1,805,464 people…Japan’s Lotte and Pimali hold the third-place competition key, Sasaki
The Chiba Lotte Marines has displayed good box office performance this year as well. It broke the record for the largest number of spectators in a single season in one year. 27,887 people attended the match against the Seibu Lions at its home stadium, Chiba Marine Stadium, on Sunday. A total of 1,805,464 people attended 67 games this season. The figure exceeded the record of 1,803,994 people in a single season last year.
An average of 26,947 people visited the Marine Stadium on average through Sunday. The team ranks fourth in the Pacific League after the “top” Softbank Hawks (37,982), Orix Buffaloes (30,22) and Nippon-Ham Fighters (28,536). The Chiba Lotte Giants have four more home games to play.
Based in Chiba, a city adjacent to Tokyo, the Chiba Lotte Giants are not a popular team. Even in the metropolitan area, the cities in question are not very large and the teams do not have the capacity to win championships every year. It does not mean that the teams have long roots in their hometowns. Having departed from Tokyo, they passed through Sendai and Kawasaki in Miyagi Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, and settled in Chiba in 1992.
Lee Seung-yeop, Kim Tae-kyun, and Lee Dae-ho, the best hitters in the KBO League, wore Chiba Lotte uniforms. As the main hitter, Lee led the team to the Japan Series title in 2005. He hit three home runs in the Hanshin Tigers and Japan Series, contributing to the team’s win in all four games.
His recent performance has been good. He ranked second three times in the postseason and climax series in the four years from 2020 to 2016. The 23-year-old monster pitcher who throws 165-km/h fastballs has gained attention. Sasaki has become the symbol of his team.
The Korean team is also in fierce competition until the end of this season. It is followed by Softbank and Nippon Ham, which are set to win the title in the league. The team has recently faltered. It lost two consecutive games to the Seibu Lions, the last-place team, on Nov. 15-16, and to the Rakuten Eagles, who are competing for the third place, on Nov. 17-18. A sense of crisis has heightened.
Sasaki started the game against Seibu on Saturday when his team lost consecutive games, and allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings. He became the fifth loser of the season. A 139-km-per-hour fork ball thrown to the first batter in the seventh inning became a head shot. He was ejected for the first time in his fifth year as a member of the team. The team lost 1-7.
The main pitcher, which the club has cherished and managed, failed to play a role at an important time. Sasaki was unable to operate the game full-time again this year due to accumulated injuries and fatigue. He also failed to take the mound in the regular innings. Scouts from Major League Baseball flock to every game, but they could not dispel doubts about his durability. Some even predicted that he would not be able to leave Triple-A in the minor league even if he moves to the U.S. next year.
The Chiba Lotte Giants won the game 7 to 1 against the Seibu Tigers on Sunday. Left-hander Kazuya Kojima pitched seven innings of one run. He thus garnered his 11th win of the season. Through the third inning, his team scored seven runs, displaying robust performance. The Chiba Lotte Giants, which lost four consecutive games, is now in third place, 1.5 games ahead of the Rakuten Giants. Rakuten lost to Softbank 2-3. It had won five consecutive games but lost to the Giants for two consecutive years.
Chiba Lotte has nine games and Rakuten has 13 games left. Three face-to-face matches are scheduled. The number of matches is a variable, but Rakuten can be advantageous.안전놀이터
At this point, Sasaki’s role seems important. Two appearances are scheduled. First, he will play against Seibu on the 22nd. It is his first appearance in a week following the game on the 15th. It is a home game against the last team that must be caught.
Sasaki pitched 95 innings with eight wins and five losses from 16 games to 2.56 ERA. So far, he has not won in any season by double digits. His nine wins (four losses) in 2022 is the most in a season. As a player seeking to advance to the Major League early on, he has not displayed many performances. He has not displayed much in comparison with his name value. Two years ago, “the youngest perfect game” was strong, but he often failed to keep his position when his team needed him.