Committee: “Today’s pitchers too lazy”

The 2022 Eiji Sawamura Award was announced on Monday, but not without the former ace pitchers making up the committee stepping up to their critical annual task of berating today’s pitchers for not showing the grit and determination they themselves had shown back in the day.

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto was an easy choice to win his second straight award as Japan’s premier starting pitcher, but no Sawamura announcement is complete without directing disparaging remarks at the current crop of pitchers.

Aside from the general comments directed at the entire pitching profession, the committee, as it tends to do, took aim at a big name young pitcher to “motivate him.” This year, their target was 20-year-old Roki Sasaki.

Continue reading Committee: “Today’s pitchers too lazy”

NPB news: Oct. 23, 2022

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Another Japan Series game between Orix and Yakult meant their 10th straight decided by two runs or less, when a late three-run lead was blown, while the first tie since Game 1 of the 2018 series opened the door to a possible Game 8.

The Japan Series is not technically a best-of-seven series, but is rather the first to four wins, with any 12-inning ties through Game 7 not counting.

Game 2 continued the pattern of both teams struggling to drive in their runners outdoors with timely hits, and Yakult doing the big damage via the home run.

Continue reading NPB news: Oct. 23, 2022

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