[ORIX] 10 Years a Fan: That One Win That Made Me Truly Happy

I officially became an Orix Buffaloes fan in 2016, and 2025 will mark my 10th year as a fan. In this post, I want to look back at a game where I felt truly happy, thinking, "
I'm so glad they won...!" including the journey leading up to it!

The year was 2022

First, let's talk about the year: 2022. I was a first-year high school student back then, spending my time playing around instead of studying. Orix ended up winning consecutive championships and their first Japan Series title in 26 years. Some of you might wonder, "Why that year?" Well, for Orix that year, the first half of the season was a series of struggles. We were on the receiving end of a perfect game by Roki Sasaki, dealt with a COVID-19 cluster, and to top it off, right after Golden Week, we were 11 games behind the league-leading Rakuten. To put it bluntly, it was a super critical situation.

The game I'm picking is this one

There's no point in rambling, so the game I'm highlighting is this one. Yes, here it is!

That's right, the May 10, 2022, game at Sapporo Dome against the Nippon-Ham Fighters! Our record in May leading up to this game was, surprisingly, ""0 wins, 7 losses in 7 games."" We hadn't won a single game. The cause was a lack of hitting; a chain reaction of not being able to score. To make matters worse, on the 9th, we were dealt a huge blow when our star slugger Masataka Yoshida tested positive for COVID-19.

I had prepared myself for the losing streak to continue for quite a while. Amidst that, the game began. The starter was
Taisuke Yamaoka, who had been pitching well since the start of the season. Even though I expected the losing streak to continue, as a fan, I just wanted them to win no matter how. Orix scored first with an RBI hit from Keita Nakagawa, who was batting third, taking a 1-0 lead. Then, we added a second run with an artistic delayed steal. And in the 3rd inning, Oshiro hit a home run into the left-field stands. We dominated the early stages of the game.

Although Yuki Nomura hit a two-run homer in the 4th, we didn't relinquish control, added another run in the 9th, and closer Yoshihisa Hirano shut it down to end the game. It was the moment we finally emerged from a tunnel that had felt too long. This victory was:

and so on. It was a victory so rewarding it felt worth five wins. I was just relieved, thinking, We finally won...! I'm so glad we won! That was the only feeling I had.

Taisuke Yamaoka is indeed Orix's ace

Actually, this is what I want to convey most after watching this game. Before Yoshinobu Yamamoto emerged as a legendary ace in baseball history, Orix's ace was Taisuke Yamaoka. He lost his status as the ace due to repeated injuries and the rise of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but in this game, he was the definition of a "true ace."

He pitched 8 innings on his own, and although he gave up 2 runs, he protected the lead and handed it off to the closer. To top it off, he had zero walks. With his rhythmic pitching, he stopped the team's 7-game losing streak. I believe this is the duty of an "ace." His struggles in his rookie year, his hardships in his second year, and the 13 wins and the highest winning percentage title in his third year. Being able to see Taisuke Yamaoka as an ace again in this game made me incredibly happy as an Orix fan. Including that, I can say this was "the one win that made me truly happy" in my 10 years as a fan.

P.S. I want to see Taisuke Yamaoka performing on the mound again.