Is Akinori Sasaki “estranged” from his former mentor? The “real reason” for the prolonged contract negotiations with Chiba Lotte.

Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Akinori Sasaki, 22, had his contract renewal carried over to the new year for the first time since turning pro. He has informed the team of his intention to challenge for a major league contract through the posting system, and there is a possibility that he will travel to the United States as early as the end of the 2012 season.

According to reports in the sports press, Lotte team president Shunsuke Kosaka said on January 4, “From my standpoint, I would like to refrain from commenting,” and then added, “The team has not changed its stance on encouraging successful players to try out for the majors. However, that is not the only reason why he has not signed. A Chiba Lotte alumnus revealed, “Akinori (Sasaki)’s contract was not signed.

I think the reason why Akinori (Sasaki)’s contract negotiation was postponed is because he wants to get some kind of assurance this time about his intention to challenge for the Majors, which he told the team. Last year, he contributed to the World Championship in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, but his contribution to Lotte was not 100 points as he left the team temporarily in July with a left abdominal injury. There is an opinion that it is ‘still too early,’ three years earlier than Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who also went to the Majors by posting from Lotte in his eighth year, but the fact that he has lost his feelings for manager Rito Yoshii (58), who protected him when he was pitching coach, is also a factor.”

Sasaki and Yoshii. There are cracks in the relationship that was once called a “honeymoon” between master and disciple. Yoshii’s resignation does not mean that he is stepping down, but what exactly happened between the two?

The current Sasaki is probably due in large part to Yoshii, who as pitching coach after Sasaki became a pro, has helped Sasaki develop physically and has been able to adjust the amount of practice he has had to do. When Sasaki joined the team in 2008, Yoshii, who was the first-team pitching coach under former manager Yoshihito Iguchi, had Sasaki come with the team even if he did not pitch in a single game. Even though some questioned the “special treatment,” Yoshii put Sasaki in an environment where he could closely observe the adjustments of a pitcher who would be a member of the starting rotation, and he spent a considerable amount of time working on his pitching form, which was less stressful on his body.

As a result, Sasaki began to distinguish himself in his second year with the team in 2009, and was selected to start the first game of the Climax Series (CS) against Rakuten in the first stage, striking out 10 in 6 innings and allowing one run to win the first game. Many believe that this was the reason why Sasaki was selected to start the first game against Rakuten in the first stage of the Max Series (CS) and contributed to the first game win with 10 strikeouts and one run allowed in six innings. So what was it that led Sasaki to leave Yoshii’s mind? An alumnus of the team reveals the following.

I think it was after Akinori (Sasaki) hurt his left side in a game against Softbank on July 24 last year. It was announced that it would be two months before he could pitch at full strength, and we thought it would be difficult for him to return during the regular season. Moreover, the armpit is a muscle that a pitcher uses every time he throws a pitch, and if he tears the same part of his abdomen again, it could become a habit.

Sasaki is the type of pitcher who, once he takes the mound, throws as many innings as possible and does not want to put a burden on the relievers or relief pitchers. However, he has to push his pitches with a straight line and a fork, and he doesn’t have enough time to “pull it out” in a good sense considering the total of the 9th inning, so he has pitched as hard as he could from the beginning. So, when he got injured, he might have thought that it would be difficult for him to return to the pitching staff during this season. However, Yoshii told the media, “I hope he will be back by the end of the season. I think this slight discrepancy was the catalyst.