"Gurazeni" is a cutting-edge baseball manga that depicts the intimate relationship between professional baseball and money. It has become a hot topic for its detailed portrayal of the players competing realistically in the glamorous world of professional baseball. It is precisely because of this kind of manga that some of the most memorable quotes are uttered. In this article, we will introduce some of the memorable phrases that have appeared in "Gurazeni".
1. "Money is buried in the ground" by Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!, Kodansha
This phrase expresses the content of "Gurazeni", which is also the title of this manga. Even in the industry of professional baseball, which may seem like a glamorous world full of dreams, in reality, it represents the harsh reality that people have to earn money every day to survive. If you don't produce results, it's hard to make money as a professional baseball player, but if you produce results on the field, your salary will increase. The phrase "there's money buried under the field" really sums up the world of professional baseball. Natsunosuke Onda and his teammates struggle every day in this world.
2. "Thinking about life after retirement - It's not really refreshing, but that's what being a professional is all about!" - Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!, Kodansha
Although Natsunosuke Bonta is a professional baseball player himself, he is always thinking about his annual salary and life after retirement. Taking all of this into consideration, he feels that his current annual salary is not good enough, but the idea of constantly thinking about such things while working in the dream job of a professional baseball player is quite different from what one would imagine. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that most professional baseball players continue playing baseball under these conditions. Only a few star players are able to receive high annual salaries of tens or hundreds of millions. Considering the actual working hours of a professional baseball player, most players are paid salaries that are not that high. For this reason, they have no choice but to choose to continue working after retirement. This is one comment that shows the harsh side of professional baseball.
3. "I can't take advantage of the opportunities I'm given... I was a small-time player" - Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!, Kodansha
Natsunosuke Bonta is a left-handed relief pitcher for the Jingu Spiders. Among professional baseball players, starting pitchers tend to have higher annual salaries than relief pitchers, so even Bonta Natsunosuke, who is suited to being a relief pitcher, aspires to be a starting pitcher. Sometimes, when there are not enough starting pitchers, Bonta Natsunosuke gets a chance to start, but he is unable to take advantage of the opportunity. For professional baseball players to become mainstays or stars, it is important to seize the opportunity. Only by producing results in the few opportunities given to you, such as one start or one pinch hit, can you step up as a player, but it seems that you need mental strength to remain calm in order to seize that opportunity.
4. "The type that hits well in unimportant places and the type that hits when it matters" - Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!・Kodansha
This is what Natsunosuke Bonta said about why batters who have similar results receive different annual salaries and are perceived differently by their teams. When watching professional baseball, you may have seen players who hit home runs when they are losing by a large margin, but then strike out when they have a chance and are close behind. These players are certainly hitting, but they don't make a great impression. Professional baseball is a world where winning is everything. No matter how well you perform with your bat, if it doesn't lead to the team's victory, it will be in vain. This quote clearly shows that in order to make a living as a professional baseball player, it is very important to perform well in important situations.
5. "Even in professional baseball... it's a world where you always go and buy safe stocks..." Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!, Kodansha
A manga artist who came to interview Natsunosuke Bonta told him that he was planning to write a manga about a relief pitcher for his next series. However, rather than starting a new series with a relief pitcher, he decides that it would be better to write a sequel to a manga that has been selling well up until now. In this way, in the world of manga, when there is a risky stock in the form of a new series and a safe stock in the form of a popular existing work, it seems that there are times when one has no choice but to choose the safe stock, but this is not limited to the world of manga. Even in the world of professional baseball, there are many times when a manager makes the choice to buy a safe stock when it comes to tactics, etc. In the case of Natsunosuke Bonta, it would be safer to use Natsunosuke Bonta as much as possible when facing a strong left-handed hitter. In that situation, when you are forced to make a choice between keeping the pitcher or replacing him with Natsunosuke Bonta, you will want to rely on the safe stock.
6. "Compared to starting pitchers, aren't relief pitchers overwhelmingly worn out in the bullpen? If you look at it over a long period of time...! Maybe it's even more than comparable...!" Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!, Kodansha
"Gurazeni" is a rare baseball manga in which the main character is a relief pitcher. In it, the movements of a relief pitcher during a game are described in detail. Basically, a relief pitcher watches the flow of the game and then repeatedly warms up his shoulder and rests. It is not uncommon for a pitcher to not be called on that day, despite having thrown dozens of pitches in the bullpen. Given this current situation, the words point out that the difficulty is completely different between a starting pitcher who throws around 100 pitches once a week and a relief pitcher who throws dozens of pitches every day, including the bullpen. It is true that starting pitchers are prominent in professional baseball, but if you look at the frequency of injuries and the short number of years of active duty, you can see that a relief pitcher has a tougher job.
7. "Of course, you should sprint to first base, but unlike amateurs, professionals don't make errors easily" - Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!・Kodansha
When a batter hits a grounder to the infield, he runs to first base, but this is a question posed by Natsunosuke Bonta about whether or not to sprint at full speed. Surely, sprinting would leave a better impression on the manager and fans. It would also increase the chances of being safe due to an opponent's mistake. But you're still a professional baseball player. The chances of making an error on a simple grounder to the infield are less than a few percent. Moreover, if you continue to sprint at full speed, fatigue will accumulate over the long season, and it could even cause injuries. It's a little difficult to say whether it's a good idea to sprint at full speed every time a grounder to the infield hits.
8. "You could say it's the determination to hit a home run... If you're strong at hitting, you'll hit one dirty hit when you get to bat three times" - Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!, Kodansha
Professional baseball players are paid for the results they produce. For batters, the season's records such as batting average, home runs, and RBIs greatly affect their annual salary. In other words, from a batter's perspective, they want as many hits as possible. Even if it's a dirty hit or a slow hit, as long as it's a hit, it will be recorded as one. Such players are filled with the determination to hit at least one hit a day. The impression is completely different between finishing the day with no hits and hitting one hit. It also affects the starting lineup for the next game. Because of these circumstances, it can be said that there is a world of difference between whether or not you hit a hit in one game.
9. "I got hit in the worst possible place... but I wouldn't have known if I hadn't been hit here" - Natsunosuke Bonta
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!, Kodansha
Natsunosuke Bonta improved the power of his pitches with advice from batting pitcher and scorer Kuriki. He gets used to the pleasure of jamming the batter, but at the same time, his control deteriorates. This causes him to throw the ball too softly at crucial moments and get hit. Reflecting on this, Onda returns to pitching that makes use of his original control. When people become attractive, they tend to lose sight of themselves. However, there are some things that can only be understood by experiencing painful failure.
10. "Professional players have incredible athletic ability, but they still make mistakes because they're under incredible stress," says a fan in the stands.
Source: Gurazeni © Moritaka Yuji, Adachi Keiji/Sky PerfecTV!, Kodansha
When you watch professional baseball players, you can see the difference between good players and bad players at first glance. However, even if a player seems bad at first glance, he or she is a sports elite who has overcome tough competition to become a professional. Also, competing at such a high level is an incredibly tense experience. These words remind us that even professionals make mistakes.
Summary
Source: Gurazeni ©Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi/Sky PerfecTV!・Kodansha
As it depicts professional baseball from a different angle, there were many words that were unique to "Gurazeni". These words may have some commonalities with our daily lives. Please keep an eye on "Gurazeni" which depicts professional baseball and money in the future.
