Translation: Lions react to playing for Samurai Japan

A total of seven Saitama Seibu Lions will be playing in the Asia Professional Baseball Championship later this month. The Lions uploaded a video with a few players reacting to being part of the Samurai Japan roster.

Sosuke Genda, Hotaka Yamakawa, Shuta Tonosaki, Katsunori Hirai, Shogo Noda and Shinsaburo Tawata will be playing for Samurai Japan. Noda was added as an injury replacement with Taisuke Yamaoka being out due to injury.

In order to be eligible, a player is either 24 years or younger in age, or is with the team for three years or less, something Genda, Tonosaki, Hirai, Noda and Tawata fulfill. Two wild card exceptions are allowed where there are no limits. Yamakawa and Takuya Kai (Hawks) were selected as the wild cards, where they completed their fourth seasons with their respective NPB teams.

Here is what a handful of Lions said:

Sosuke Genda 

How do you feel being selected as a Samurai Japan member? 

"I’m really happy."

What kind of play do you want to make an impression? 

"Same as regular season, I will do what I have to do."

Is there any particular play you want to show the audience? 

"I don’t know… Maybe I want to steal bases." 

What kind of impressions do you have toward the Samurai Japan? 

"I have this impression the spectators cheer in loud voices no matter which team in NPB they are usually rooting for."

Do you feel nervous? 

"There will be many players from the same generation as I, so I want to ask them various questions about baseball." 

Say a message to the Lions fans 

"I'll do my best as a representative for the Lions."

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Hotaka Yamakawa

How do you feel being selected as a Samurai Japan member?

"I feel honored."

What kind of impressions do you have toward the Samurai Japan? 

"I only watched them on TV, so I feel they belong to a different level and world from me." 

Can you tell us how enthusiastic you are right now? 

"I have been selected as one of the (wildcard) players, so I will work hard to lead younger players."  

Can we expect you hit the long ball? 

"I think it is definitely one of my strengths. I want to challenge myself to see how far I can go against all of the teams from overseas." 

Is there any batting order you would like to hit? 

"It doesn’t matter. I don’t know where I will be placed, so I’ll go all out if I’m given any chance." 

Say a message to the Lions fans. 

"I’ll do my best playing for Samurai Japan. Please support us!" 

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Katsunori Hirai

How do you feel being selected as a Samurai Japan member? 

"I feel really honored being selected since this is my first year as a professional. I’m just really happy. There will be plenty of great players from other teams, so I would like to learn many things like their engagement and attitude to baseball."

"After having played in professional baseball for a year, I’m a little confident my breaking ball can do well to some extent. I know I have to work harder and improve myself, so I would like to learn things from other players, like how they can work through the difficult situations."

Say a message to the Lions fans 

"I’ll play on behalf of the Lions. We will achieve a good result and win the championship!"

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Shuta Tonosaki

How do you feel being selected as a Samurai Japan member? 

"I’m really happy." 

Did you ever play for the national team before? 

"No, this is the very first time. I just wonder how it is like to play baseball representing Japan. I feel a little anxious and a little strange." 

What kind of impressions do you have toward the Samurai Japan? 

"I have dreamed of it. I admire all of the players because I know how badly they feel nervous and pressed. I learned it the hard way since I became a professional player."

Is there any particular play you want to show the audience? 

"I want to show my strength like my batting and my base running. I will devote my best efforts." 

Say a message to Lions fans. 

"I'll do my best as a representative for the Lions. Please root for us!" 

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Nien Ting Wu will also participate in this tournament which features younger teams from both Taiwan and South Korea. Wu should be playing 3B, but can go anywhere on the infield or outfield if needed. 

The APBC begins on November 16 with all games taking place in Tokyo Dome. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan will play each other in a round robin format. The top two countries after all the games will play a championship deciding game, meaning a team will play three games at most.

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Special thanks to @Pino_Martinez for translation help. 

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