The Saitama Seibu Lions announced earlier this week their new slogan for 2020: Leolution. In a very direct point, this new line represents the 70th anniversary in franchise history.
This is the first time in the Hatsuhiko Tsuji era where the Lions do not use "Catch" in their slogan with Catch the All, Catch the Flag and Catch the Glory happening from 2017-2019.
Tsuji is hoping for a change in pitching, where the team ERA was the highest in NPB, though the offense was also at the top of the league. "Leo" is the name of the primary Lions mascot while Lina is the female one. Of course when pronouncing Leo in Japanese, it can be spelled as れお with an "Reo" sound to it, making the Leolution title fit. The "L" and "R" sounds are merged, using the front of your tongue when saying it, rather than the back when traditionally saying "R" in English.
In 1950, the Nishitetsu Clippers and the NPB we know today were formed. After one season, the Clippers were merged with the Nishi-Nippon Pirates to form the Nishitetsu Lions, making 2020 the 70th season with Lions as the mascot.
With some glory years in Fukuoka, the Black Mist scandal took place in the 1960s, which crippled the team where it took years to recover from. Eventually, the team had no identity in the 1970s with the name changes to Taiheyo Club Lions and Crown Lighter Lions until Seibu took the team and moved them to present-day Tokorozawa in 1979.
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