitter, or the batter who is in good form for the ga, the team’s coach often signals the pitcher to intentionally walk the opponent, avoiding a hit or even a ho run, which could potentially result in a loss.
However, in Japanese high school baseball gas, the aning of the intentional walk strategy is entirely different:
To the Japanese, high school baseball is more about shaping the spirit and quality of young people rather than the ga itself—players’ sportsmanship and character on the field are closely linked to their personal qualities.
Because of this, during a confrontation between pitcher and batter, practitioners and audiences of high school baseball encourage facing the opponent head-on, relying on one’s true ability to win; if hit out, it simply ans one’s ability is lacking.
In the eyes of Koshien’s audience, the strategy of intentional walking is considered a highly unethical action in baseball: the confrontation between pitcher and batter is inherently unequal, and for a pitcher, who already holds the advantage, to intentionally walk out of fear of a strong batter is a disgraceful evasion, one that should be condemned by all—
After all, in the perspective of most Japanese people, high school baseball is a microcosm of life; a young person whom cannot bear responsibility even in amateur baseball, how could one expect to be a pillar of society after entering the workforce?
The most significant and intensely debated case of intentional walk in Japanese high school baseball history occurred during the 74th National High School Baseball Championship in 1992, in the second round match between the Kochi Prefecture representative itoku Gijuku Junior & Senior High School and the Ishikawa Prefecture representative Hoshizaki High School.
In that ga, facing Hoshizaki High School led by monster hitter Matsui Hideki, itoku Gijuku chose to intentionally walk five consecutive tis, not giving the opponent a single chance to hit—among these five intentional walks, there even was a scenario where, even with no one on base and two outs, itoku Gijuku resolutely chose to walk, refusing to let "Godzilla" swing once.
With this unprecedented five intentional walks, itoku Gijuku finally defeated their opponent 3:2, leaving Matsui Hideki’s last Koshien appearance filled with regret.
This match triggered a huge reaction throughout Japanese society—on the day of the ga at Koshien Stadium, spectators, after seeing such a tactic, were so agitated that they booed itoku Gijuku’s players, throwing debris onto the field to express dissatisfaction;
Koshien’s audience, professional baseball players, and the practitioners of Koshien fiercely discussed and debated this phenonon—itoku Gijuku’s baseball coach Shiro Mazue was harshly criticized by the dia, accused of bringing the "victory-at-any-cost" ntality of adults into the pure world of Koshien, damaging the spirit of high school baseball.
Even the event sponsor, Asahi Shimbun, rarely stepped in, declaring Shiro Mazue’s unscrupulous actions as "adult arrogance," even "bringing sha to the Shikoku region’s baseball."
Lin Guanglai was visibly surprised by the opponent’s decision, yet upon closer thought, it was expected—with one out and runners on first and third base, East Asia Academy gave Waseda Jitsugyo a full house, which although likely to result in a direct score, also made it easier for them to attempt a double play on the infield.
The batter following Lin Guanglai in the fifth spot was the second-year first baseman Hagiyama Mitsuo; his performance in the previous ga wasn’t particularly impressive, which might have been the reason for East Asia Academy’s tactical choice.
Standing on the first base bag, Lin Guanglai took several large steps toward second base, continually testing the defensive players nearby, applying pressure on the pitcher.
Kamata Hideyuki was sowhat annoyed by Lin Guanglai’s movents, repeatedly turning and throwing several pickoff attempts toward first base.
This trick was of no use against Lin Guanglai: being a pitcher himself, he was well aware of when the opponent’s pickoff attempts were rely threats and when they were genuine endeavors.
Seeing Lin Guanglai on the base not being swayed, Kamata Hideyuki simply ignored him, turning his focus to the batter in front instead—even though the biggest threat was eliminated using the intentional walk strategy, the one-out, full-base situation allowed no room for sloppiness.
At ho plate in the batter’s box, the fifth batter Hagiyama Mitsuo was also swallowing his anger—after all, he was a central batter, yet the opponent’s pitcher preferred to face a full-base situation to walk their main player, clearly underestimating his performance.
Hagiyama Mitsuo’s eyes locked tightly on Kamata Hideyuki on the pitcher’s mound, aggressively swinging his bat at the ball he pitched.
"Clang—!" The baseball, once hit, flew backward, first landing and then bouncing toward left field.
The shortstop of East Asia Academy did not make it in ti to cover, and the height of the baseball’s second bounce was just over the raised glove—just that bit of distance allowed Chongxin Shen Zhong, originally on third base, to easily run back to ho plate, also giving Hagiyama Mitsuo ample ti to reach first base.
The score changed to 1:0, with the situation on the field still one out, full bases—that at-bat, East Asia Academy’s strategy completely backfired, losing points without alleviating the situation, essentially losing both in efforts and advantage.
After Hagiyama Mitsuo, the batter stepping up was the first-year Yagaki Kentaro—although he mainly played right field at Waseda Jitsugyo, in middle school, he was also selected for the Japan National Training Team as a young pitcher.
Following Suzuki Kensuke’s retirent, Yagaki Kentaro naturally beca the team’s main right fielder and third pitcher—it took a little sothing special for Yagaki Kentaro to beat out second-year seniors and make it into the starting nine.
By relying on decent pitch selection and tenacity in battle, Yagaki Kentaro and Kamata Hideyuki tangled with more than a dozen balls altogether, cleverly forcing the opponent to throw a four-ball walk, helping Waseda Jitsugyo score another point.
By this point, East Asia Academy’s tactic of intentionally walking Lin Guanglai to attempt picking off lower-order hitters had all but failed.
After two at-bats were finished, the situation on the field was still one out, full bases—if the match had caras, the expressions on East Asia Academy’s players might not have been so optimistic.
In such a scenario, Uesugi Yasuyuki stepped onto the field, ready to embrace his high school baseball debut.
Reviews
All reviews (0)