At the retirement ceremony of pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of professional baseball, Seibu, he expressed his gratitude to the fans, saying, "I was happy to continue playing baseball until I couldn't throw it normally at the end."

Mr. Ichiro appeared as a surprise at the ceremony, aiming for pitcher Matsuzaka's 23 years of active life in Japan and the United States.

“Thank you very much for 23 years”

The retirement ceremony for 41-year-old pitcher Matsuzaka was held on the 4th at MetLife Dome, the home of Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture.

After receiving a bouquet from the director Osamu Higashi, who was the director at the time of joining the team, Matsuzaka said to the fans, "I was able to send courage and power to the fans as much as possible because I threw them. Then, I'm really glad that I wanted to continue throwing even if I got like this. At the end, I was happy to be able to continue playing baseball until I couldn't throw normally. Thank you so much for pushing your back to move forward. "

Then, after pitcher Matsuzaka went around the ground and said goodbye to the fans, Mr. Ichiro, who had been engaged in a great game, appeared as a surprise and handed over a bouquet to aim for a total of 23 years of active life in Japan and the United States.



After the ceremony, pitcher Matsuzaka said, "I was glad that Ichiro-san called me at the end. I'm glad I came here. I won't say everything, but I said" Thank you for your hard work "and" I did my best for a long time. " The moment I heard it, I burst into tears. I thought today was the last uniform I wore as a player, and I think it was a really good last time to be able to put on number 18 in the Lions uniform. "

Ichiro "I can only do this"

At the end of the ceremony, Mr. Ichiro was projected on the monitor in the stadium, and he sent the message, "Daisuke, I can't easily find what to say. So I can only do this. Forgive Daisuke." After that, he appeared as a surprise.



Pitcher Matsuzaka was in tears as he handed over the bouquet and aimed for 23 years of active life.

In May 1999, Ichiro, who was playing at Orix at that time, played for the first time against pitcher Matsuzaka, who was a rookie, and suffered three strikeouts.



In this game, pitcher Matsuzaka made a statement (Quotations?) In a hero interview after the game that "I changed from self-confidence to conviction today", and it has been handed down as a great game that remains in the history of professional baseball.



The two played many times in the major leagues and contributed to Japan's second straight victory as teammates in the World Baseball Classic.

Message board at Kyujo-mae station

A message board for pitcher Matsuzaka was set up at Seibukyujo-mae Station on the Seibu Railway to coincide with the retirement ceremony of pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of professional baseball.



At Seibukyujo-mae Station, the nearest station to Seibu's headquarters in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, the message "Thank you for the impression of Pitcher Matsuzaka" was projected on the electric bulletin board that displays the train time and other information at the retirement ceremony of Pitcher Matsuzaka. rice field.



Also, for 4 days only, platform 5 of the station was displayed as platform 18 after pitcher Matsuzaka's uniform number, and a message board was set up on the stopped train, and fans who visited said, "Return to Seibu again. I put a sticky note with each thought, such as "Please come" or "Thank you for all the excitement".



A man in his 40s said, "I've been around the same age, so I've been longing for it since I was in high school. I want to say,'Thank you for your hard work for a long time.'"



A woman in her thirties said, "I remember the match that Pitcher Matsuzaka played against Ichiro. Today I want to see Pitcher Matsuzaka in my eyes."