I can't believe I missed one flight a day because I overslept…The last-place team has no sense of crisis Anger, withdrawal from the third team for at least two weeks

Mar 13, 2025

Seibu infielder Sato, who missed his flight and fell to the third division because of sleeping late, strongly reprimanded him. Sato played in 93 games last year, his personal best. Photo capture = Sports Nippon homepage

Seibu appointed Nishiguchi, the second-tier coach, as the head coach immediately after the end of last season. He is a legendary pitcher with 182 career wins in Seibu. Photo capture = Seibu Lions SNS

Seibu infielder Sato. It is an all-weather resource capable of defending on 1, 2, and 3rd bases. Photo capture = Sato Ryusei SNS

Seibu Lions infielder Ryusei Sato (28) suddenly went down to the third division while competing in an exhibition game. It's not the second team or the third team ahead of the opening of the season. Coach Fumiya Nishiguchi (53) said, "First of all, I'll be in the third division for about two weeks." A first-team player in his seventh year of college was suddenly demoted even though he was not injured. It's a very unusual thing.

I fell to the third team because I overslept.

Coach Nishiguchi revealed the reason after the exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers at Beruna Dome (Seibu Dome) on the 12th. It was a warning disciplinary action with a strong rebuke.

Seibu played two consecutive away games against the Nippon Ham Fighters on the 5th and 6th. He gave up both consecutive games at Econ Field in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido. They lost 2 to 3 for the second day in a row. Sato, who started at No. 5-3 on the 6th, had no hits in four at-bats.

All four at-bats were withdrawn helplessly. He was out with a grounder to the second base in the second inning and a catcher foul fly in the fourth inning. The other two at-bats struck out. It was regrettable that he was at bat for the fourth time in the top of the eighth inning, trailing 2-3. He struck out swinging at 2S with two outs and a runner on second base.

After finishing their Hokkaido schedule, the Seibu team boarded a flight to Shizuoka on the 7th. Two consecutive exhibition games against the Rakuten Eagles were scheduled in Shizuoka on the 8th and 9th. It was a game hosted by Seibu. But Sato couldn't get on this plane, which had only one flight a day. I overslept and missed my flight.

Nishiguchi clearly explained the reason why he had dropped Sato to the third division because he overslept. He added "There is no sense of crisis. You need to know where you are now. It cannot happen if you were thinking about it."

Sato, whose hometown is Hokkaido, graduated from Sapporo Hokkaido High School. After attending Fuji University, he joined the team as the 7th pick in the 2019 rookie draft. There were ups and downs. He was traded to Nippon Ham and returned to Seibu.

Sato joined Seibu in 2019 and moved to Nippon Ham before returning. Photo capture = Sato Ryusei SNS

He was mainly playing in the second division and slowly settling down. He has played more than 90 games in the first team for the last two consecutive years. Last year, he played in 93 games, his personal record, with a batting average of 244 hits, 72 hits, seven home runs, and 34 RBIs. His team finished last with an overwhelming slump and had a career high season. It was recognized for its ability to produce long-range power needed by the team.

His main position is third baseman. He will also play first and second basemen. He even performs catcher training. This is to increase the competitiveness of the first team. This year is important to establish itself as a main player. I need to show a more certain performance, but something ridiculous happened in the preparation process. Sato played in three exhibition games this year and only had one hit in nine at-bats.

Seibu and Nishiguchi are also in a hurry.

Seibu, once raging, was reduced to the weakest. Last year's winning rate was 35%. There is a 42 game gap with the Pacific League's No. 1 Softbank Hawks. In May last year, Kazuo Matsui was replaced and Hisanobu Watanabe was put in, but he fell into a deeper quagmire.

212-60 home runs. This is Seibu's batting performance last year. The attack hit the floor.

Seibu finished last in the Pacific League last year with a .350 winning percentage. Ahead of the interleague in May last year, Matsui was replaced to try to rebound the atmosphere, but it failed. Photo capture = Seibu Lions SNS

Seibu is aiming to rebound under pitcher legend Nishiguchi. Young pitchers have weaker offense than the growing mound. There was no noticeable power reinforcement last winter. When the key players of the pitching team become FA, they are leaving the team.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.