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The story
On September 15, 2026, during a Hiroshima Carp vs. Yakult Swallows game at Jingu Stadium in Tokyo, Hiroshima’s Sei Katsuta was struck on the right side of the head by a 144 km/h pitch and had to be substituted immediately. The unusual sight of him being carried off on a stretcher, his view shielded by a blue tarp, left the stadium in shock. On 5channel, many posters voiced concern for the player’s condition, while others pointed out that hit-by-pitches and mid-game substitutions have been piling up in Yakult games this season, sparking debate over the team’s image.
Hiroshima’s Sei Katsuta subbed out after HBP to the head — 144 km/h fastball strikes right temple, freak accident stuns Jingu Stadium, player shielded by blue tarp and carried out on a stretcher
Sep 15 (Tue), 19:44 JST
Daily Sports
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / original article here
What people said
For a second I thought he'd been carried off by an oil tanker… (pun: タンカー/"tanker" sounds just like 担架/"tanka," the actual word for stretcher)
That's straight-up 'fatal accident on the tracks' energy (blue tarps are the classic visual Japanese news uses to cover bodies at accident scenes)
Ishii, Fushimi, Sakamoto, Ishihara, Katsuta
More likely because his brains are leaking out, no?
Someone plunk Ikeyama in the dugout already, seriously
→ Honestly admits it just grazed the bat handle, ruled a foul
→ Next pitch, hits him in the exact same spot again
Classic Yakult baseball
Kozono: "Guess it's…"
Yano: "…our turn?"
Okay, now I'm genuinely worried
Nonstop bad news and deaths since September began
Stay uninvolved
Walking and light strength training is plenty for me
No follow-up news on him?
Can't even call it a sport — it's a hobby where the pitcher alone gets to 'take out' (56 = internet slang for korosu, "kill," used to dodge word filters) anyone he doesn't like, as many times as he wants
Since we're the generation that grew up on that anime, isn't the player who just got hit basically 'Kakupuru' now?
Koryo vs. the Carp
Background and talking points on this topic
The practice of shielding an injured player with a blue tarp while carrying him off on a stretcher after a hit-by-pitch at Jingu Stadium is a protective measure for injured players that has become common in recent years — using a tarp doesn’t necessarily mean the injury is serious. Its main purpose is to protect the player’s privacy and prevent footage from spreading excessively, and until the severity is confirmed via a same-day press conference or official statement, anything more is just speculation. While many thread posters expressed concern for the player’s safety, there were also numerous comments noting the recurring hit-by-pitches and substitutions in Yakult games this season; however, posts asserting a definitive causal link to the team’s overall conduct lacked solid grounding and were left out of this article. Some comments also referenced a past incident involving an injured umpire, but since that is an unrelated event, content that could cause confusion between the two has been excluded.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Sports News+) thread “[Hiroshima] Sei Katsuta subbed out after HBP to the head — 144 km/h pitch strikes right temple, Jingu Stadium in shock, player shielded by blue tarp and carried out on a stretcher.”
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