a
Roundtable
Discussion

Special Trialogue Mitsuo Tatsukawa × Masayuki Matsunuma × Akihiko Fujita

Passing on the Spirit of Toyo

In the autumn of 1976, the 37th year after joining the Tohto University Baseball League, the Toyo Baseball Club achieved its long-sought first victory.
The three leading players at that time talked about their memories of those days.

Surprised at the tough practice, far harder than that at senior high school

What surprised you the most after joining the Toyo Baseball Club?

Tatsukawa:

Tough practice above everything else. Training at my alma mater, Hiroshima Commercial High School, had also been very hard, but at Toyo University it was much harder. Living in a dorm for the first time, I curled up in a corner of my room.

Fujita:

Matsunuma and I were one year behind Mr. Tatsukawa in university. The long hairstyles of my seniors surprised me the most.

Matsunuma:

I played baseball at Toride Second High School in Ibaraki Prefecture under the guidance of Manager Yukio Kiuchi. At that time, the total number of team members was only 16. However, Toyo Baseball Club had more than 80 members in total, which was overwhelming.

Tatsukawa:

Matsunuma started university after the graduation of his brother (Hirohisa Matsunuma) with whom I formed a battery. Hirohisa had been a strict senior. Therefore, I was impatiently waiting for Matsunuma to join the club, with the intention of paying him back for what his brother had done to me. But watching his great pitches made me think, “I have to be nice to this pitcher.” Ha ha.

Matsunuma:

Thank you.

Tatsukawa:

He had good control and threw a heavy ball. I thought that Matsunuma’s good pitching would enable the team to win a championship. As for batters, Fujita was excellent. He was a genius with the bat.

Matsunuma:

Mr. Tatsukawa’s decision about what pitch to throw was on another level. I got away with pitching just by following his signs

Tenacity to win planted by Manager Takahashi

Tatsukawa:

Manager Takahashi was still in his 20s and very strict. Immediately after I joined the baseball club, he asked me, “What do you want to be in the future?” I remember my answer was “I want to be a professional player.” Thanks to his tough coaching, I could be a professional baseball player. I can’t thank him enough.

Fujita:

Manager Takahashi was committed to winning games. Practice after losing a game was very tough. He planted tenacity to win in our minds.

Matsunuma:

Manager Takahashi liked players difficult to deal with and used them to the fullest extent possible. I am grateful to him for allowing me to play in games even when I was a freshman.

Tatsukawa:

Manager Takahashi was very soft on Matsunuma. It was obvious that the team could not win a championship without Matsunuma’s good pitching.

Matsunuma:

Manager Takahashi allowed me to pitch in many games. I took the mound in 85 games in four years.

Tatsukawa:

At that time, in the Tohto University Baseball League, Komazawa University had outstanding strength.

Matsunuma:

When I was a freshman, I always got hammered.

Tatsukawa:

In the Tohto University Baseball League, the team at the bottom of Division 1 must play a promotion/relegation game with the winning team in Division 2. To avoid this, we had no choice but to go up against our opponent with all our might in each and every game.

Matsunuma:

To me, losing the first game meant taking the mound in three consecutive games.

Tatsukawa:

Manager Takahashi was a sore loser, but he never said, “Win!” in a straightforward manner.

Matsunuma:

We were in big trouble when we lost, though. Ha ha.

Do you think Manager Takahashi built his team through trial and error when he was in his late twenties?

Fujita:

He also changed daily life rules in midstream. Drinking, smoking, and playing mahjong were banned. Even seniors were required to shave their heads.

Matsunuma:

Manager Takahashi declared his determination: “I will do as I like.” He himself participated in fungo fielding drills, whereby we made few errors. My consecutive scoreless innings record (56⅔ inning streak) was largely attributable to the fielding of the team.

Tatsukawa:

I believe that Manager Takahashi decided to do his best. He told us that he was ready to resign any time. Consequently, he served as manager until the age of 70.

Fujita:

I admire him for having led the team with a strong will.

Tatsukawa:

As many as 47 of his former students became professional baseball players. He is nothing less than great manager.

Successful career after graduation attributable to the four years at Toyo University

In autumn 1976, the team achieved its first victory in the league.

Tatsukawa:

I still remember very well the game in which we won the championship. Although it was in the daytime on a weekday, so many students visited Meiji Jingu Stadium that I wondered what had happened. In high school, my team won the championship in the Koshien tournament (annual nationwide high school baseball tournament). The championship won at Meiji Jingu Stadium was something different from winning at Koshien. Winning in the university league was more impressive to me.

Fujita:

In the latter half of the league games, I could not participate in practice due to an injury. Fortunately, however, I was allowed to take part in the championship game, which we won. I remember that I hit an RBI single.

Matsunuma:

Maybe because I devoted myself fiercely to pitching, I hardly remember the game, but I remember I didn’t feel my pitches would become hittable.

Tatsukawa:

When we won, I was glad to have taken good care of Matsunuma. Ha ha. After my graduation, Matsunuma and Fujita, as the ace pitcher and captain, respectively, led the team to its second victory in autumn 1978. Matsunuma, how many wins did you register over the four years?

Matsunuma:

39 wins (currently ranked second in the Tohto University Baseball League in terms of total number of wins).

Tatsukawa:

That is utterly amazing! You must have learned a lot during the four years in the Toyo Baseball Club.

Fujita:

I believe my baseball career after graduation is attributable to those days when I immersed myself in baseball.

Matsunuma:

Thanks to strenuous training at university, I never felt that professional baseball practice was tough.

In closing, please give a message to your juniors.

Tatsukawa:

Do your best at Toyo University, for sure.

Fujita:

I want you to trust your training at university, immerse yourself in baseball, and win a championship before graduation.

Matsunuma:

I currently serve as a club coach. University baseball is not the goal of your baseball career. You still have far to go after graduation. You may be able to unleash your potential someday. Even if things do not turn out the way you want, it is important not to give up until the very end.