It's a broken nose, but the night before the game, the starting catcher was revealed on social media, and there was a reason for manager Shinjo's fan service, a joint venture with the ace for seven wins this season
Oct 16, 2024
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Right-hander Ito, who started this year's opening game, is the best pitcher in the Pacific League this season. He posted his personal best of 14 wins (five losses) in a season, tying for first in multiple wins. Following the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), he was selected as the Japanese representative for the Premier 12 next month.
Fushimi, who moved from the Orix Buffaloes last year, is a veteran backup, not a main player. He played in 62 games this season. He hit .242-40 hits-21 RBIs-OPS 0.540 without a home run.
It's not a noticeable batting performance. However, he played in nine of the 26 games in which Ito started and performed the best. Ito won seven games (one loss) with senior catcher Fushimi. It is half of his victory this season. The two combined for four wins (one loss) against the strongest Softbank batters in both leagues.
There is a reason why coach Shinjo announced Fushimi's start the night before in advance.
Fushimi was injured ahead of Game 3 of the First Stage against the Chiba Lotte Marines on the 14th. During training prior to the game, he fractured his nose after being hit by a knock ball. It is a quick release of the situation that fans are curious about. It's a kind of fan service. Director Shinjo has often used his personal SNS to disclose major matters.
Fushimi started in the first game of the first stage on the 12th and played as a substitute in the second game on the 13th. He went 0-for-3 without a hit. All three times, he was out with an infield grounder. On the first day, Nippon Ham suffered a 0-2 Youngbong defeat due to the pressure of Chiba Lotte starter Roki Sasaki's eight scoreless innings. He won the second and third games to reach the final stage.
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In the final stage (best-of-four) the pennant race No. 1 team is absolutely advantageous. The No. 1 team starts with one victory in the advantage. The entire game will be held at the home stadium of the No. 1 team and will be held without an intermission day.
However, for Softbank, which ranked first overwhelmingly, second-ranked Nippon Ham is also burdensome and tricky. This is despite beating Nippon Ham by 13.5 games to the top of the league for the first time in four years. Softbank was the best with no comparison in both team batting average (0.259), scoring (607) and ERA (2.53).
Nippon Ham has 12 wins, 1 draw and 12 losses against Softbank this season. Nippon Ham is the only team that Softbank has not had a winning or losing advantage. Nippon-Ham has won seven consecutive games against SoftBank from late August to late September. It shook the strongest softbank. SoftBank barely balanced victory over Nippon Ham in the final match on 29 September.
Moreover, Nippon-Ham had a good run on the first stage. After giving up the first game, he won the 10th inning of extra time and came from behind to win the third game.
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It is interesting to see a showdown between Shinjo, who came in last place for two consecutive years, and Hiroki Kokubo, who ranked first in the first year of the head coach.
Reporter Min Chang-ki huelva@sportschosun.com
huelva@sportschosun.com
