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    Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks  vs  Saitama Seibu Lions 

Regular Season

20-07-2011 from 09:00 until 12:00

Sumitani said he is winning personally because he is finally a regular fixture in the lineup. But team victories are his sole focus.

Even with his improved direction, the Lions have struggled to get off the field at times, and Sumitani takes a lot of responsibility.
Sometimes, we get hit hard and I want to cut down on those instances," he said. It's impossible to eliminate all of those over the course of the season, but it's a matter how much you can cut down on that and win games that makes a difference in the end.
When the pitchers aren't at their best and the lineup isn't hitting runs, if we can keep even one extra run off the board, it can impact whether or not we win the game," Sumitani said. "If we just keep the games close, we can have a chance to win.Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks  vs  Saitama Seibu Lions.

 Saitama Seibu Lions catcher Ginjiro Sumitani has suffered an identity crisis behind the mask.
Not surprising, given the fact that Sumitani came right out of high school in 2006 and was given the chance to start the season on the first team. But he eventually got kicked to the curb, playing just 54 games.
The knock on him was how he called games, but he was the first rookie in 51 years of Nippon Professional Baseball to go straight from prep school to an Opening Day spot behind the plate.Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks  vs  Saitama Seibu Lions.


But he was sent to the farm in May, batting .160 with two home runs, and told to make some changes in his game.
Well, I haven't really changed my approach as much as I've gone up against a lot of the batters over the years and now I'm starting to understand what they're about," said Sumitani, who added the biggest change is that he's comfortable dealing with game situations.I've been able to calm down and play with more poise. I wasn't exactly nervous, but I'm able to pay more attention to what's going on around me. When I was 18, I was just focused on what pitches to call, and wasn't as aware of what other guys were doing.Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks  vs  Saitama Seibu Lions.

But the sixth-year catcher has been forced to find an identity--for better or worse--with the offseason departure of longtime catcher Toru Hosokawa.Last year we finished second and I don't want to have to hear people saying, 'They're not as good now that Hosokawa is gone, .Sumitani had a lot to figure out after making a splash early on in '06.
He threw out nearly 50 percent of runners in the exhibition season. He formed one of the youngest winning batteries in NPB history on March 26, when at 18 he and 19-year-old Hideaki Wakui beat the Orix Buffaloes. Three days later, he belted two homers against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Kitakyushu.Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks  vs  Saitama Seibu Lions.