From The World Pheasant Capital To The Land Of The Rising Sun

[ehortness]

There’s a new regime that has entered the PEBA foray. Eric Hortness has been tabbed to lead the new regime as General Manager for the Okinawa Shisa. Hortness, a native of South Dakota USA, will be tasked with bringing the Shisa into PEBA relevance. Shisa owner, Fernando Mata, was quoted as saying, “Mr. Hortness brings a wealth of baseball knowledge along with great business savvy. We will give Eric and his staff everything, within reason, they need to be successful.”

Hortness will have his hands full in turning the organization around, not only in terms of wins, but also in financial terms. Over the last three seasons, Okinawa has lost $38,000,000, including a whopping $22,000,000 last season. On the field, the Shisa have finished below .500 two out of the last three years. This is after their 2027 season when the team won 106 games.

“This isn’t going to be an easy or quick turnaround process”, said Hortness. “I want to thank Mr. Mata and his family for giving me the opportunity and confidence to lead this organization. It has always been a goal of mine to lead a baseball organization. Being able to do it in the prestigious PEBA is icing on the cake.”

Hortness and his staff have hit the island of Okinawa running with several moves. “The moves that we have done in our first month have all been done with the future in mind”, added Hortness. “We want to be a contender year after year, while also turning a profit.” The latter part of that comment is in response to Owner Mata’s priority of profitability.

The most significant move the Shisa have made was a trade with Hartford. In that deal, Okinawa traded away 32 year old LHP Takanobu Shirai and his $27,000,000 contract. Last season Shirai won 10 games while eating up just under 200 innings. Also going to Hartford was LF Tom Patton (.297 & 24 HR) and a career minor leaguer. In return, Okinawa received veteran LF Vaclav Verlaan, 2 prospects, and a 4th & 5th Round draft picks. Probably the biggest part of the deal is that Okinawa cut $25,000,000 from their payroll. In announcing the deal, Hortness was all business. “Takanobu has meant a great deal to this organization, but we also have to remember this is a business. This deal has put us in a much better spot financially before we begin the 2031 season. We wish him nothing but the best with the Harpoon. We are looking forward to watching the prospects and extra draft picks we gained progress through our system.”

Hortness seems to also have a sense of humor. At the same press conference, he was asked how his first days in Japan are going. “You know, these first few weeks have gone great. I haven’t been able to make my way around Okinawa a whole lot as of yet. What I have been able to see has been great. I’m a South Dakotan where we eat chislic, crawdads, pickled herring, and kuchen. I’m looking forward to partaking in some of the local food here in Okinawa, but I was happy to see a McDonald’s right next to the ballpark.”

Only time will tell if Hortness will be the Shisa Big Mac or the Hamburglar.