Hatsuhiko Tsuji talks about the reason why Seibu was strong at the time “I changed my view of baseball” 4 shocks against the giants in the Japan Series | Professional baseball | Shueisha’s general sports magazine Sportiva official website web Sportiva

Hatsuhiko Tsuji talks about the memories of the fierce battles in the Japan series (Part 2)

Part 1: Hatsuhiko Tsuji reveals the truth about the legendary base run>>

From the 1980s to the 1990s, Mr. Hatsuhiko Tsuji showed his presence as Seibu’s “fixed second” in running offense and defense, and supported the team’s golden age. This time in the second part, we asked him to talk about the 1990 “Shocking Japan Series” in which four giants were stacked.

Seibu Nine won the Japan Series in 1990 by beating the giants four times.
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[League championship is the minimum quota]

── The Japan Series you played against the Giants was in 1990 after 1987.

TsujiI have fond memories of all of the 10 Japan Series I played in, but the one that left the biggest impression on me was the 1990 straight win with 4 wins and 0 losses. I remember the day when I won four times in a row and became number one in Japan was my birthday (October 24th) (laughs).

── In the 1990s, the Giants were 22 games ahead of second place in the pennant race, but Seibu was also running alone. In 1989, Bryant (Kintetsu) played four games in a row and Seibu missed out on winning the championship, but in 1990 they won by 12 games behind second place. Was there regret for 89 years?

TsujiIt was a big difference. At that time, there was an atmosphere in the team that “winning the league” was the minimum norm. After winning the Japan Series, I finally felt like I had won the championship. So, even if we won the league, if we lost to the Japan Series, I would be like, “What was this season like?” As for 1990, there was the pennant race in 1989, so I had a strong feeling of not letting my guard down until the end.

── Masaki Saito of the Giants marked 20 wins for the second year in a row in 1990. In addition, Masumi Kuwata 14 wins, Kazutomo Miyamoto 14 wins, Yuuo Kida 12 wins, Isao Koda 11 wins, and five other double-digit wins. What was the content of the meeting with the giants before the series?

TsujiAfter all, Saito would have a hard time. However, the first match was Makihara. In 1983 and 1987, Makihara had a number of appearances in the Japan Series against Seibu, and I have an image of him throwing well. Kuwata fought in the 1987 series, but Miyamoto, Koda, and Kida were close to meeting for the first time.