Rōki Sasaki’s Disappearance After CS Final and Lotte’s Ongoing VIP Treatment

Major League Scouts’ Evaluation Remains Unchanged

Lotte’s pitcher, Roki Sasaki (22), is increasingly likely to move to Major League Baseball during this offseason.

This season, Roki Sasaki achieved his first 10 wins, but he was sidelined for about two months due to conditioning issues and, for the first time since turning professional, failed to stay in the starting rotation throughout the entire season. Despite his high potential, many still remain skeptical, questioning whether major league teams would actually acquire such a pitcher.

However, major league scouts have a more positive view, with some believing that Sasaki has the potential to become one of the top pitchers in the majors. They also point out that because his team has not overused him, his shoulder and elbow are in great condition, making him an attractive prospect. In September, Dodgers executives visited Japan to watch Sasaki pitch, and Manager Dave Roberts has publicly shown interest, indicating that the major leagues are ready to welcome him.

For Lotte, parting with Sasaki, who is a significant asset, would be a blow. To try to keep him, the team has continued to offer VIP treatment.

“During this year’s February Okinawa camp, as soon as Sasaki joined from Ishigaki Island to Okinawa, the team banned all bullpen interviews for the press. When Sasaki was practicing on his day off, the team informed the media not to cover it. While fans were allowed to take photos and videos, there were some complaints from the press, with one reporter stating, ‘What does Sasaki think of himself!’ Personally, I think the problem lies more with the team staff, who were giving Sasaki special treatment rather than with Sasaki himself,” said a reporter who covered the camp.

 

As the season drew to a close this autumn, history repeated itself.

“On October 12, Sasaki took the mound in the first game of the Climax Series first stage against Nippon-Ham at Escon Field Hokkaido. Sasaki delivered a spectacular performance, striking out nine batters and earning his first win in the CS. On this occasion, he surprisingly agreed to do a media interview. However, after Lotte’s elimination in the third game two days later, when the press tried to ask him about his future, Sasaki was nowhere to be found.

It’s customary for any star player to answer questions after the final game of the season… but it seems that after the game, Sasaki took a separate route from the team, bypassed the media area, and left the stadium on his own. Media members joked, ‘Was Roki Sasaki kidnapped by a spirit!?'” (club insider)

The current situation is that even the team staff struggles to manage Sasaki.

“Team director Naoki Matsumoto, when asked about Sasaki, repeatedly says, ‘We’ll talk about his dreams this offseason.’ The team’s public relations staff, who are sometimes referred to as ‘Sasaki’s personal PR,’ have lately been stumbling, saying, ‘We haven’t seen Sasaki much lately, so we don’t know…’. This might be a cover to protect him, but the situation is that they are maintaining a ‘no comment’ stance. One player remarked, ‘Stars get away with being spoiled, and it seems like this special treatment for Sasaki will continue indefinitely.’” (sports paper reporter)

The divide between Sasaki and the media has only deepened. Everyone hopes he will move toward his dreams in a way that the fans can support, but it seems like that remains uncertain.