Seibu Lions 's third-round developmental draft pick, pitcher Keishin Saito (22) = Shikoku Island League Tokushima = spoke on the 7th about his awareness of being the breadwinner of his family.

"Since it's the first day of the new year, I'd like to say New Year's greetings to the scouts in charge, the dorm manager, and everyone involved with The Lions," said the right-handed pitcher, who was married when he was an independent player and has a daughter. While it's customary for rookie players to move into the dorm to start their professional baseball career, "after talking with the people involved with the team, they said that since I have a family and my children are still young, it would be best for me to stay with my family. I explained how that worked out for me, and they said, 'If that's the case, you should definitely come with us,' so I didn't hesitate to take them up on their offer," and instead decided to move to Saitama with my family to start a new life.

He is the only one of his classmates who commutes to work, and although he admits that he feels lonely, he also says, "Everyone else doesn't have a family, but I do. That's what I've become. I want to make things easier for my family," and he is determined to take on this crucial year.