And one hapless colleague was dragged into helping.
A lot of people like to complain about their bosses because they’re overbearing, micromanaging, irritating, bullying–what have you. But not so at SoraNews24. We have different complaints about our boss Yoshio. He frequently comes up with ideas that are hairbrained at best, and which often end badly.
Take his most recent venture for example. Inspired by a string of exciting Japanese baseball news stories over the last few weeks and the opening of the U.S. pro baseball season, Yoshio stood in the middle of the office, heaved a great sigh, and said, “Man, I wish I could practice baseball!” When our Japanese-language reporter Masanuki Sunakoma, against his better nature, asked him what he meant, Yoshio turned a great smile on him and said, “I’m glad you asked! I’ve invented a revolutionary baseball training method…”
And Masanuki immediately got a bad feeling.
Apparently, it was based on something Yoshio had seen on TV a long time ago, which he’d updated to fit modern times. It required two people, but allowed you to practice baseball endlessly. He wouldn’t shut up about it, so Masanuki reluctantly escorted him out to the SoraHouse out in the country to get it out of his system.
Possibly one of the best ways to practice batting is having some way for the ball to come back to you automatically after you hit it. This isn’t exactly a new idea; in fact, former New York Yankees player Derek Jeter even has products he recommends for such practice. But Yoshio didn’t have any of those in mind. No, what Yoshio decided to do was…
Make something out of 100-yen shop items.
From Daiso, one of our favorite 100 yen shops, Yoshio purchased a fishing pole, a rubber ball, and a plastic bat to make his “genius” device. I think you can tell where he was going with this. You simply attach the ball the end of the thread of the fishing rod and hit it with the bat as desired. If you send the ball on a home run, you won’t have to chase after it but simply reel it back in with the fishing rod.
“Genius, isn’t it?” Yoshio asked. Masanuki sighed and said, “Yes, boss.”
At least one good thing about it was that it was easy and quick to assemble. In no time Yoshio was ready to practice, and Masanuki was recruited to stand in the position of catcher and hold the fishing pole in a way that made it easy for Yoshio to hit the ball.
And so Yoshio’s Baseball Training Camp commenced.
Oh!
Oh?
Oh…
“I guess the fishing line broke,” Yoshio said as he came traipsing back with the errant ball in hand.
It seemed like the string wasn’t strong enough to withstand the force of the hit. Maybe this wasn’t going to work out after all, Masanuki hoped. Maybe Yoshio would give up and he could go home. He put on a sad face and started to say, “Well, I guess that’s–”
“I know!” Yoshio cried, cutting him off. “I’ll double layer it! It’ll be fine!!”
And so, to Masanuki’s horror, Yoshio’s Baseball Training Camp continued.
Surprisingly, the double layer of fishing line held up, and our two middle-aged reporters practiced baseball all through the afternoon.
So if you know a child who loves baseball but is thinking about quitting because they can’t find anyone to play with, maybe you can recommend they go to Daiso and pick up these inexpensive item to practice with. No doubt it’ll make them fall in love with baseball even more.
…Well, maybe just play catch with them instead.
At least this is better than that time he tried to hatch a giant chocolate egg. Boy, wasn’t that a disaster?
Images © SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]