Takayuki Kajitani, Shoichi Ino, Toshi Yamaguchi’s Surprising Reasons for the Giants FA Reinforcement Failure

Shoichi Ino (36) and Toshi Yamaguchi (35), who were released from the lineup on October 7 and 25, and Takayuki Kajitani (34), who became a free agent on October 23. ……

All were FA acquisitions by the Giants. However, it would be difficult to say that all three made a significant contribution to the team’s strength, despite having joined the Giants with great fanfare.

Ino has won only one game since joining the Giants in 2009. He is expected to re-sign with the Giants next season as a developmental player. He is expected to be re-signed as a developmental player.

The only one who stands out is Yamaguchi, who won the titles of most wins, most strikeouts, and highest winning percentage with a record of 15 wins and 4 losses in 19 years. However, he was the first to take advantage of the posting system with the Giants and went 2-4 with the Toronto Blue Jays. In the two years since returning to the Giants in the middle of last season, he has won only two games.

Ino’s eight stitches to the head “are too embarrassing.

All three players had been with DeNA before joining the Giants, but some questioned their acquisition.

In particular, there were people within the team who questioned the acquisition of Kajitani and Ino. It is true that Kajitani is an attractive player with good speed and good batting ability, but he has had many injuries, including chronic back pain and discomfort in his right shoulder. Ino was a very good hitter, but he had a lot of injuries, such as chronic back pain and a right shoulder strain.

Ino’s personality made it doubtful that he would fit in with the Giants, whose motto is “Be a gentleman.” When asked about his salary at his contract renewal in 2007, he replied, “Please look at Wikipedia (an online encyclopedia),” and his wild behavior earned him the nickname “the Hama alien. In March 2009, after moving to the Giants, he suffered a serious injury at the Giants’ stadium (the Giants’ second-string facility), receiving eight stitches to his head. The reason for the injury was that he jumped at the end of the stairs leading down to the ground and hit his head on the iron fence. Manager Tatsunori Hara was stunned, saying, ‘That’s too embarrassing.

In recent years, the only successful FA acquisition by the Giants has been Yoshihiro Maru from Hiroshima. Why has the Giants’ FA strategy not been successful?

One of the purposes of FA reinforcements is to reduce the strength of rival teams. If they have a leading player from the Central League, even if he has some problems, such as injuries, they will try to bring him into their ranks and reduce the threat. The decision is left to Hara, who has full authority. Although the results show that it is highly doubtful whether Hara’s decision was the right one. ……

On October 27, Hara appeared on the YouTube channel of former Giants head coach Kaoru Okazaki.

Whether it is foreigners or reinforcements, it is a very important task. This year, the Giants have spent very little money (on development). They have a little bit of savings in terms of reinforcement, so they are willing to spend it.

Director Hara has stated that the Giants will aggressively reinforce FA this off-season. Whether he can make use of his past “failures” as a source of inspiration will be a test of his skill.