The second term of Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball spring camp started at Koza Shinkin Stadium in Okinawa City on Feb. 18th. Hiroki Kuroda who had played seven years in the MBL team until last year joined the team camp, and hundreds of fans and media members gathered before 9 in the morning at the stadium in Okinawa City.

A welcome ceremony was held at the field before the start of training activities, and onlookers erupted into cheers and applause when Kuroda said, “I am back from the majors. Thank you.” Kuroda had earlier confessed that he had not enjoyed his time in the U.S. “In a situation in which I didn’t understand the language and battled to make it through the season, the seven years were — including physically — tougher than they were enjoyable,” Kuroda said in an interview with One Word Sports in the U.S. after he had decided to come back to Japan.

Koichi Ogata, the team head coach emphasized in aim to make the camp 100 percent productive.”

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