A Japanese high school baseball player is receiving worldwide attention, and it’s all for the wrong reasons.
Japan’s national high school baseball championship is ongoing. Known as the “Summer Koshien,” the event is a nationwide high school baseball tournament that determines the country’s champion. It’s a huge event and receives television coverage.
In one of the semifinals, a No. 8 batter drew attention for his odd approach at the plate.
According to a Google Translate translation, the batter’s name is Ko Yamaguchi. He switches sides of the plate each pitch. From the right side, he crouches into an extremely low stance. From the left side, he’s not as low, but he’s no more interested in trying to swing the bat.
Take a look:
#佐賀 大会 準決勝
🆚#東明館 × #有田工
有田工、3回裏 8番・山口洸
1球ごとに右打席と左打席を入れ替えるスイッチヒッター！
執念の出塁！ #バーチャル高校野球 でライブ中継中❗️📲💻PC・スマホで視聴する▼https://t.co/b6vu58Pk51#高校野球 #地方大会 pic.twitter.com/k7aJR2JCot
— バーチャル高校野球 (@asahi_koshien) July 23, 2022
That’s not baseball, Suzyn.
Yamaguchi ended up reaching base via hit by pitch. But that is one of the most annoying approaches we have ever seen. Was he even trying to bat or just to force a walk or hit by pitch? He would shuffle his feet, fake a bunt, do everything possible to try and annoy the pitcher. It’s fitting that he ended up being hit by a pitch.
In case you’re wondering, rules allow a player to switch which side of the plate they want to hit from during an at-bat. But if the system is abused the way it was in that case, a rule change might be called for.
