The starting pitcher for next year's opening game will be announced in November, and the team with a winning percentage of 0.350 this season will be unconventional
The starting pitcher for next year's opening game will be announced in November, and the team with a winning percentage of 0.350 this season will be unconventional
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While KBO league teams are in final training sessions, they announced the starting pitcher for the opening game of next season in late November. Not KBO league teams but the Seibu Lions, a Japanese professional baseball team, was one such case. Manager Fumiya Nishiguchi (52) of Seibu announced on Sunday that right-handed pitcher Tatsuya Imai (26) will be the starting pitcher for the Nippon Ham Fighters on March 28, 2025. The starting pitcher for the opening game, which will take place four months later, has been announced.
Nishiguchi made a surprise announcement at the fan festa event held at the Tokoroza and Veruna Dome in Saitama Prefecture on the day, holding a microphone. Fans in the stands responded with cheers. They cheered for the Lions, who are starting anew under Nishiguchi's leadership. The opening series will be held next year at the "backroom" Veruna Dome in Seibu.
The starting pitcher for the opening game is symbolic. Usually, the top starting pitcher who represents the team goes out. It is an honor given to the first starting pitcher.
However, various variables such as injury are affected. In some cases, the schedule for taking the mound is determined based on the conditions of the players during the spring camp and exhibition games. Still, Nishiguchi nailed it early on. That's how much confidence he has in Imai is solid.
Nishiguchi said, "I was asked if it was too early, but I decided to let him know quickly because it was decided during the fall camp. I hope he prepares well for March 28." As a pitching expert, he acknowledged Imai and asked for a sense of responsibility with high expectations.
Nishiguchi is a "legend" with 182 wins (118 losses, 3.73 ERA). He joined the team as a three-time rookie in 1995 and pitched for 21 seasons as a member of the Seibu team until 2015. He was a star pitcher for the Seibu team, which started five times as an opener. He won multiple titles twice and posted 10 or more wins for seven consecutive years from 1996. In 1997, when he won 15, he won the Sawamura Award and the MVP award given to the best starting pitcher.
Imai joined as a rookie in 2017. Based on his performance over the past two years, he is qualified as a starting pitcher for the opening game.
He started the season's opener for the first time. Kona Takahashi, who was the starting pitcher for the third consecutive year until last year, was in poor condition due to his injury. "Even if Takahashi was good, I would leave it to Imai," Matsui Kazuo said, sending trust to Imai. During the spring camp, Imai was notified of the starting pitcher for the opening game, and the team announced its starting pitcher for the third time
It was made public in the middle of the month.
Imai met Matsui's expectations. In the opening game with the Rakuten Eagles, he garnered his first win by pitching seven innings of 11 strikeouts and no runs. Since the opening game, he has had six high-quality starts (more than seven innings as a starter, two earned runs or less) in seven games.
In this season's 25 games, he won 10-8 with a 2.34 ERA, surpassing the stipulated innings (173 ⅓ innings) for the first time in three years, and ranked No. 1 in strikeouts (187) in the Pacific League. He tied for seventh in multiple wins, third in ERA and fourth in pitching innings.
"There are no main fielders other than (striker) Genda," Nishiguchi said on Tuesday. He said he would reorganize the fielders from zero bases. The team desperately needs to change its mood. Genda Sosuke (31), whom Nishiguchi mentioned, is the main shortstop for the national team. He has received the Golden Glove award for the seventh consecutive year since 2018. He is currently representing the Premier 12 in 2019, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2023 WBC, respectively. He is playing a pivotal role as the best veteran of the Japanese Premier 12 national team. 스포츠토토
Seibu finished last in both leagues with a .350 winning rate this season. In May, Matsui was replaced and Hisanobu Watanabe was replaced, but the team fell into the abyss. The batting average of only 2.12 was hampered by the batting average.
He is aiming to come out of last place, but prepares for the new season without any reinforcement. There is no recruitment of external free agents this off-season as well. Almost every year, the team's main player has become a free agent and has left the team. Last winter, the fourth batter, Hotaka Yamakawa, 33, moved to the Softbank Hawks.