Former professional baseball player and current baseball commentator Gyaos Naito: It's hard because you think it's hard. Just think of it as fun.

■ Profile

In 1986, he joined Yakult as the third draft pick from Toyokawa High School in Aichi Prefecture.
In 1993, in a game against Chunichi Dragons that decided the league championship, he miraculously struck out three batters in a row in the 15th inning of extra time.
He continued to pitch for Lotte and Chunichi Dragons in 1997, retiring in 9. His career record was 36 wins, 29 losses, and 26 saves. During his time with the Yakult Swallows, he was the opening pitcher for two consecutive years, but in the opening game against the Giants in 2, he was hit by a "suspicious home run" by Shinozuka (current coach), which will go down in baseball history. Although he became a tragic hero, his natural cheerfulness captured the hearts of fans, and he continued to have great success thereafter.
2001 - 2004 Masters League: Nagoya 80 Dayzers
From 2013 to 2014, he served as manager of the Niigata Albirex Baseball Club in the BC League, an independent professional baseball league.
He is currently active as a baseball commentator and TV personality.

Gyaos Naito joined the Yakult Swallows as the third pick in the draft in 1986. He was nicknamed "Gyaos" due to his bright and energetic personality, and has since been active as both a popular professional baseball player and a baseball commentator. At the core of Naito's presence, whether in the world of sports or variety shows, is his desire to have fun.

■ A period of building a foundation where misunderstandings proved beneficial

　I started playing baseball when I was in the second grade of elementary school. I started practicing hitting the ball against a wall by myself in the hopes of joining a local softball team. I continued hitting the ball against a wall for the next two years, and finally made it onto the softball team in the fourth grade.

　However, when I decided to become a pitcher, I discovered a shocking truth. I had always practiced throwing overhand. In softball, I was an underhand pitcher (laughs). I wanted to be a pitcher, but I had only practiced throwing overhand, so the coach told me, "You're big, so you should play center field." Because of this, I was selected as the fourth batter in center field in my fourth year, even though I hadn't had any batting practice. However, my glovework had improved immensely thanks to hitting the ball against the wall. The team won the championship twice during my time there, and I believe I contributed greatly to that.

　To tell you the truth, I've never been taught my pitching form by anyone, either before or since I became a professional. When you're pitching against a wall, you normally draw a square on it. But I drew home base, which is supposed to be buried in the ground, on the wall (laughs). And this worked. The tip of home base was right in the middle and low. Other pitchers would try to throw the ball to a good spot, which would result in the ball being a ball, but I was able to throw it without having to think about it too much.

■My first thought: "Am I not cut out for this job?"

　My generation was called the "Nomo generation." That's why I wanted to make my debut earlier than other players my age and do well, so I made the opening day first team in my first year as a pro. To the world, it's the "Nomo generation," but to me it's also the "Gyaos generation."

　However, during that first professional appearance, I thought, "I'm not cut out for this job" (laughs). I was shaking, and I couldn't keep my feet on the ground. It was a game against the Giants at Jingu Stadium, with 48,000 fans in attendance, and it was even being broadcast on TV. I felt like, "Of course it's impossible to pitch in an environment like that." That's why my performance in my first year was so poor. But from the middle of my second year, I started to be able to pitch with a calm mind, even though I heard hecklers. I also started to naturally feel the raw fighting spirit to bark.

The man who changed the color of the foul pole from white to yellow

　I was the opening pitcher in Manager Nomura's first game in 1990. It was a game against the Giants at Tokyo Dome, and Shigeo Nagashima was the commentator. Nomura loved surprise tactics, and he told the media, "A left-handed pitcher is effective against the left-handed batters in the Giants' batting line-up." Even though I (a right-handed pitcher) was the opening pitcher, Nomura's storytelling skills fooled the media, players, and fans into thinking a left-handed pitcher would be coming. Even I was so worried that I wondered if he was really the opening pitcher.

　That day, I couldn't keep my composure, and I thought to myself, "I wonder what it would be like in an upside-down Tokyo Dome?", so I suddenly did a handstand. The moment I did it, the people around me were shocked. Then, when the starting pitcher was announced and "Pitcher Naito" was called, screams of "It's him!" rang out.

　Then, a major incident occurred. In the bottom of the eighth inning, with Yakult leading 3-1, and with no outs and a runner on second base, the Giants' Kazunori Shinozuka was up to bat. The moment Shinozuka hit the ball, first base umpire Harunobu Osato swung his arms around, shouting "Home run!" even though it was a foul. It was a major misjudgment. That day, the umpire system had changed from six to four, and all the conditions really came together. Umpire Osato's comment, "The white of the pole and the white of the ball are overlapping," was the catalyst that caused the foul pole, which was originally white, to change color to yellow. So, I'm the man who changed the color of the foul pole.

■ Creating a big game that led to Yakult's consecutive championships in 92 and 93

　There is another memorable episode that happened when Chunichi Dragons and Yakult Dragons were competing for the championship in 1993. Nomura had 10 rules for winning the championship, and one of them was "not to lose three consecutive games against the same team."

　However, in a three-game series against Chunichi, Chunichi won two in a row and lost the third game 2-1. Yakult's main batter, Ikeyama, hit a home run with the count at 2-1 or 2-2 to tie the game, and the game continued into the bottom of the 15th inning, with Yakult on the defensive. "When Naito comes to clean up for Chunichi, he'll take over," I was told, and before I knew it, the clean up hitters were up with the bases loaded and no outs, and it was my turn to pitch. That year, we were performing poorly, and I was thinking, "It doesn't matter if the team loses three games in a row; if I get hit, I'll be sent straight to the second team." The batters we faced were Powell, Ochiai, and Hikono. I struck out all three in a row. I did something incredible. That game marked the start of Yakult's rapid rise, and they went on to win consecutive championships in 1992 and 1993.

　I created a big game that even Nomura said to me, "That game in 93 was a turning point for me." The lesson I learned there was to not expect a good result, but to create an escape route for myself and do my best. The most uncool thing is a forced walk, followed by a grand slam home run. I told myself that if I didn't do those two things, it wouldn't be my fault. So I didn't get discouraged against Powell, and I kept pitching inside pitches, which led to a good result.

■ Gyaos Naito goes where he is needed

　After retiring from professional baseball, I began to think, "Why am I alive?" and decided to go somewhere where I'm needed. I currently provide baseball commentary on the radio and teach baseball to children at an elementary school in Hachioji. Eight years ago, I also had the opportunity to manage a team in Niigata. When I was first offered the job, I turned it down, but at that moment, I found myself thinking about what it means to be a manager and simulating what I would do if I were a manager. In the end, I wanted to lose so much that I'd get fired, but I ended up winning so much that I got fired (laughs). I really enjoyed my time in Niigata. So, even though Shinjo became the manager, I also want to be a manager for a professional baseball team. He's a more interesting person than me, but I want to compete with him in some way.

■Show your own style!

　What color are you? I want to tell all the university students to keep radiating your own aura. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, if you give off a gloomy aura, you'll only attract gloomy people. A happy aura is definitely more fun than a gloomy aura. I also left a comment to Ichiro saying, "For the same amount of practice time, do you think it's fun or painful? It's painful because you think it's hard. Just think of it as fun," and it seems he remembered it, and I made him say, "That was helpful" (laughs).

Student Newspaper Online Soka University 4th year student Midori Yamauchi