Keep an eye on the other Sato who pitches too [2/11 vs. Red Team ●]

Sato-Teru, Sato-Teru—

This nickname has really caught on. Nicknames that combine a first and last name have a nice ring to them, and you just want to say them out loud. Come to think of it, I feel like this kind of nickname was used back in school when there were multiple people in the class with the same last name.
The current Tigers team also has another player with the surname Sato, besides Teruaki Sato.

The other Sato on the Tigers, Ren Sato, went from Hiryu High School in Shizuoka Prefecture to Jobu University, and was selected in the 3rd round of the 2020 draft. However, he was plagued by injuries during his time at Jobu University, and his official game debut didn't come until the autumn of his senior year.

According to his official profile, Ren Sato is 188cm tall and weighs 105kg. He has a physique that is every bit as impressive as Teruaki Sato's. His weapon, above all else, is his curveball. It doesn't just throw off timing with a slow trajectory; it curves and drops sharply to bewilder the batter. Its path is so unique that opposing batters often find themselves leaning back in surprise. It is not uncommon for a batter to think, "Here it comes," and swing, only for the ball to pass through a completely different spot than where the bat was.

Incidentally, the draft in the year Ren Sato was selected also saw the team pick Teruaki Sato in the first round, pitcher Masashi Ito in the second, and infielder Takumu Nakano in the sixth. Looking back, that is quite an impressive lineup. While his peers were enjoying such dizzying success, Ren Sato's professional baseball career did not get off to a smooth start.

What remains fresh in the memories of Tigers fans is the rookie-year red-and-white scrimmage. Ren Sato, who took the mound late in the game, allowed a double to the leadoff hitter Takayama, and from there, he couldn't find the strike zone. He hit Koji Chikamoto with a pitch. After that, his control remained shaky, and with his pitch count climbing, the game was ended prematurely. He was scheduled to pitch one inning, but he only managed to get two outs.

Just when it seemed he had pitched well in a farm team game, he would give up runs in the next game as if he were a completely different person. By his second year, his opportunities to pitch had decreased. Gradually, I stopped hearing Ren Sato's name. In the end, after two years without a single appearance in a first-team game and lackluster results in the farm league, Ren Sato's jersey number was changed last off-season. From 30 to 130—he became a developmental player.

An unusual red-and-white scrimmage where first-team and second-team members played on the same day at the same stadium. Ren Sato also got a chance to pitch. He took the mound as the second pitcher in the scrimmage, which was centered around second-team members.

He was like a different person. It wasn't just that his jersey number had changed to 130. He was many times better than I had imagined. It was as if he were a completely different pitcher.
His fastball, which he had struggled to control, was hitting the zone repeatedly. It was hard to believe he had once been desperate just to throw a strike. Combined with his new, more vertical arm slot and his natural height, the ball seemed to have a steep angle. He easily retired the first two batters for two outs. He then got ahead of the next batter, Hinase Itsubo, with fastballs. He was challenging him with heat.

(Maybe he'll finish him off with his signature curveball.)

What Ren Sato threw was a forkball. Itsubo's bat cut through the air. He dropped it exactly where he intended. It was perfect.
The media was all reporting on first-round draft pick Shota Morishita, but I believe the most impressive thing in that day's scrimmage was the pitching of Ren Sato, who had been reborn as if he were a different person.

Compared to when he joined the team, his jersey number has gotten bigger. But that doesn't mean he has moved backward. He has just taken a slightly, just a slightly longer path than the players around him. After all, he just showed us something incredible, didn't he? Ren Sato entered the professional world because he was expected to be capable of this kind of pitching.


Sato-Ren. I want to say that Sato-Ren is actually an amazing pitcher.
I want to say it. Let me say it. This year, for sure.