Immediately after the end of the 1997 season, Teruyoshi Kuji’s cell phone rang repeatedly.
It was an unexpected event. Teruyoshi Kuji, known as a master of defense during his playing days, was traded from Hanshin to Chunichi in the 1997 offseason. Since his first year as a professional player in 1992, he has reached the required number of at-bats in all six seasons with Hanshin and served as a regular shortstop. In 1997, he played 126 games, contributing to the team’s defense and batting .257, with 3 home runs and 20 RBI. That’s why “I was really surprised.” He reportedly received the trade notification after the final game of the season on Oct. 12.
1997 was the first year of Yoshida Yoshida’s third managerial season. Under the leadership of the great general who took Hanshin to number one in Japan in 1985, Tora Nine recovered and by the end of June were in third place, 10.5 games behind leader Yakult, but by the end they were 21 games behind the leader . Finished in 5th place. Kuji entered the opening lineup against Hiroshima (April 5, Hiroshima) as the “#2 shortstop” and got off to a good start with 2 hits and 1 RBI in 4 at-bats. As one of Hanshin’s most notable players, he was selected by fan vote to participate in the All-Star Game, which was his fourth appearance.
In the game against the Giants (Tokyo Dome) on August 21, pitcher Hiroki Makihara singled at No. 3, his highest number of the season. In fact, it was a year in which he performed even better than ever, reaching the required batting average for six consecutive years since his first year with the team. Even though infielder Makoto Imaoka was added as the No. 1 draft pick in 1996, there is always competition from rivals. As expected, I wasn’t expecting the exchange.
He was informed after the last game of the season on October 12. “Kameyama’s (Tsutomu) retirement ceremony was held that day, so Sekikawa (Koichi)’s wife and I, who both know Kameyama, came to the stadium to watch. After the game, Sekikawa-san and I both knew Kameyama We planned to have a dinner in Osaka with Mr. Kameyama. After finishing the meeting about autumn training and other things, we went to the parking lot and Sekikawa-san and his wife met. After I chose her I I got in and out of the car, my cell phone rang.”
He said he didn’t come out at first. “It was a phone number I didn’t know. But after that, the calls kept ringing and my wife asked, ‘Who is this?’ and she said, ‘When you answer.’ Mr. Kazuyoshi. I didn’t have Mr. Nishiyama’s cell phone number registered, so I didn’t know him. On the phone, he said, ‘Oh, thank you. I have something important to talk about now, so please come to Hotel Okura in Kobe. “I want it,” he said.
Swapped for Chunichi with Koichi Sekigawa “I said it’s the only place I don’t like.”
When Mr. Kuji heard this, he couldn’t help but say, “Are you serious? Is this an exchange?” “I hung up and said, ‘I can’t tell you the details over the phone.’ My wife said, ‘What’s wrong?’ and I said, ‘Maybe it’s a trade.’ We both said, ‘Huh? ” Then I got a call from Mr. Sekigawa and said, “I can’t go to dinner, I’m on duty. I was called to work.” I asked, “Wait a minute. Where are you going now?” It was the same place, Okura.”
It was a turn of events that I never expected until just over an hour ago. “When I said to Mr. Sekikawa, ‘Me too,’ he said, ‘Eh, why?” I said, ‘No, it doesn’t matter what you say,’ and we met and went to Okura.” Mr. Sekikawa he was called first. “When he came back, I asked him, ‘Where was he?’ and he replied, “Nagoya.” Before going, I told him that Hoshino’s (Senichi, Chunichi’s manager) house was scary, and I didn’t want to go there. We were talking together.”
Mr. Kuji was then called and, like Mr. Sekikawa, was informed that he would be handed over to Chunichi. “I remember that moment vividly. He said, ‘It’s a two-on-two with (Chunichi’s) Otoyo (outfielder Yasuaki Yasuaki) and catcher Yano (Teruhiro).’ I said, “I’ll be in the paper tomorrow.” When I went back and said to Mr. Sekigawa, “I was in Nagoya too. Looks like it was 2 on 2,” he said, “Are you serious?” But since we were still together, he said, “Well, that was great.” But it turned out that it was.
Hoshino Chunichi finished in last place in 1997, when its base was moved from the narrow Nagoya Stadium to the spacious Nagoya Dome. During the Nagoya Baseball Stadium days, one of the slogans was “strong batting line”, but this didn’t work at the Nagoya Dome, and they switched to a more defensive-oriented style of baseball, leaving Kuji and Mr. Sekikawa in trouble . It was a trade that manager Hoshino completed, also sending in Otoyo, who was a central player, and Yano, who was expected to develop. “Hoshino-san felt like a boss.” For Mr. Kuji, meeting this fighting general also had an impact on his baseball career.
(Shinji Yamaguchi)
#didnt #Chunichi #received #call #unknown #number…Exchange #discovered #wife #Full #count
