Japanese pros conduct baseball clinic

Saipan players watch a Japanese pro bat during a baseball clinic last Sunday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Players from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball are in town and held a short clinic at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield last Sunday.

About 20 youth and adult players on Saipan participated in the one-hour clinic conducted by the seven pros who play for three different teams—Yomiuri Giants, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, and Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

“It was a great clinic even if it was just a short one. We got some tips from the pros and some words of encouragement,” said Virgil Secharmidal, who will be playing in the new season of the Saipan Baseball League.

Secharmidal was joined in the clinic by other Big League players, who will be suiting up in some SBL teams after their division was scrapped from the Saipan Little League Baseball schedule. Major, Junior, and Senior League players also participated in the clinic.

“Continue playing even if it is hard to play. Do your best in every game because some people are watching and they may recruit you to play in college, if not in the pro league,” said Taishi Ohta through an interpreter.

Ohta capped the clinic with a series of power hits. He did not stop swinging until he made the over-the-fence homer, which drew cheers from Saipan players. Ohta used to play for the Yomiuri Giants—the former team of 2013 ALCS MVP Koji Uehara of the Chicago Cubs.

Besides hitting, Ohta, who is now with Nippon, and company taught Saipan players the fundamentals of base running and fielding.

“We’ve been teaching our players the same mechanics in batting and hearing similar tips from the pros makes our young sluggers understand more the proper way of swinging the bat,” said SBL official Tony Rogolifoi, who coordinated the clinic with the Japanese Consulate Office on Saipan.

“We would like to thank the Japanese Consulate Office on Saipan and Mr. Toshio Matsumuro for making this clinic possible and for introducing these pros to us,” Rogolifoi said.

The pros, according to their coordinator A.J. Taniguchi, are on Saipan for personal training. They’ve been frequent visitors of the island as the weather is best for their winter training.

“They train here before going back to Japan to join their teams for a camp. They are preparing for the new season, which will begin at the end of March. They were glad to be able to meet the local players and share with them their knowledge about baseball,” Taniguchi said.