Jiji Press said on November 5 that a photographer in his 20s from its photo department took practice baseballs without permission while covering professional baseball spring training in Okinawa Prefecture in February and sold them on a flea market app.
The balls came from the camps of four teams: the Hanshin Tigers, the DeNA BayStars, the Yakult Swallows and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Jiji Press reported the matter to each club and to Nippon Professional Baseball, and apologized.
The photographer collected 54 practice balls, listed them in sets of six on nine occasions and sold them for a total of 50,940 yen. He also sold on the app caps that clubs had issued to reporters covering the camps. He has admitted the facts, saying he wanted the money for himself.
A person connected to Jiji Press said the photographer joined the company mid-career three or four years ago. "He was a somewhat unusual type, but he did his work properly," the person said. "When the company made the announcement, I was just stunned."
Photos he shot appear on Jiji Press's Instagram account, including the final of last spring's Senbatsu high school tournament at Koshien, which Yokohama High School won, and last year's Osaka-Kansai Expo.
A veteran's view of camp work
A veteran photographer who has covered spring training said balls are scattered everywhere at camp, and that photographers often help gather balls hit by players who stay late for extra practice. "There may be someone who takes one as a souvenir," he said. "But I've never heard of anyone collecting balls and selling them. Even at camp, a sports photographer works moment to moment. There's no time to gather up balls and carry them out."
'Ball collecting' listed as a skill
The person connected to Jiji Press said he was startled by the profile the photographer had written, and wondered whether he had become a photographer for the sake of his "special skill." In the profile section of Jiji Press's internal newsletter, the photographer listed his special skill as "ball collecting."
He also wrote the following under a heading for self-promotion:
“I want to go to the scene of large-scale sports. Under pressure where I can't afford to fail, I want to take photos that will remain in history.”Jiji Press internal newsletter
In the same profile he wrote that since becoming a photographer, family, friends and people important to him have cheered him on, and that he wants to show his gratitude by delivering results.
Jiji Press said it intends to deal with the photographer strictly.