Do you know Mr. Kuriyama Hideki, a professional baseball manager? He led the team of Japanese representative players to the victory in the WBC Tournament.
Before that, he had supervised the team called Nihon Ham Fighters for 10 years and led them to win the championship in the Japan Series in 2016.
Why was he chosen as manager of the Japanese team for the WBC? It is because he likes baseball very much.
After resigning from the Nihon Ham Fighters, he set up a baseball ground and a museum in Yubari-gun, Kuriyama-cho, Hokkaido.
The reason why he established the ground is that he wants anybody to use it and enjoy baseball for nothing. In the museum, you can see famous players’ uniforms, bats and gloves and so on. To my surprise, you are allowed to touch Matsui’s and Ichiro’s bats and swing them.
The famous players are glad to donate their precious belongings to the baseball museum.
Last year, you don’t deny the fact that Ohtani Shohei was the best baseball player in the world, do you? He is one of Kuriyama’s favorite pupils.
When Ohtani was in the Nihon Ham Fighters, Manager Kuriyama trained him as both a pitcher and a batter. Mr. Kuriyama found out that Shohei had gifts for pitching and batting.
Ordinary managers train a player as either a batter or a pitcher, but Mr. Kuriyama was different. He didn’t stick to a custom in the field of professional baseball.
As a result, Ohtani’s genius was able to flower and he has become the greatest player in the Major League.
The reason why Nihon Ham Fighters won the championship in the Japan Series in 2016 was due to Mr. Kuriyama’s unique supervision.
When he was hired as manager for the team, he was asked, “Are you going to bring new coaches?” He answered, “No, I would like to work with the coaches who have belonged to the team.”
This is another breaking of a custom in the field of professional baseball. As a result, all the coaches and members did their best and achieved the difficult goal.
After graduating from university, Mr. Kuriyama was not spotted and recruited as a potential player. However, he was employed as a trial player by the Nihon Ham Fighters.
He didn’t stand out among the members of his team, because he suffered from a disease called Meniere’s Syndrome.
Mr. Kuriyame, however, he showed his ability as a good defensive player and won the Golden Glove Award in 1989.
One year before the WBC Tournament, he started to prepare for the victory. He went to the US to ask Japanese Major Leaguers to be representatives. Also, he worked out a lot of strategies.
As the tournament drew near, he sometimes had a nightmare to lose a game and woke up with sweat at night.
On March 22, 2023, the Japanese team managed to win the final game against the American one, as a score of three to two.
Mr. Kuriyama and all the members were overjoyed to have a great victory for the first time in three tournaments.
When he was asked, “What kind of person should be chosen as a leader?”
He answered, “A person who believes in all the members of a team and loved by them.”
I was impressed by his way of thinking and living. He is one of the greatest treasures in Japan.