On March 31, Motonobu Tanishige and Tomoya Satosaki appeared on the fourth broadcast of "Mondays Also Go to Patere" on the official YouTube channel of PERSOL Pacific League TV. With Tadashi Settsu as a guest, they reviewed last weekend's opening card from their respective perspectives. This time, we'll bring you some "spills" that didn't make it into the broadcast.

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On Sunday, March 30, a rare occurrence occurred in the game between Fukuoka Softbank and Chiba Lotte at MIZUHO PayPay Dome FUKUOKA. With two outs and the tying run on third base, Kazuki Sugiyama pitcher threw a one bounce pitch that went into the protective gear of catcher and Takashi Umino players. By regulation, it was a take one base, which allowed the third runner base to come home, and this was the Chiba Lotte final score.

This unusual incident drew attention to catcher 's protective gear, and Satosaki picked it up as a topic of discussion in the "Monday also goes to Patere" distribution. The two were very particular about how they put on their protective gear, with Satosaki saying, "I put it on snugly so that the ball would never go in," and Taniguchi saying, "I put it on with a little gap between the two.

After the live broadcast, we asked TANIGUIRI about the particulars and evolution of his protective gear during his active career.

First, when asked about the particulars of his protective gear during his playing days, he replied, "When you make it lighter, the material is thinner, so it hurts more because it doesn't repel the ball. But I put up with that for the sake of the team, and had protective gear made to absorb as much of the impact as possible without bouncing the ball," said Taniguni-Mitsu. I was in pain, but I was thinking for the team," he said. Another thing he was particular about was that it had to look cool.

As for the evolution of protective gear, he said, "It's getting better and better.

When I first joined the pros, catcher equipment, including masks, were heavy, but they have gotten lighter, thinner, and stronger, so I have less tension in my neck. Also, (the old protective gear) didn't ventilate well, so when you sweated, it smelled bad! But by the time I retired, that was no longer the case.

As a young player, Taniguchi used protective gear given to him by his former coach and mentor, Akihiko Oya, who told him to use it. The material was so thin and heavy that it was very painful, but he recalls with a smile his memories of playing while enduring the pain, because the balls hit against the protective gear did not rebound so much and could be dropped directly down.

Interview and text by Mayuko Goto

Live Broadcast Program "Mondays at Patere
Distribution date: Every Monday from 9:00 p.m. (scheduled to continue until October during the season)
Destination: PERSOL Pacific League TV's official YouTube channel
Performers: Pro baseball alumni duo will appear on the show on a weekly basis.
(Ginji & Yuji Kaneko / G.G. Sato & guest / Ryota Igarashi & T-Okada / Motonobu Tanishige & Tomoya Satosaki)

Next week on Monday, April 7, Ginji and Yuji Kaneko will appear. Don't miss it!