Seibu Lions pitcher Tatsuya Imai (27), who has decided to challenge the majors this offseason, participated in the fan appreciation event held at Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa City, Saitama on the 23rd. To Seibu fans who have supported him for nine years since he joined the team, he declared his determination, "I want to become a player that the fans can be proud of, saying, 'We had such an amazing pitcher on The Lions.'"
After all the events were over, he greeted the fans together with Takahashi, who was also planning to cross the ocean, and he couldn't help but look down and burst into tears. Countless towels with his name on them were being held up, and warm cheers were showering down on him... "I was really touched to see that there are more people supporting me (up until now) than I ever thought possible. It was like it was way beyond my expectations."
The right-handed pitcher joined the team as the first pick in the 2016 draft from Sakushin Gakuin. In his ninth season this season, he broke Daisuke Matsuzaka's team record with 17 strike out in a single game on June 17th against DeNA (Yokohama). He also pitched two consecutive shutout game and achieved double-digit win against Rakuten (Rakuten Mobile) on September 2nd, finishing with a record of 10 wins and 5 losses with ERA of 1.92 in 24 games.
"I played with The Lions with the goal of winning the league and becoming the best in Japan, and I want to play with the same mindset even if I change teams. I will be going to America representing The Lions, so I want to be a player who will make The Lions proud by saying that they had such an amazing pitcher. Even after leaving Japan, I must not forget that there are many people here who support me in that way." With strong determination in his heart, he steps out onto the next stage.
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