Major League Baseball Japan
Major League Baseball brings smiles to the areas affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake!
Approximately 150 children had their first baseball experience with local superstar Hideki Matsui
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Major League Baseball Japan (Representative: Sami Kawakami, Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as MLB Japan) and Matsui 55 Baseball Foundation (Representative Director: Hideki Matsui, Establishment: United States) are pleased to announce that Major League Baseball Japan (Representative: Sami Kawakami, Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as MLB Japan) and Matsui 55 Baseball Foundation (Representative Director: Hideki Matsui, Establishment: United States) With Hideki as a guest, “PLAY BALL” will be held on May 5th, which is also Children’s Day, in honor of Matsui’s uniform number 55, where children will be able to experience baseball and have fun while learning the basics of baseball. It was held in Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture.
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/44169/23/resize/d44169-23-48c0fd5de0e0dd6dd928-0.jpg&s3=44169-23-fd29f99e36c866905469ab3a8d19348a-2851×1900.jpg] Guest Hideki Matsui and children who participated in MLB PLAY BALL Approximately 150 people participated in the PLAY BALL, including those from Suzu City, Wajima City, Nanao City, Noto Town, Anamizu Town, and Shiga Town, which are said to have been particularly affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that occurred in January of this year. children were invited.
This event was made possible by MLB Japan and Hideki Matsui’s shared desire to bring smiles to the faces of children in the
disaster-stricken areas.
Not only did the children enjoy pitching, batting, base running, and ball catching with local superstar Matsui, but they were also very excited about the batting that was suddenly demonstrated in front of them. In the final talk corner, the children asked direct questions such as, “How did you learn to hit home runs?” Matsui answered with a smile, “Swing hard and hitting accurately.In order to do that, you have to make mistakes.” It was an unforgettable day, and he answered, “I don’t care, I just have to practice a lot.”
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/44169/23/resize/d44169-23-6b6e84c632af37911b85-1.jpg&s3=44169-23-211b8a59116f1055344aa62b9e010f13-2851×1900.jpg] Hideki Matsui gives direct batting instruction
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/44169/23/resize/d44169-23-b08c749d8a3c25ef1016-2.jpg&s3=44169-23-f02b9400fc5d26b2af010287d39f8d03-1458×972.jpg] Hideki Matsui gives direct batting instruction
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/44169/23/resize/d44169-23-b3b5b974e3f6625e7809-3.jpg&s3=44169-23-08fb98caaf3a4536db9cce7ff92008a4-3000×2000.jpg] Hideki Matsui shows off his free batting and challenges for a home run. After the event, Mr. Matsui addressed the parents of the participants and said, “I think there are many people who have been forced to live a very difficult life due to this earthquake. I hope that you can look forward and hope for a better future, and spend as much time as possible with your children.”
Additionally, MLB Japan representative Kawakami said: “MLB holds “PLAY BALL” around the world to promote baseball. This is the third year since it arrived in Japan, and this time, it is held in Ishikawa Prefecture with a strong desire to “bring smiles to the children affected by the disaster.” We have decided to implement this with this in mind. This “PLAY BALL” became a special event thanks to the cooperation and guidance of MLB legend Hideki Matsui from Ishikawa Prefecture. I hope that it will be an opportunity for the children who participated, as well as their parents and other families who came to observe, to look forward and stay healthy.”
MLB Japan will be donating gloves, bats, and ball sets to all kindergartens and daycare centers in Suzu City, Wajima City, Nanao City, Noto Town, Anamizu Town, and Shiga Town, all of which are particularly hard hit by the earthquake. We are collaborating with Ishikawa Prefecture to achieve this goal.
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/44169/23/resize/d44169-23-57af852d74c091671aeb-4.jpg&s3=44169-23-b45f9d490b9820669f3ec3ba8277f7e2-2148×1432.jpg] Glove presentation ceremony (MLB Japan representative Sami Kawakami presents gloves to children representing each city/town)
About PLAY BALL (http://www.mlb.jp/playball/)
PLAY BALL is a youth participation event held by MLB in locations throughout the United States and Canada. In Japan, it was held for the first time in 2022 as an event where children with no or little experience in baseball can develop their mind and body through baseball, share the fun with friends, and experience the basics of baseball play.
Children are always invited to this event for free, and after the event, we will give away gifts such as bat and ball sets and T-shirts to encourage them to start playing baseball or softball.
We are widely recruiting local governments to cooperate with us for the future of our children.
For many years, MLB has continued to work with local communities in the United States and Canada to enrich the future of children through the promotion of baseball.
MLB Japan is also broadly recruiting local governments to support and cooperate with this initiative to expand the future possibilities of children.
If you are a local government or organization that is interested in this initiative, please contact us below.
PLAY BALL Management Office: info@mlbplayball.jp
More details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000023.000044169.html