2026 Seibu Lions Digest: Farewell to Kuriyama

 

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The Saitama Seibu Lions had a strong August at 16-8-0 while holding a 69-49-3 record. With this month concluded, they sit in second place, five games behind the SoftBank Hawks in the Pacific League Pennant race. 

In what was an eventful month, here are some highlights and takeaways from August 2026:

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Kuriyama's farewell ceremony and final game remained emotional

Kuriyama is all but Mr. Lion for playing his entire career with the team since being drafted in 2001, but didn't appear in his first ichi-gun game until September 2004. 

As shown on a TV graphic from the broadcast, he is the franchise leader in hits (2,152), doubles (406), sacrifice flys (75), walks (1,052), plate appearances (9,072) and at-bats (7,761).  He's also second in games played (2,322), behind Tsutomu Ito and third in RBIs (914) behind Kazuhiro Kiyohawa and Takeya Nakamura.  

Batting 6th in the lineup for his final game on August 30, he went 0-3 through six innings with some near hits. It took a home run by Shinya Hasegawa to be overturned on replay to secure one last plate appearance for Kuriyama in the bottom of the 8th inning.

With the crowd not starting his ouenka, Kuriyama took the first pitch off Katsutoshi Tai to centerfield on a grounder, giving him 2,152 career hits, all in a Lions uniform. He was then subbed off for pinch runner Taiga Hirasawa to leave the field one last time during a game.  

The ceremony itself featured a beautiful video of Kuriyama speaking about his career, inspiration and ambitions growing up in Kansai, where the Orix Braves/Blue Wave impacted him going to their games. 

There was also fellow comrades giving bouquets and other memorabilia to praise Kuriyama before he gave a speech. Former 2008 Japan Series Champion Lions Takayuki Kishi (who started the game as an opponent for the Eagles), Ginjiro Sumitani, Yasuyuki Kataoka, Hiroyuki Nakajima and Takeya Nakamura all came. Seibu chairman Takashi Goto and former Major League pitcher Hideo Nomo, who he worked with in offseasons under the same trainer, also said something in support.  

Crazy enough, he has a scare midweek as he was struck on the helmet in ni-gun by a dangerous pitch, but the Lions statement said everything would happen on 8/30 as scheduled.  

Several outlets from a candy company to Crazy Ken Band (the artist of his walkup song) and even Meiji Jingu Stadium congratulated Kuriyama on a long successful career. 

We bid a farewell to the captain and legendary Kuriyama for all he's done as a Lion.   

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The Lions weathered the storm

Injuries became a theme for the position players.  An-Ko Lin, Seiya Watanabe, Masayuki Kuwahara, Natsuo Takizawa and Shinya Hasegawa were out for a significant portion of time, with all 5 of them gone at once. Yet all of them returned for the final series in August to sweep the Eagles and the team still secured a winning record.

Someone else ended up stepping things up in their place from Alexander Canario, Taiga Hirasawa, Sosuke Genda and of course, the starting pitchers carrying this team. 

In spite of a July that took a tumble, they rebounded well without half of their starting position players.  Hasegawa returned and played like he didn't miss a beat after having a strong two months to begin 2026.  

What became even more interesting, is learning how the Lions drafted Takizawa and it came down to team and scouting information.  Then-GM Hisanobu "Nabe-Q" Watanabe never saw Takizawa in person during the scouting phase, as his scouts wanted to hide the team's intentions. 

According to reporter Daisuke Nakajima-san, the Hawks and Eagles were both interested, but their information said Takizawa, coming from a smaller high school from Niigata prefecture, had intentions to play at Asia University and refine his skills.  

The Lions had full confidence he would sign with them and has no issues taking him in the ikusei round. Nabe-Q was forced to stay in the shadows to hide the team's cards.  

Takizawa has shown great range, a younger version of Genda who can hit for average. It doesn't hurt he has versatility on the infield. 

A monkey really came off the back when the Lions won 7-4 in Tokyo Dome for their designated home game. They lost to the Hawks and Eagles in this venue earlier this year.

For the first time since 2018, the Lions are 20 games over .500.  

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Bullpen reinforcements have thrived 

Hiroshi Kaino may give up one base runner per game, but he's been mostly reliable as he reached 30 saves for the season after being thrust into the role last May. Trey Wingenter set a new NPB record with 20 consecutive holds and didn't allow a run in that stretch. 

While Wingenter wouldn't have a shutout season, he's been the constant for the 8th inning while Ryosuke Moriwaki returned from a lengthy injury multiple years ago. Hibiki Shinohara remains the future. 

Others who've contributed lately include the former starter Wataru Matsumoto, Taishu Mameda and Orix veteran Yuta Kuroki.  They've all had purposes and done well up to this point.  

The Lions have also been the best team in extra innings with an 8-5-3 record, which helps as the bullpen held more times than not 

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Lions starting pitching keeps on rolling

Kona Takahashi didn't read it up last outing, but Chihiro Sumida, Natsuki Takeuchi and Kaima Taira remain dominant in the rotation. Yutaro Watanabe has done a good job eating innings as well, where he would be a #3 pitcher on most teams.  Sou Sato even had to come in for spot starts and did hit part. 

Taira is a borderline Sawamura Award candidate who should be in the conversation, though he will likely come up short for several categories needed, behind Haruto Takahashi of the Hanshin Tigers.

It will be curious to see who spot starts in the few games remaining, where one six-game stretch goes from September 8-13 and two five game stretches go from September 19-23 and 25-29. 

But this is the unit everyone expected to be elite and they've continued to live up to the hype. Even when Kona Takahashi could walk in free agency, the Lions staff should be ready to go in the future. 

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Pending MLB lockout helped secure imports

For the second straight year, the Lions announced two foreigners signed extensions into next season. Trey Wingenter and Alexander Canario are both signed through 2027.

It's possible MLB teams may have noticed Wingenter with the run he was having, but MLB likely to lockout and have uncertainty for 2027 made this decision a no brainer to come back. 

Could this allow for Kona Takahashi to stay in Japan? Or even prevent someone else in NPB from being posted? 

Nevin was already signed through 2027 last year with a mid season extension in 2025. An-Ko Lin is signed through 2027 with a team option for 2028.

It appears with four Lions imports signed next year, they won't need to search as heavy as other teams for foreign players. 

Allan Winans may be the odd man out as he declined from his latest spot starts while Emmanuel Ramirez isn't needed for a loaded bullpen unit.  If the season ended today, there's little reason to bring them back.  

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Rookie Kojima already made an impact

Kojima earned his ouenka along with Hirasawa, but he's already growing as the season goes on. His swing rate at strikes vs balls has already improved and at one point, led the team in post-game hero inteviews with eight, a rather high number for a rookie. 

The Lions needed a bat and his trajectory is looking great for the present and future. Not only has his defense been solid, but he also pushed Yuto Koga to hit better and improve his game as well.  Both players will see the starting lineup with different catcher duties, but Kojima has been the DH just for his offense and being a threat.  

This may be the best case scenario for a first round draft pick.

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A-class is all but set, but September can't be complacent

It's pretty clear the Hawks, Lions and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters are the A-class for the Pacific League as the Orix Buffaloes and Chiba Lotte Marines remain under .500 at the time of this writing. 

But the real twist in the new Climax Series forces another curveball. There are two scenarios that can lead to the SoftBank Hawks having a greater advantage in the Final Stage of the Climax Series.

If a Climax Series team is facing the Pennant winner while finishing the regular season either 10+ games behind in the standings or under .500 with a losing record, then the pennant winner will receive a two game advantage, the series goes up to seven played games and the lower placed team must win 5 games to advance to the Japan Series. The pennant winner would only need to win three games just like before.  

The previous format of a one-gane advantage for the pennant applies like normal for any team finishing within 10 games.  

With the Lions five games back, every game is going to count, as even the Fighters are currently eight game behind the Hawks. 

August was a helpful month for the Lions because they only saw the Hawks for three games, a home series they lost two out of three. They will have five head-to-head games against the Hawks in September, all in Fukuoka.  

The Lions have a competitive record against every Pacific League team, but the Hawks have destroyed the opposition since May 22.  Nobody, including the Lions, have had an answer for Yugo Maeda and other SoftBank players. 

What's the weird thing if the Lions face the Fighters in the first stage of the Climax Series, they currently have a 12-10 record, yet both sides have thrived playing as the away team.  This wouldn't be in the Lions favor playing the odds. 

It's going to be a challenge, but can anything happen? Sure.  What is clear, the Lions bats have been good enough to not be written off 100% while the pitching can keep them in games. This will likely be the first postseason for the Lions in four years.  

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