“Showa Professional Baseball Workers Talking to Reiwa” 22nd Masao Sato, Part 2(Read from the first part >>)
A series of series that discovers past interview materials of “Showa professional baseball players” with rich individuality and conveys their charm. Masao Sato, who participated in Koshien at Tohoku High School under the supervision of Toshiaki Takeda, joined the Giants in 1969 after working at Denden Tohoku (currently Tohoku Marks) in 5th place in the draft.
However, just one year after becoming a professional player, he became a target player of the “Trade Conference” held at that time and transferred to Lotte. In addition, he is forced to live a busy baseball life, like a restless pitching form called “octopus dance throwing method”, such as going to the United States, returning to Japan, and transferring. And when he was throwing at Chunichi, the third team in Japan, Mr. Sato himself left a name in the history of the ball due to the unexpected connection with “Mr.” Shigeo Nagashima.
Masao Sato’s anomalous form in which the movement of his limbs was called “octopus dance” (photo = Sankei visual)
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In 1971, his second year as a professional, Mr. Sato pitched in 13 games with one army, but the following year he was dispatched to the US minor league 1A Lodi Orions (under the Orioles), which was acquired by Lotte at that time, and went to the United States. I crossed.
“At that time, I didn’t have the information as I do now. I heard that’Japanese professional baseball is a little higher than 3A.’ With ourselves, I was confident that a pitcher who could be a part of the Japanese army would be able to suppress it. However, it’s an overcrowded schedule. “
The California League, to which Lodi belongs, started in April and has completed 140 games by August. All the trips were by bus, and the schedule was rough, starting in the daytime, playing games at night, and returning in the morning.
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