Miraculous encounter of Trevor Bauer and Japanese 21-years-old glove brand Founder on Instagram

※この記事は、次の日本語記事を英訳したものです。
https://note.com/aoshime/n/nc782bb76696f
英訳監修：櫻井洋輔さん

Katana Japan
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/katana.jp.official/
Website:https://katanajapan.base.shop/

Yosuke Sakurai, 21 years old, is currently in his fourth year of university in Japan. Baseball Lifestyles, an English-language baseball media, has been run on Instagram by him since he was 15 years old. He noticed that he had received a DM on March 13, 2023, which he quickly replied to because of two reasons.

First, the DM was sent in December 2018, about four years ago.

Second, the DM was sent by Trevor Bauer.

“At the time (2018), I was still playing high school baseball, so I didn’t have much time," he said.

Mr. Sakurai has lived in the United States for the past nine years, during which he started Baseball Lifestyles. He has been playing baseball since he was a child, and continued to play baseball in high school after returning to Japan.

In the meantime, the DM that Bauer sent him said, ”I'm interested in your page. Can I ask you a few questions?”

Usually replying to a DM after 4 years wouldn’t make a miracle and it is ordinary that nothing will happen. However, in this case the miracle continued especially because Mr. Sakurai replied to the DM in 2023 instead of 2018.

In April 2022, Mr. Sakurai launched his original glove brand, “Katana”. In Japanese, “Katana” means sword. One of his goals at the time was to have Bauer, who pushes the image of the sword: for example, his performance “Sword Celebration”, to wear his glove.

It was March 14, 2023, the day after Mr. Sakurai replied to the DM, that Bauer was announced to play in Japan.

Such coincidences piled up, and as if it had been decided from the beginning, they would meet face-to-face and have a conversation.

Mr. Sakurai replied to a DM from about four years ago with the details of “Katana”. Bauer's agent, who expressed interest in the matter, responded and they kept in touch for about two months.

Finally, at Yokohama DeNA Baystars facility it was decided that Mr. Sakurai would give a presentation of “Katana” to Bauer himself. However, until the day before that, they kept in touch being busy, he said.

“We needed permission to enter the team facility, so we had to connect with the interpreter of Bauer. But it was at 11 p.m the day before.”

After a chaotic interaction online until the night before, Mr. Sakurai headed all the way from Hyogo to Yokohama. With three sample gloves, he went to the facility together with the brand co-founder Riki Yamazaki and gave a 30-minute presentation in English in front of Bauer himself.

It is said that the presentation was interactive, but what was Bauer interested in?

“He was really interested in the brand concept itself, but also the reasons why I launched the brand and how I achieved it. I was asked about the difference and uniqueness “katana” has compared to other brands”. 

Mr. Sakurai wants to share with the world the Incredible Japanese gloves manufacturing technology, which he learned from playing baseball in Japan and the United States. He told Bauer about the concept of the brand. Mr. Sakurai said he wants baseball players to have uniqueness and originality in their gloves, just like samurais are with their swords. 

What kind of impression did Mr. Sakurai have when he met Bauer?

“He's a very kind person and I think he just loves baseball. I could feel his strong desire to choose the glove that best connects with his performance.”

After receiving a request to change the color of the laces, Mr. Sakurai quickly prepared and later sent him the glove.

This glove was actually used by Bauer in the match against Chiba Lotte Marines (Eastern League) on April 28. The scene where Bauer received the glove with a satisfied expression and said “very cool,” is also recorded in his YouTube video for May 1.

In the video on May 8, the following week, he talked about the feeling of use and announced the favorite ranking of gloves at that time. “Katana” held off multiple well-known brands and ranked 2nd.

In response to further requests from Bauer after actually using the sample glove, Mr.Sakurai recommended producing a custom glove. It is expected to be handed over to him in July.

Mr. Sakurai wants to spread the incredible Japanese technology and craftsmanship to the world. Bauer shows his commitment to baseball, from post-game analysis to physical condition management, on YouTube. It makes us feel that it will be a long-lasting relationship instead of just ending with a fateful encounter.

Mr. Sakurai replied to Bauer’s DM after four years, but it turned out to be the best timing.

The baseball god must have set everything up and hid Bauer's DM from Mr. Sakurai's eyes for four years.