As I arrived I thought I wanted to bring Japanese baseball to New Zealand... I haven't forgotten the refreshing feeling I had when I got to the airport. It was exactly one year ago, in January 2014, that I went to Auckland.
The reason for deciding to travel to this country, which was totally unknown to me, came about one year before that. I had retired from DeNA and it was a time when I was at a loss what to do with myself. With the opening of the 3rd World Baseball Classic (WBC) I got a job doing commentary for a TV station. I wondered what country I would be going to. I checked and was surprised to hear New Zealand, Germany, South Africa, The Philippines... To be honest it was hard for me to connect any of these countries to baseball.
When I was 6, I started playing baseball, became a pro and participated in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the 1st WBC as a representative of Japan in 2006. Even so, I didn't know much about world baseball at all.
At that time I was puttering about while working hard at my rehabilitation so that I could return to active status or perhaps I would retire. This job was a big chance and made me think I could have a second life in baseball. I realized I would have to learn a lot about world baseball. I wondered if Japanese baseball could contribute to world baseball. I wondered how many old pros were active in making baseball more popular. I wondered if the sport of baseball would become global. I'm the type of person that makes up his mind to do something and puts it into action. With a vision of living in New Zealand with my family, I began to feel strongly that I wanted to be involved in making baseball more popular there.
It's hard to associate New Zealand with baseball. I even felt so myself. Starting with the 3rd WBC it has become a “developing country” of baseball. As of the present, Baseball New Zealand, where I work as assistant to the general manager, appears in world tournaments with teams from five categories from 12 and Under to the Top National Team.
Of course, the environment for baseball is not completely ready yet. There aren't any purpose built stadiums with stands like those used for professional baseball in Japan and there isn't a pro league right now. To improve this situation what's sorely needed is support from the government and other organizations.
However, in New Zealand there are the All Blacks, as the national rugby team is called. It goes without saying that they are a rugby powerhouse. So there is potential among the people of New Zealand. I wonder what I can do. I want to make an honest contribution to repay the world of Japanese baseball, which brought me up. Also, I've started writing this column because I want to tell Japanese baseball fans about the situation there and my activities.
著者プロフィール
- 清水直行（しみず なおゆき）
- 1975年11月24日生まれ 京都府出身。日大、東芝府中を経て、99年にドラフト2位でロッテに入団。2002年から5年連続で規定投球回、2桁勝利を継続し、エースとして活躍。05年は31年ぶりの日本一にも貢献した。04年のアテネ五輪、06年の第1回ワールド・ベースボール・クラシック（ＷＢＣ）に日本代表として出場。10年から横浜（現:横浜DeNA）。プロ12年間で通算105勝、防御率4.16。現役引退後は、ニュージーランド野球連盟ゼネラルマネジャー補佐、同国の代表統括コーチを務める。
