A Japanese broadcaster is causing a great controversy with his remarks that disparage the performance of Shohei Otani (28) recently.온라인카지노
Kazuo Tokumitsu (82), a famous entertainer and former announcer, said on a radio program on the 1st, “It is amazing that Ohtani is hitting 14 homers in the month of June (at the time of broadcast). It surpassed what Hideki Matsui recorded in 2007. He also beat Mike Trout (13), the strongest hitter in the major leagues.” Ohtani later added one more, bringing his June home run record to 15.
Regarding this, Mr. Tokumitsu said, “However, if Ohtani stayed in Japan, would he be able to achieve this level? Everyone takes it for granted, but I think it may not be the case.” He pointed out, “I think it is because major league pitchers are too lazy to study Ohtani.”
He continued, “If you play against a Japanese pitcher, you will never be able to hit like this. The scorers (away scorers) are doing a thorough job,” he added. In other words, it means that this kind of home run will not be allowed because Japanese baseball perfectly analyzes the opponent and is excellent at attacking it.
He even repeated his conviction once again. “I’ve said it many times, but American baseball is only second in the world. The best in the world is Japanese baseball.” This story has been repeated several times since winning the WBC last March.
Mr. Tokumitsu (left) hosts his eponymous radio program, Kazuo Tokumitsu’s Tokumori Sunday. Youtube channel capture
Japanese fans are strongly protesting against such remarks. Up to thousands of comments are posted on related articles from each media published on Yahoo! Sometimes there are even exasperated reactions. These are comments that garnered a lot of sympathy from netizens.
‘How can I explain the sluggishness of Suzuki Seiya, who had exceeded 25 for six consecutive years in Japan, after going to the United States? Older players like Hideki Matsui and Shogo Akiyama also lag far behind their Japanese counterparts in the majors. Claiming that Japan is better is absurd nonsense.’
‘It’s ridiculous nonsense. The American stage is where many Japanese hitters have failed. It must be admitted that Ohtani’s current performance is solely due to his outstanding skills. It is unforgivable to blemish the achievements of a big star with pointless quibbles.’
‘On the one hand, that makes sense. Perhaps Japan would never compete. If the count is unfavorable, they will choose a way to break the batting rhythm by sending them out on walks. But it’s good baseball, and I don’t know if it’s the right way.’
Criticism is also rising in the baseball world. Even Jang Hoon (Japanese name Isao Harimoto), a Korean baseball player in Japan, is summoned. One media outlet said, “Tokumitsu’s remarks are reminiscent of Harimoto. It just seems like a nit-picking to get people’s attention,” said an official. Hoon Jang is considered a representative poison speaker. After the WBC, it became a hot topic with the remark, “Is there anyone in the American Baseball Association who knows baseball?”
Another media said, “The Major League is a place where all the star players from each country gather. It is completely different from the WBC, which is a national competition. It was the American team that Japan won. It was also against a limited selection of national teams. It is not appropriate to judge the level of the entire MLB based on that.”
Mr. Tokumitsu, who joined Nippon TV as an announcer and worked as an MC for various entertainment programs, is a famous baseball fanatic. In particular, the anecdote is well known that he was moved by Shigeo Nagashima (former coach of the Yomiuri Giants), who was active in the Tokyo 6 University League as a child, and decided to ‘dedicate everything in my life to Nagashima’.
Afterwards, he became an ardent Yomiuri fan. He participated as a cheerleader that followed the country. When coach Nagashima was dismissed, he issued a protest statement and even canceled his subscription to the Yomiuri Shimbun. He is also the owner of the bat that hit No. 868, the last home run of Oh Sadaharu (Wang Jeong-chi).
During his broadcasting career, he became popular as a pro wrestling broadcaster and show program MC. He even served as anchor for a while, but got off the news by misreading “Japan’s national budget of 5 trillion yen” as “5 yen.” In addition, he is known as a person who makes many mistakes at the level of absurd remarks.
After his retirement, he now works as a freelancer. He has been running a program that bears his name for over 10 years on Japanese TV affiliated with Japan Broadcasting (Radio). It is titled ‘Tokumitsu Kazuo’s Song Sunday’. The remarks at issue this time also come from here.