The Japan Winter League, where the world crosses paths

At the end of last year, 125 baseball players from around the world gathered for a month of baseball immersion in the Japan Winter League, a Japanese winter league held in Okinawa.

Players were sent by their teams to gain real-world experience to try to make the next leap forward. Some are desperately trying to show themselves in front of scouts in order to win a new contract. The players who gather in Okinawa in the winter have various things in their hearts.

One change has occurred since last year, when NPB teams began sending their players to the Japan Winter League (JWL). pitcher Last year, Tohoku Rakuten Eagles and Naoto Nishiguchi pitcher, and this year, The Giants and pitcher and Fukuoka Softbank and Ryotaro Sawayanagi pitcher, all with solid first-team records, have increasingly chosen the JWL, which is held in warmer Okinawa, as a place to recover from their injuries.

After a three-year hiatus, Czech Republic national team candidates head to Okinawa in winter

And just like them, there was one pitcher who came across the ocean to Okinawa in the winter to make a fresh start: right-hander Boris Vecherka, 22, who has signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 and is being touted as a potential 2026 WBC Czech Republic representative.

"I just wanted to throw in the game."

Boris briefly explained the reason for joining JWL. The last time he threw for regular season was in October 2022 in the Czech League post season. He then went to a showcase in the United States, where he was recognized for his pitch and signed with the MLB Arizona Diamondbacks. However, the following year, he broke his elbow. In the end, he had to undergo two Tommy John surgeries in his three years in the United States.

"The rehab period was really long, and to be honest, I didn't expect the time I wouldn't be able to throw for this long. I couldn't decide on the second surgery easily, but I decided that if I had the chance to throw properly again, I should do it."

After a period of rehabilitation, he was finally able to throw, but the Diamondbacks did not wait for him, who had never pitched during that time, and he was out of power. baseball Boris chose JWL, which he had heard from his former teammates, as a place to start his career as a player again.

"Throwing with a bullpen is completely different from throwing in a game. I came to this place because I had a hitter, I had a count, and I wanted to regain the feeling of throwing in it."

The return to action will be on November 24th, the second game of the opening game. The powerful ball from the 192 cm and 102 kg giant body hits the 150 km/h range in a row. The fastball was released from a three-quarter position, so it sometimes went into the in-course of the right-handed hitter and hit the opponent's batter with a grounder. The fastest speed was 156 km/h, and it was a powerful pitch content that did not feel like a blank for three years.

"I think it was very good for the first game of my comeback. I was able to compete in the strike zone and threw the ball as I intended."

In addition, there was another ball in this game that could threaten the surrounding area. It was a large sideways bending slider, commonly known as a "sweeper".

From the rehabilitation stage when I couldn't throw, I thought about what kind of pitches I would need when I returned to competition. fastball I can throw with the same arm swing as I did in the past, and I can hit a ground ball with a sideways change. I have been practicing this since a month before I came to Okinawa, and I think the sweeper fits my current pitch style."

The current situation as seen by a long-time friend, the Czech national team coach

This JWL is also coincidentally attended by Alex Dahak, who is the hitting coach of the Czech national team, as a coordinator. He was catcher during his playing days and has seen Boris work as a manager in the Czech league. I asked Alex how he saw Boris throwing for the first time in a long time.

"The most important thing for pitcher after Tommy John surgery is the reproducibility of the pitch. Rather than being able to throw a strong ball, can it be thrown in the same place with the same arm swing? He is a powerful pitcher by nature, but he can not only steal struck out with force, but also make him hit ground balls, so he is the type that is easy to assemble from a catcher perspective. I think adding a sweeper to his pitch is a logical choice in that sense."

This appearance in the JWL will be a "judgment material" for joining the Czech national team. Although he was registered as a candidate for the national team in the previous tournament, he was not given a chance to pitch due to the judgment of his club, and then an elbow failure was revealed.

"I choose the national team not based on his past performance, but on what he can do now. Nothing is set in mind at the moment, but I think adding a different type of pitcher like him to the Czech national team, which has a lot of command (control) pitcher, will expand the options for the team."

Will this unknown powerhouse head back to the world stage?

Boris himself is calm about the current situation.

"Of course I want to be selected for the national team. But right now, I'm at the stage of building up the skills I need to do one by one. At first, it was all I could do just to keep up with the speed of the game, but with each time I pitch, I feel like I'm getting better little by little. Right now, I'm more concerned with seeing how my body reacts than with the results."

Boris continued to pitch well after that, pitching in seven games as a relief pitcher in the JWL. Although ERA was in the fives, closer runs at zero in the last three games, and just when he was in good form, the league's one-month run came to an end.

"With each pitching appearance, my physical reactions have improved little by little. I still have some issues to work on, but I feel like I was able to make adjustments while pitching in games. Above all, it was great that I was able to continue pitching in actual games."

After leaving Okinawa, he posted photos of himself training at a training facility in the United States on his social media, continuing his efforts to further improve his condition.

Boris Večerka made his first appearance in a game in three years, confirming his current standing as pitcher. While he hasn't yet decided on a team, if he is selected for the Czech Republic national team for the 2026 WBC, there is a possibility he will pitch against Japan.

How will Japanese batters respond to this unknown, powerful pitcher hasn't pitched in regular season for three years and for whom data from other countries is limited? We hope to see his name on the national team roster, which will be announced soon.

Text by Makoto Iwakuni