Zunbara Zuihitsu Chapter 3 "The Truth Behind MoeDora"

 Today, July 5 [2000 as he posted this chapter] completes the production for Moeyo Dragons! 2000. Yet, they lost 13-0, but that's alright. It seems that it would be significant to present this musical piece every year now that it has become more important in recent years.

My favorite Dragons warriors are, in order:

1. Tatenami. I love that man's attitude; timid but wonderful. No matter how well he does, he takes no guts (apparently my least favorite word in the world right now). Only when he receives a timely hit in a tremendous pressure does he runs for it small, under the waist, for a moment, and that's swell. Tatenami should be THE Mister Dragons.

2. Gaillard. He's just beautiful. The Dragons blue [uniform] looks good on him and he delivers the scent of America to home base with a swoon with every pitch. Anyways, it's got an imperial atmosphere to it. I wish he had been registered as Gaillard (different kana spelling).

3. Yoshihara. I watched the CS Western League game last spring, and after it was over, all of the Battery camp held a meeting, and Yoshihara was the only one who cautiously listened to the coach in its entirety, standing there erectly and motionless. There must've been a lot of inhumane slander by the local fans who joined Chunichi from that abnormal team. However, he's gotta cut firmly through a mere unpleasant noise. Yoshihara, take over as a regular! YOSHIHARA GET YOUR POSITION!

4. Lee. I sense it. I sense Korea, the SOUL of SEOUL. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I'm always pursuing my possibilities. I also liked how Jong Bom is uttered. Annyeonghaseyo, Sumida.

5. Fukudome. He looks tough. He looks like he's gonna take a chance. He looks like a big man. He looks cute when the bat rests on his cheeks. He might be a native-born Chunichi clean-up batter.

6. Iwase. The stage had turned in the fall of 1973. I handed off my first guitar, a YAMAHA Panda, out of doubt, insecurity and frustration about my musical life...to an anonymous student whom I passed him by in Sakae Park in Nagoya, who said, "Here, take this". Two years later, the guitar was rediscovered in a music clubroom at Aichi University. The person who found it happened to be my junior at Nishio High, Enomoto. It was a magnificent connection. Enomoto later became a professor in Nishio, teaching the freshmen, and at the same time, became a baseball team manager. The ace of the freshman baseball team is currently the Chunichi setup ace, Hitoki Iwase. It truly was a magnificent connection.

7. Aiko. Around 10 years ago, when I was in Fukuoka in business for the Hakata Zondag event, I visited Heiwadai Stadium with my manager in my spare time. It was the Daiei vs. Lotte game. As someone involved with Chunichi, it was a fascinating game no matter who won or who lost, and immediately after entering the stands and taking my seat, Aiko made a grand slam. That was the first time in my life I've ever seen a grand slam.

8. Kano. In the name of Aichi Prefecture, he has great defense, good base and good baserunning. The bench was foolish enough to keep such great players in reserve.

9. Cao. I sense it. I sense China. Get up and keep up, because I need his base strength!

10. Gomez strikes out with a bang! Por favor, cervessa, bonito, sí sí, lacomida, el mar, Gomez keeps on booming!

There are also players whom they dare to be more bitter, but I still liked them because of Chunichi:

1. Inoue. I ain't satisfied in wearing pink gloves. I ain't taking a hit and do the Osomatsu-kun pose. You always strike out when it matters most. What a waste of a hot-blooded Kyushu man. Be serious!

2. [Ikuhiro] Suzuki. So damn weak; handsome, but damn weak. You must demand an inside pitch. Baseball is a martial art, right? It's a sign of an outdoor pitch change. I'm not a veteran enough to wind up chemistry, but he's Hoshino's favorite child, so be it.

3. Taira Suzuki. What's the matter with you?! You don't seem to have much impact from Orix (Japanese finance company). You felt frustrated when you fell into your second camp. I read in the Chunichi Sports [magazine] that you felt lonely because you couldn't hop on the green car. You should vent it out on the mount. The mount should be emitted from you.

4. Tsuruda. After suffering from his surgery and broke down for two years, the first camp made a comeback. No quick balls? Use the slow balls then.

5. Imanaka. How long have you done anything wrong?! I was disappointed with your irresponsible pitching against that shitty team a few years ago, but I always put my feelings into a song by a Imanaka revival. Just do something good, for goodness sake, you're a genius!

6. Nakamura. If it hurts, tell me it hurts. Be patient and never leave if your hips and legs couldn't help it. Leave it to Yoshihara, so take your time and rest, and I wanna see you in good spirits again.

7. Takeda and Koike. Two people altogether. I hate to use this word, but you two are criminals. You've been very sloppy your farms went out of service. You're good folks, and if it weren't for them, the Chunihi wouldn't win the championship, so never flee!

8. Dingo. Don't even think about pulling off Lee; think about pulling off Gomez. What's the Olympics without that kind of spirit? Roy Saari was great enough for Olympic swimming.

9. Shogo. Your real name is Mori, right? Mori is the name of an established slugger for Chunichi. Of all names, why'd you choose Shogo? I guess you used a very weird name after Ichiro or something, but life is about originality. Just come to the woods!

10. Yamazaki. Please, I swear, don't ever aim for a homerun. Don't sport a grin like Hiromitsu Ochiai after a poor outing. Don't show your artisan spirit like that and strike out. You're just a regular man. You've come a long way desperately working your way up, but you're not that great. It's normal. Let's do that the normal way. When the ball is sending to you, batter up and strike it. And then, what?!  Before you know it, you're a left-fielder. That's what makes you attractive; it's your talent.

Will those bastards ever win the championship this year?

I wonder if the shallowest supervisor will ever show his thin lipped sly smile; it's sending chills down my spine, but the Dragons are gonna do their best. I'm rooting you all with my BABAR. Kudo is a bastard, Eto is a bastard. You guys can go the hell!

Anyways, Moeyo Dragons! 2000, sung by Eiji Bando (who also sang the original 1974 version) has sold well, and my royalties allowed me to return to New York. Thank you.

Original Japanese: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ufEh5NVuDI8n7VZNRh6bHu3SJCsRJi6q94AsONDfTWc/edit?usp=sharing