Shiba Taguchi, Ryukyu Sports News

Naha, Okinawa – November 23, 2019 – A little more than a week after revelations of collusion, backroom dealing, and worse rocked the League of the Rising Sun, Shisa GM Morris Ragland addressed the local media. The investigation into the actions of the clubs involved is ongoing, but the Shisa have insisted in press releases that Naha is a clean operation. League officials seem convinced, at any rate, as they included Naha in the list of clubs to survive the scandal to play in the final LRS season in 2020. Moreover, LRS officials recently announced that Naha will be one of five teams to play in the new “Rising Sun Division” of the Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance in 2021. 

In today’s press conference, GM Ragland opened by expressing his sympathy for the fans of Japanese and South Korean baseball, who, like him, were likely poleaxed by the news that LRS clubs had gotten caught up in the world of organized crime. He went on to speak of regret to the fans in Hiroshima, Kure, Kuwana, and Seoul who have already lost their teams, and to the fans in Kawaguchi, Kyoto, and Fukuoka who will see their teams relocate in 2021.

“The Shisa, however,” said Ragland, “aren’t going anywhere.”

The GM described the alacrity with which the two leagues moved to consummate a merger in 2021 as “remarkable”. He noted that, while he and the Shisa board did not get all they wanted in talks with LRS executives about the future of Japanese professional baseball, Naha’s voice was definitely heard. “We’re not happy with the result,” said Ragland, “but you won’t find anyone that’s happy with the dissolution of the league. At some point, though, you have to take a hard look at the viability, not only of individual franchises, but the league as a whole.” 

He referred to the preservation of five Japanese teams in the PEBA merger as “something of a victory”, but declined to comment on how close Naha came to losing its own team.

Ragland similarly deflected questions about the ongoing criminal investigation undertaken by Yuni Ichihara, as well as questions about a fire on the night of November 13^th that consumed a warehouse leased by Seigyoki Kabushiki Gaisha and was rumored to contain, among other things, many documents produced by the Shisa baseball club. The GM would only say that all correspondence between employees of the Shisa and those of the clubs directly involved in the scandal are already in the hands of Ichihara. He also noted that all Shisa financial documents are, of course, on file at the LRS offices. “I won’t speculate as to the nature of documents that may have been lost,” said Ragland. “We still don’t know for certain ourselves, yet, what was in the warehouse, but it would be irresponsible to draw any connections between this fire and recent league scandals.”

The Shisa head man went on to announce the location of future Shisa minor league affiliates. These include a new Double A and Short Season A team. The AA franchise will go to an ownership group based in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture. The Short Season A club will be based in Kobayashi, Miyazaki Prefecture. With Fushigi Yugi set to leave Fukuoka for North America in 2021, Naha is clearly making a move to reserve for itself the entirety of the Kyushu Region. By his own admission, GM Ragland has been greatly concerned with expanding the fan base of the Shisa since taking over the team nearly a year ago. Of the five Japanese teams that will compete in the PEBA starting in 2021, the Shisa will be playing in the smallest market by far. “We’re lucky to have such a dedicated and loyal fan base,” said Ragland, “because otherwise we wouldn’t be able compete. However, it’s imperative that the Shisa brand get some heavy exposure in cities like Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagashima, and eventually, even Fukuoka. This needs to be Shisa territory,” he said, thumping the podium for emphasis. 

When asked about the prospects for Naha as a new PEBA member, the GM said that “we are soon going to be playing in the same division as Shin Seiki, so we’ll need to step up our game if we want to return to the post-season. That goes for the entire organization. The Rising Sun Division will be made up of the cream of the LRS, and will be competitive right out of the gate.”

Questioned about how the young pitchers Naha recently acquired in the contraction draft fit with the Shisa’s future plans to compete in the PEBA, the GM grinned. “Like a glove,” was his reply.