Atsushi Nomi gives passionate instruction to a strong Taiwanese school. Activities connecting Pacific League and the future of Taiwanese baseball [Pacific League Taiwan Promotion Part 1]

Pacific League Marketing (PLM) launched promotional activities for Pacific League six teams in Taiwan over three days from September 5 to 7.

With the mission of “increasing the number of new fans for professional baseball”, PLM is constantly aiming to expand the new fan market. The 2025 Pacific League hosted matches are broadcast and streamed in North America, Taiwan, South Korea, and Latin America, but Taiwan is particularly closely linked.

This season, which has been broadcasting and distributing in Taiwan for 12 years, DAZN Taiwan broadcasts and distributes games hosted by Pacific League 6 teams every day. In 2017, Yi-Lei Sun pitcher (now Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters) named Shohei Ohtani, who was a member of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham at the time, as a player he admired in the WBSC U-12 World Cup, and his grandson pitcher must have been watching the broadcast and expanding his dreams.

PLM has been focusing on promoting the Pacific League six teams in Taiwan since exhibiting the booths of the Japan event “YOKOSO Peach Monkey” hosted by the Taiwan Pro baseball Team Rakuten Monkeys the year before last, and last year held the “Waku Waku Japan Festival” jointly planned with the Taiwan Pro baseball Team Fubon Guardians. Kenji Sugitani’s baseball class for local children was well received.

Last year’s Pacific League Taiwan promotion [Part 1]
Last year’s Pacific League Taiwan promotion [Part 2]

And this year, we invited Atsushi Nomi, an alumni of Orix, as a special guest, and held a fan meeting in addition to baseball classes for strong Taiwanese high school baseball teams and a joint event with Fubon for the second year in a row. This time, we will tell you about this year’s Taiwan promotion centered on them, divided into the first part and the second part.

Nomi Atsushi enters bullpen and gives passionate instruction to pitcher of “Taiwan’s Osaka Toin High School”

　台湾入りした9月5日、現地のYouTubeコンテンツの収録に臨んだ能見氏。翌6日は、朝から富邦ガーディアンズの本拠地であり、台湾北部に位置する新北市の新荘球場に赴き、同市の強豪高校・穀保家商の選手たちに向けた野球教室を行った。

　かつてパ・リーグでプレーした楽天モンキーズ・陳冠宇投手や台鋼ホークス・王柏融選手らの母校でもある穀保家商。現在は台湾プロ野球にOBが46名在籍しているほか、楽天イーグルスの王彦程投手、蕭齊投手、北海道日本ハムの孫易磊投手、オリックスの陳睦衡投手、福岡ソフトバンクの張峻瑋投手らを輩出しており、陳冠宇投手は穀保家商を「台湾の大阪桐蔭」と表現するほどの強豪校だ。この日は主に新1、2年生の投手が参加しており、中には元U-15代表やU-18の代表候補の選手も複数いた。

　アップ、キャッチボールの後、早速ブルペンで指導が行われた。能見氏は各選手のフォームをチェックすると、それぞれの選手の課題をすぐさま指摘。特に、多くの選手に共通する課題として挙げられたのは、身体が開いてしまっているという点と、まっすぐ踏み込めていないために力がしっかり伝えられていないという点であった。能見氏は「自分が投げやすい歩幅をしっかり確認してください」、「高校時代はまず、フォーシームできれいな回転のボールを投げることを意識してください」などとアドバイスし、基本の大切さを強調した。

Commemorative photo of the baseball workshop jointly planned by PLM and Fubon [©PLM]

Afterwards, Nomi demonstrated various pitches, including his signature fork. Amid cheers as the players cheered at his beautiful form, just like in his playing days, he gave the players advice on fork, saying, “You can either pinch it or not, but don’t try to drop it. Since you’re all tall, throw it straight and low in the middle, and it will naturally drop. A one-bounce pitch is fine.” Furthermore, regarding slider, he imparted the Nomi style’s emphasis on “reproducible form,” saying, “If you throw it with this grip, it will naturally curve. Don’t try to curve it, but focus on where you release the ball.” Furthermore, in response to a request, he also gave instruction on pickoff throws.

“You can’t see a different picture unless you overcome the challenges” – Golden words to future Taiwanese stars

bullpen After the instruction at the “Kickstarter” session, a Q&A session was held in the room. When the players found it difficult to ask questions in front of Mr. Nomi, he said, “The worst thing for pitcher is that when you go up to mound and things don’t go well, you end up saying, ‘It was a bad day. You have to know what you should do, because even if it goes badly, you should be able to do something. If you do that, you won’t have a major setback,” he advised. The players nodded their heads in agreement.

In response to a coach’s question, “What should I do when I can no longer get strike during a game, but I don’t want to lower my speed? The image is 80% power. The quality of the ball should be better if you throw the ball in a balanced manner rather than trying to swing your arms as hard as you can. Pitching is basically a game of deception with the opponent. A good ball does not = closer possible. If you think about what you need to do to get the hitter to hit the ball, I think it will change,” said Nomi. He called for a change in consciousness and thinking.

In closing, he said, “You are all extremely talented. But it is up to you to make the most of your abilities or kill them. baseball There are many things that can go wrong. Can you face them and overcome them, or do you run away from them? If you don’t overcome it, I don’t think you will see a different view. I think some of them will become professionals from here, so I am very much looking forward to it,” he said in a message of encouragement.

A Q&A session after the training [©PLM]

The players who participated in this baseball clinic are strong candidates to represent Taiwan in the U-18 tournament next year and the year after. Hopefully, the words of wisdom from Coach Nohmi, who played at the forefront of the tough professional world for 18 years until he was 43 years old, will inspire these players to grow exponentially and produce players who will seize the opportunity to play in Pacific League, just like their predecessors.

Showing off the “world’s most beautiful windup” in front of Taiwanese fans

In a joint event with Fubon, a quiz contest and autograph session were held on the outdoor stage after the stadium gates opened. In the quiz contest, questions about Pacific League and Mr. Nohmi were asked, and Mr. Nohmi nominated the respondents directly. The event was a great success, as those who answered the questions correctly were given goods from Taiwanese players who are active on Pacific League. At the autograph session, there were also ardent fans who took Noumi’s goods from his active days and conveyed messages in Japanese.

Afterwards, there was an opportunity for talks with Zhang Yi pitcher, a pupil from his Orix days, Liao Tinglei pitcher, who played for Saitama Seibu, and Shunsuke Suzuki pitcher, a former BC League player who joined Fubon in the middle of this season. Mr. Noumi generously shared his own experience with the junior players, who asked many questions in an effort to make the most of this precious opportunity. I think I finally understand what you were saying before,” said Zhang Yi pitcher, to which Nomi replied with a smile, “It’s too late.

Nomi then took the mound for the first pitch of the day. Wearing a special jersey sleeve with his name on it prepared by Fubon, he performed the “world’s most beautiful windup” in front of the Taiwanese fans, who cheered loudly from the stands.

Nomi’s “world’s most beautiful” windup [©PLM]

In the second part, we will introduce the fan meeting event held in Taipei on September 7th, and the commemorative sale of Taiwan-exclusive Pacific League League merchandise.

Text by Hide Komada