Annual salary increased by 4 million yen to 20 million yen “Most evaluated innings”
Seibu pitcher Chiichiro Sumida, who finished the first year in the draft with 1 win and 10 losses this season, entered contract renewal negotiations at the team office in Tokorozawa City on the 28th, signing for an annual salary of 20 million yen, an increase of 4 million yen (estimated amount). What is the reason for the wage increase even with “debt 9”? And why did we lose so much? GM Hisanobu Watanabe analyzed.
In Sumida, four teams competed for the first place nomination in the draft last fall, and Seibu drew a lottery. Based on his reputation as the No. 1 left-hander in the amateur baseball world at the West Japan Institute of Technology, he uses a variety of change-up balls such as sliders, curves, changeups and splits, focusing on fastballs with a top speed of 150 km/hour. On March 26, the second game of the season, he was selected as the starting pitcher against Orix (Belluna Dome), and when he earned his first professional victory with a brilliant pitching of seven innings with one hit and no runs, he did not think it would be a victory first and last of the term. , no one would have expected.
From there, he suffered a nightmare of 10 consecutive losses, played 16 games in the 1st army (14 starts), 1 win and 10 losses, and an ERA of 3.75. However, GM Watanabe explained the reason for the raise, saying, “The most appreciated thing was that he threw a lot of innings.”
In fact, Sumida’s pitch count this season is 81, 2/3, which is 5th on the team. Even as he was demoted to second base, he played in 5 games in the Eastern League and threw 21 innings (0 wins, 0 losses, 1.71 ERA). Sumida himself said, “I was able to throw about 100 innings with the 1st army and the farm together, so if I can throw with the 1st army next year, I can see the regular pitching (143 innings ). I can do it this way. Now that I understand, I’ve gained confidence.”
