| "Go, Team, Go! The Stars of Atlanta!" | Reporters: Yuichiro and Misaki Suzuki Click here for Yuichiro's and Misaki's article. |
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Japan's baseball team to the Atlanta Olympics held a training camp at the Tohoku Fukushi University's baseball field from June 27, for a period of 6 days. As we watched tensely from the bench, we saw ace hitter Kosuke Fukudome get hurt when a ball hit him. The balls thrown were as fast as those in a real game and we realized that training for the Olympics was serious business. After the practice session, we had our first interview. We asked third baseman Makoto Imaoka, "How many hours do you practice?" He answered, "We practice for about four hours daily, doing stamina training, batting and pitching, in successive turns." Our next question was, "In the Olympics, which team do you most want to win against?" He firmly answered, "I would like to win against Cuba, one of the major contenders for the gold medal." We asked one of the pivotal players on the team, Akita Prefecture native Hitoshi Ono, what he thought about the atmosphere of the ball players. He replied that the members were cheerful and in good spirits, with just the right amount of tension as the time for the Olympic Games near. Mr. Ono's eyes seemed to sparkle as he affirmed, "We want to win a medal and bring honor to Japan." To our final question, "How do you throw a forked ball?", he answered by taking my(Yuichiro's) hand and shaping it into the correct form for the forked ball. I might be able to throw a forked ball when my hands get bigger. Someday, I hope to strike out batters with my forked ball. |
 There were a total of 20 players, including Mr. Imaoka. Whether during practice or actual games, or even answering our questions, he was always serious and sincere. (Mr. Ono, too!) |
| Yuichiro and Misaki said with feeling, "We will cheer them on in front of our television set!" The game on August 2 will decide the winner. We fervently hope that Japan wins the gold medal. |  |