Shiba Taguchi, Ryukyu Sports News

Naha, Okinawa – March 30, 2018 – We already reported on the appointment of Shisa GM Morris Ragland.  On Friday, I sat down with the Naha head man at his office overlooking Shisa Stadium to discuss the team owner, Shisa’s off-season, and Ragland’s plans and expectations for the 2018 season.  This is part one of our exclusive interview.

Iyou Seigyoki, the team owner, did not attend your introductory press conference.  Have you even met him?

They warned me such questions would be coming soon after I was hired.  Yes, I met the owner at his home in Seattle.  I didn’t know it at the time, but this was my final job interview with the club.  Iyou Seigyoki is a man who values his privacy, and he makes few announced public appearances.  He keeps a low profile. Staying away from the public eye as much as possible has allowed him to live something like a normal life.  This attitude may put him out of step with the times, what with Twitter,Friendface and what have you, but it allows him the freedom go out in public and not be recognized.

So he’s a real person?  A human person?

As billionaires go, he’s pretty normal.  I didn’t ask him to provide me with his passport or anything to establish his identity, but I’m 100% certain I spoke with a genuine human being named Iyou Seigyoki.  I’ve seen the conspiracy stuff that’s out there.  I don’t know where it comes from, but I can tell you that nothing I’ve witnessed personally would substantiate any of it.  He remains aloof from the day-to-day here in Naha, sure, but he and I are in constant contact.

What did you talk about when you first met Seigyoki?

All kinds of things.  We talked about Japanese baseball, his plans for the franchise, which I’m unfortunately not allowed to discuss at this time, sashimi, cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan, my ideas about building a team…  Quite a bit.  Looking back on it, it’s clear that he was feeling me out, seeing if our visions for the Shisa would be compatible.  As it happens, they are.  And here I am.

You mentioned expanding the fan base when you were introduced, how do you plan to do that?

You do that in one of two ways:  you cultivate the market you are in, or you move the team to a larger market.  I can tell you that Seigyoki has no intention of moving the team.  The fans here in Naha, and throughout the island of Okinawa, have been very supportive of the Shisa, and Seigyoki believes that loyalty should be rewarded with loyalty.  If you’re staying put, then you build the fan base by winning games and improving facilities.  We are committed to winning baseball in Naha, year in and year out.  Every decision we make regarding the make up and culture of the organization is with the goal of creating wins both in the near term and the long term, and ownership is willing to spend the money to make the club competitive, we are very fortunate in that respect.

You also mentioned marketing…

Marketing can help burnish a team’s image, its brand, but it’s no substitute for winning.  We are just beginning to explore the possibilities of what changes we might make in this respect.  Our new marketing team is still busy putting together some proposals, so we’ll see where we go from here later on.  I can tell you that everything is being examined.  This off-season, however, has been mostly about the baseball decisions and taking stock of where we are as a franchise.