Seibu’s Tetsuya Utsumi “announces retirement” and “that team” makes a move

On August 16, Tetsuya Utsumi, 40, a pitcher for Seibu, announced his retirement at the end of this season. Utsumi commented on his retirement.

My current feeling is one word: ‘I’ve done all I can do.

Everything has been a good memory, and I have had a really happy baseball career.”

He said he had decided from the start of the season that he would retire if he could not be an effective member of the first team. He expressed his gratitude to the fans in straightforward words, as is typical of Utsumi, who is known for his disciplined and honest character.

The announcement of his retirement is said to have triggered a move by a baseball team. It is the Giants, Utsumi’s old club.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is “good news” for the Giants, who have been without a Japan championship for nine years since 2012, and are now in a hopeless position to win it again this season. The problem is the pitching staff. The team’s defensive ratio is 3.96 (as of August 16, 2012), the lowest in the Central League, and the pitching is completely “broken. A coaching shakeup is inevitable for the upcoming season.

Under such circumstances, Utsumi, who is highly trusted by young players and popular with fans, would be the most suitable candidate. There is a good chance that he will be asked to join the cabinet as a coach.

Utsumi was transferred from the Giants to Seibu in 2007 as compensation for a FA injury, and on the first day of training at Seibu Stadium in January 2007, Utsumi told an interview with this magazine In an interview with this magazine, Utsumi said

On the day the transfer was announced, I went to the Giants’ team office to say goodbye, and I was greeted by many people at …… I was so sad to leave the team I had played for for so many years that I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling out of my eyes.

Utsumi, who has more love for the Giants than anyone else, was not happy to be asked to coach the team. On the other hand, however, there is a problem.

He is currently a member of the Seibu team,” said Utsumi. Seibu also highly values Utsumi’s coaching ability and the trust he has earned from young players. The fact that Utsumi is now also serving as a coach is a sign of this. The team probably hopes that Utsumi will stay with them as a coach after he retires, and it is possible that he has already signed some kind of “letter of intent” with them.

What will Utsumi do in the future? All eyes are on Utsumi, who is said to be “a man of discipline and a man of duty and humanity.