Beyond the Dugout: A Legendary Reporter’s Timeless Wisdom on the Future of High School Baseball
An interview with Nikkan Sports reporter Madoka Hori, a pioneering female baseball reporter. In Part 3, we asked him to look back on his unforgettable memories from Koshien, the amateur baseball game he played in for the longest time. (The final episode of all 3 episodes/1 and 2 are also available now)
Koshien Stadium was screaming. The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck in the early morning hours of January 17, 1995. Reporter Hori, who rushed from his home by taxi, stared in amazement at the completely changed figure. At that time, a man ran into Koshien. It was Kazuhiro Tanabe, the sixth secretary general of the Japan High School Baseball Federation.
“He suddenly ran in and ran out onto the field. When I came back, Mr. Tanabe was crying, saying, “Oh, Koshien was safe…” I said, “It’s not safe at all.” “It’s going to be a big deal,” and he said, “By the way, who are you?”
Underneath the crumbling highway…
In fact, starting in February of the following year, it was decided that Hori would be replaced from being the Hanshin reporter to covering amateur baseball. “I’ll be in charge starting next month, so I appreciate your help.” “I see. Nice to meet you.” Greetings from our first meeting at a sacred place that has been turned into an unprecedented disaster. From there, reporter Hori’s reporting career as an amateur baseball reporter began.
“Tanabe-san seemed to think that I too had come to check on Koshien’s safety, and he kept saying, “Thank you, thank you.” I’ll never forget that day.Koshien From there, we walked home with five Tora-ban reporters, heading towards Umeda under the collapsed and overturned Hanshin Expressway, where the smell of gas was everywhere, as if the building had collapsed and was leaking. I just kept walking, and all I saw were fire trucks, and I remember looking at them with license plates from Mie or Aichi, thinking that they had come from that far away to support me.”
“Golden words” spoken by Kosuke Fukudome’s father
His work as an amateur baseball player began with coverage of the 1995 Senbatsu Tournament, which was held just over two months after the earthquake. Along the way, he also worked in entertainment and professional baseball for nearly 15 years until 2014. In particular, his coverage of Koshien in the spring and summer was particularly impressive.
“The player that left the most impression on me was Kosuke Fukudome from his time at PL Gakuen.In the summer of 1995, the year of the earthquake, he hit hard from the Osaka tournament, and even in the first game of Koshien, he hit home runs in two consecutive at-bats.His performance was, of course, amazing. However, what I can’t forget was after the game we lost in the quarterfinals against Chiben Gakuen.The game ended with Fukudome’s double play, but he was extremely admirable in responding to the press coverage after the game. Afterwards, the moment I got off the stand for the interview, I felt completely exhausted.
Fukudome’s father, who was watching the game, said, “I’m glad my son was the last batter.” His last summer ended because he hit a double play, but if this had happened to any other child, his parents would have had a hard time. It’s not a maxim, but it’s one of the important words I heard while covering Koshien.”