◇ Tohoku Rakuten Takero Okajima appointed as ambassador

Rakuten Eagles announced that Takero Okajima, who retired at the end of this season, will become an ambassador starting in the 2026 season. Okajima plans to attend graduate school at Sendai University. While balancing his studies, he will work with Ambassador Ginji to promote baseball, contribute to society, and engage in community-based activities to promote the team and the Tohoku region.

▼Comment from Ambassador Takero Okajima ▼
"I have been appointed as an ambassador for Rakuten Eagles from the 2026 season. As an ambassador, I would like to convey the charm of Tohoku, the charm of baseball, and the charm of Rakuten Eagles to many people. Together with Ambassador Ginji, I will do my best to bring smiles and energy to Tohoku, so I hope you will continue to support me."

◇Tohoku Rakuten 's Masaya Nishigaki announces his marriage

Tohoku Rakuten pitcher Masaya Nishigaki announced that he had submitted a marriage registration and registered his marriage at Shibuya Ward Office in Tokyo in January of this year. Nishigaki, in his fourth year as a professional pitcher, pitched in 63 games this season, second in the league, and showed great performance with 7 wins, 1 loss, 14 hold, and ERA of 1.96.

▼Comment pitcher Masaya Nishigaki ▼
"From now on, we hope to support each other and build a wonderful family. We will work even harder to contribute to the team's win with even greater awareness."

Saitama Seibu formulates "Saitama Seibu Lions Overseas Strategy" with the aim of expanding its system for discovering and developing foreign players.

Saitama Seibu has formulated the "Saitama Seibu Lions Overseas Strategy" with the aim of strengthening its forces by acquiring foreign players and, by utilizing its past development know-how, expanding its system for discovering and developing foreign players who are expected to perform well in the NPB in the future.

This strategy will be promoted in collaboration with various external partners, including a business partnership with the independent league team Saga Asia Dreams, to collaborate on information on promising players from Asian countries and on scouting.

Furthermore, the team has signed an international scouting contract with Abner Abreu, who played for Saitama Seibu in 2014 and has worked as a scout for the San Francisco Giants since retiring. The team also announced that it has signed development player contracts for the 2026 season with Carlos Tovar, a pitcher pitcher Fred and Isabile Musa Azed, both from Uganda. This marks the first time an NPB team has signed contracts with players from Slovenia and Uganda.

▼Comment from Hiroike Koji, General Manager of the Baseball Team▼
"Our partnership with Saga Asia Dreams and the acquisition of development players from the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Uganda is a major step towards our dream of bringing baseball to countries and regions where baseball culture has not yet taken root, and making baseball a major global sport. We hope that these players will grow to become valuable assets for The Lions, and also have a positive impact on baseball culture in their home countries.

Furthermore, the addition of Abreu, who was affectionately known as "Abu-san" during his playing days, as an international scout will be a very encouraging addition to our team as we strengthen our scouting in Latin America. We are confident that Abreu, who has eight years of experience as a scout for an MLB team, will utilize his knowledge to identify promising players. By promoting the newly formulated "overseas strategy," we will be able to welcome young, talented foreign players. We will utilize The Lions' accumulated development know-how to develop players who can perform well in the first team and create a team that can compete for championships."

Chiba Lotte Marines to reconsider the possibility of building a dome for its new stadium

Chiba Lotte Marines Syunsuke Kosaka President commented on the explanation given by Chiba City today, the 20th, regarding "Reexamination of the possibility of doming Chiba Marine Stadium in the reconstruction project."

▼Comment Syunsuke Kosaka President ▼
"Chiba Lotte Marines are in continuous discussions with Chiba City regarding the construction of a new stadium. As Chiba City has commented, the team and the Lotte Group are already considering a total investment of several tens of billions of yen even in the case of an outdoor stadium, and we believe that there are many hurdles to overcome before we can realize a domed stadium, which would require further private investment.

However, in light of recent climate change and various changes in the market environment, we believe that in order to create a new facility that will appeal to many citizens, prefectural residents, visitors, baseball fans, The Marines fans, and players, we need to reconsider the possibility of building a dome, and have therefore requested Chiba City to consider this. We will continue to work with Chiba City and related parties to realize a stadium that will serve as a hub for new urban development in Makuhari New City."

◇ Fukuoka Softbank 's Ryotaro Sawayanagi will participate in the Japan Winter League

Fukuoka Softbank will participate in the Japan Winter League held in Okinawa to develop their players. Ryotaro Sawayanagi pitcher will be sent. The league will be held from Saturday, November 22nd to Thursday, December 18th.

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Related Links
・ [Tohoku Rakuten] Takero Okajima appointed as ambassador
・ [Tohoku Rakuten] Regarding pitcher Masaya Nishigaki marriage
・ [Fukuoka Softbank] Japan Winter League (Okinawa) Dispatch
・ Saitama Seibu Lions develops overseas strategy