Manager Tanaka Daijiro was fired, and the coaching staff underwent significant changes, including the dismissal of Coach Yamashiro. His successor, Kimitsu, had no prior connection to the team.
Coach Kimitsu had a modest playing career, featuring in just over 100 games as an infielder for the Okayama Hypers. However, his post-retirement career was impressive. He spent over 30 years with the Hypers, starting as the second-team equipment manager and progressing through roles such as second-team manager, scorer, second-team infield defense coach, first-team strategy coach, first-team infield defense coach, and finally first-team head coach. At 53, he was chosen as the new manager of the Shizuoka Oceans, renowned for his player development skills and ability to turn lower draft picks into valuable assets. The struggling Shizuoka Oceans brought him on board, hoping he could replicate his success and rebuild their team.
The fall camp began under the new regime, primarily attended by younger players. Traditionally, players were divided into Group A (first-class) and Group B (second-class), but Kimitsu decided to gather all participants together to evaluate them without preconceptions.
Suddenly, we had a Red vs. White game. I started in the second game as the No. 8 second baseman for the White team. There were five defensive opportunities. Some balls were difficult to field, but I managed without issues. The intensive training with Coach Yamashiro had not only improved my technique but also instilled a strong sense of confidence in my defensive play.
"Keep your eyes on the ball until it's in your glove, then catch it and throw it quickly," I reminded myself. I always kept in mind the direction of the first baseman and learned to throw accurately even without facing him. I even managed a backhand catch on a ball headed to center field, quickly throwing it back, which elicited a loud cheer from the bench. However, my batting was unimpressive, going hitless in three at-bats and striking out twice.
The Shizuoka Oceans had languished at the bottom of the league for three consecutive years and had barely developed any young players. The shortage of talent was particularly severe at second base and shortstop. This season, 35-year-old Honda, in his 14th year as a pro, started most games at second base. Honda was once a star, hitting .300 three times and winning the Golden Glove Award twice, but his defensive skills had noticeably declined.
The prime candidate to succeed Honda was Uchizawa, a 21-year-old in his third year after high school and the first draft pick two years ago. Although Uchizawa had powerful batting skills, there were concerns about his defense. At shortstop, 33-year-old Shigehara had been a regular starter but was expected to exercise his free agent rights this season. The competition for shortstop included 30-year-old Katsuyama, in his 11th year, and 25-year-old Noda, the second pick in the draft two years ago and in his third year after college. Neither had performed consistently well for an entire season, with concerns about both their batting and defense.
In the manager's office, Manager Kimitsu discussed the situation with Head Coach Ichikawa.
"The natural choice for second baseman seems to be Uchizawa, and for shortstop, Noda," Kimitsu said.
"Yes, but it's a process of elimination," Ichikawa replied. "Both have great batting skills, but their defense is worrisome."
"Katsuyama is better defensively but weaker overall," Kimitsu noted.
"Honda's defense is still more stable than Uchizawa's," Ichikawa admitted. "But his decline is hard to ignore. He made many mistakes this season that don't show up in the stats."
"And his defensive range has narrowed," Kimitsu added. "What about the young guy who played second baseman in today's game?"
"Takahashi? He was stable," Ichikawa said. "He's rough around the edges, but there's potential."
"He's got good speed too," Kimitsu remarked. "He almost turned a grounder to third base into an infield hit."
"He's not quite there yet, but he might be useful in the future. Let's add Takahashi to the SR team."
Unaware of this conversation, I started in the Red vs. White game the next day. I managed a hit and completed all my defensive plays without errors. In the following game, I played the full game, reaching base with a walk and stealing a base, again handling all defensive opportunities flawlessly.
The fall camp schedule consisted of four days of work and one day off. After four consecutive Red vs. White games, we had a day off before being divided into three groups for practice. When I saw the group assignments, I couldn't believe my eyes.
There were three groups: R, Y, and SR, and my name was in SR. Group R likely consisted of regular players and those aspiring to become regulars, while Group Y was the younger group. Haratani, who was drafted at the same time as me, and fielders drafted a year before me were all in Group Y. But my name was in the SR group, along with Taniguchi.
The SR group had fewer members, only six. What is SR? At least it's not a famous music producer, I thought, feeling a sense of dread.
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