Please don’t make me the fifth man!” Hiroto Saiki: “Hanshin is reluctant to offer him a place in the WBC” behind his omission…what the team really thinks

I held off the Dodgers’ batting line. ……

The “last Samurai” to participate in the WBC, which opens on March 5, has finally been selected; the NPB announced on February 4 that Masanao Yoshida (32) of the Red Sox has been selected to represent Japan.

In addition to Yoshida, Shohei Ohtani (31) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (27) of the Dodgers and other major leaguers who are active in the U.S. are all on this year’s Samurai Japan team, but there are others who were not selected.

Tatsuya Imai (27), who will play for the Astros this year on a posting contract, declined to be selected, saying he wanted to prioritize his family. Shota Konaga (32) of the Cubs and Kota Senga (33) of the Mets were not selected due to poor performances in the second half of the season.

Other talented players who have made their mark in the NPB, such as Shinya Matsuyama (25) of Chunichi, who won the Central League’s saves title last season, were not selected.

I think it is true that it is a blow to Samurai Japan that Imanaga and Senga were not selected because their condition had not improved. As for Imai, coach Hirokazu Ibata did not have a high opinion of him, and it seems that he did not expect him to be used as the main pitcher at least.

Surprisingly, Hiroto Saiki (27) of the Hanshin team was not selected. Saiki is a pitcher who uses his height (189 cm) to throw down a powerful straight line and a fork with a large drop-off.

Saiki is one of the pitchers who has long declared his ambition to challenge the Majors. His appearance in the WBC was a chance for him to make his case. ……

The Hanshin team is solely responsible for the reluctance of the fifth member of their own team to be called up to the Samurai Japan team. The two teams most likely to be selected from the same team this year are Hanshin (Teruaki Sato, Shota Morishita, Seishiro Sakamoto, and Daichi Ishii) and Softbank (Kensuke Kondo, Taisei Makihara, Yukyo Shuto, and Hiroki Matsumoto). Sato was selected for his hitting ability, Morishita for his overall strength as an outfielder, Sakamoto for his lead as a catcher, and Ishii for his overwhelming performance as a reliever.

However, Hanshin said, “Please don’t give me five ……. The Hanshin team was said to have implicitly told the Samurai, “There will be pitchers of the same type as Saiki.

The presence of Saiki, the second best pitcher in the starting rotation, is essential for Hanshin to win back-to-back league championships. Preparation begins earlier than in a normal season, and if they go into the season after throwing more WBC pitches, which have a tendency to slide more than NPB official pitches, they run the risk of falling into a slump. If a pitcher of Saiki’s caliber were to collapse, it would immediately affect the team’s performance. He probably avoided this risk. There is a possibility that Saiki will be called up in place of Seibu’s Hirara Kaiba (26), who is feared to be out of the lineup due to a separated leg, but Matsuyama is probably the best choice in terms of type.

The disappointment of the omission will have to be made up for in the season.