foryou1688 Seibu Lions Senior Advisor Tetsuya Shiozaki (56) served as a batting pitcher at the team’s third-division summer training camp in Bibai, Hokkaido on the 4th foryou1688

Manager Fumiya Nishiguchi (52), who was visiting, seemed delighted, saying, “Shiozaki is pitching, so let’s take a photo and write an article about it.” Seibu fans who came to Bibai to support the third-division team also seemed delighted. Shiozaki is a beloved legend. Starting this season, he will assume the role of senior advisor, covering a wide range of roles from the first to third divisions. He is the “team leader” at this Bibai training camp. “I’m the team leader, after all,” he says with a sense of responsibility, throwing around 80 pitches a day to the young fielders. “It’s a comfortable rhythm,” he says with a laugh. Developing young players is a challenge for all teams. Management and fans alike hope for their players to develop smoothly. “I have a certain amount of fan instincts, so I’d like them to come out as soon as possible, but when you think about the reality, it’s not that easy,” he continues. “I want them to become players who can become mainstays, so that once they reach the first team, they won’t be demoted. Right now, all we can do is work steadily. So, I’d like to ask for a little more time.” When asked about the selection criteria for the 22 participants, he continued, “We want them to be mainstays when we look three years from now.” “I thought about bringing Okawari-kun, but I thought he might not be a mainstay in three years, so I left him out.” Could it be that Shiozaki had asked infielder Takeya Nakamura

　 (41), in his 24th year as a professional, to join the training camp? “I asked him… but I didn’t.” He delivered a sharp drop pitch, just like his signature sinker. [Kaneko Masahito](foryou1688)