Mamoru Miyano pitched the first pitch of the night game between the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Yomiuri Giants held at Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium in Tokyo on April 18th.
Mamoru Miyano pitched for the ceremonial first pitch
Miyano will play the role of Mario in the movie "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" which is scheduled to be released on April 24th. When he appeared on the field, he was greeted with a big round of applause from the audience. His jersey number is 424, a nod to the film's release date, April 24th. The name "MAMO" is also written on it. Miyano loudly read out the starting lineup, and the venue was filled with excitement even before the game started. Before the first pitch began, Miyano appeared calm as he waved to the fans. Just before that, he was moving his body as if checking his pitching form.
This is Miyano's first ceremonial first pitch. When the first pitch finally started, Mario and Luigi also rushed to cheer them on. When Miyano stood on the mound and threw the ball, it missed the ball and went into the catcher's mitt. As the venue erupted in excitement at his brilliant pitching, Miyano jumped and raised his fist in a pose similar to Mario's jumping.
At the press conference after the first pitch ceremony, he spoke with a smile about his impressions of getting on the mound and pitching, saying, ``It was my first time so I was really nervous, but I thought it was special to be able to stand there.I felt comfortable pitching.'' Apparently, Miyano was practicing for pitching when he was thrown into the strike zone. When asked how he pitched today, he said, ``I wanted to aim for that (right in the middle), but I missed it a little, so I guess I got a 97.'' He then added a self-pity: ``That's high, isn't it?''
Regarding the atmosphere at the stadium, he said, ``I felt a special feeling because there were fans passionately supporting the team.'' He also said that he felt the love the fans had for the team when he heard the cheering, and said with a smile, ``It really warmed my heart and made me think that cheering is wonderful after all.'' When asked about his thoughts on the starting lineup, he jokingly replied, "I wasn't nervous at all when the starting lineup was announced. No, that's not it." ``I don't think there are many opportunities to say the starting lineup, so I shouted it out with all my heart,'' he said. Regarding how he felt when he played Mario Jump at the end, he said, ``It arrived without a hitch, so I played Mario Jump thinking that it would give momentum to the movie,'' and he was able to successfully throw the first pitch.
