Nippon-Ham-Ham Fighters catcher Yuya Gunji attended the Mizuno Brand Ambassador Meeting held at the Mizuno Osaka headquarters in Osaka City on the 5th. He was appointed as a new ambassador for the company this offseason, and he made preparations for next season by carefully discussing business tools such as gloves, mitts, and spike.
On this day, some of the most representative players in baseball, including Cubs' Suzuki Seiya, gathered. "Looking at the various equipment used by all the players, I realized that they all really put a lot of effort into it. I too must strive to perfect my skills as a professional," he commented, nodding. "As for catcher, I had the opportunity to touch the mitts of (DeNA) Yamamoto and others, and they were mitts that were carefully designed with ease of use in mind. There were many aspects that were useful in my quest for stability," he added.
A one-shot long hit that makes use of the catcher-like "reading", and a right-handed skillful hitter that can also hit the team using baseball IQ. catcher He is trusted by Coach Shinjo as a super utility player who can protect outfield while registering, and the opening starting line-up for next season has already been decided as "No. 4 and third". On the other hand, because he can defend multiple positions, there are too many types of "glove (laughs)". This season, he revealed that he carried a total of 7 gloves with him during the expedition, and the grab case was also custom-made this time.
He plans to play with several "copycat gloves" next season. "There were a lot of great players in each category (infield), so I'm using them as reference, or rather, I'm basically copying them. I'm going to steal glove techniques of the great players in each position who are particular about their skills," he said with a grin. "I used our infielder Tatsuki Mizuno 's as reference, so the only change I'll make is to go up in size, but mitt is from Kinoshita of Chunichi Dragons, and outfield 's is from Kuwahara of Seibu Lions Lions," he said, immediately getting to work during the meeting.
His shoe size is also 29cm. He said the person in charge was surprised and said, "They said, 'Your feet are big.' They said the average man's shoe size is 25.5cm, so I realized just how big I am. My extremities are all big. My head, hands, and feet are big." In typical humorous style, Gunji said, "I asked them to make a huge training cap. Even though it's a free size, I can't fit into it. I asked them to make a free size that fits Gunji. It may not be released, but they may make a custom order. They seem to be able to accommodate everything," showing his confidence in the "technical capabilities" of Mizuno, a company he has used for many years.
A brand ambassador contract is said to be a sign of first-class quality. At the end, he expressed his gratitude, saying, "They listened to everything I had to say, and I felt that it was really thorough. It made me really want to contribute to Mizuno's growth."
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