Distraction techniques that no other team can match.

In the 2026 Nippon Life Central-Pacific Interleague Series, the Saitama Seibu Lions claimed their first-ever championship with a record-high winning percentage of .824. The team ERA stood out for their rock-solid defense, boasting a 1.53 ERA, but the most memorable game was their match against the Chunichi Dragons on June 7.

With the game tied in the bottom of the 11th inning extra inning, facing a two-out, bases loaded situation—where a single hit by walk-off would have sealed their loss—mound ’s Taiga Ueda pitcher threw a pickoff to first base. He masterfully runner, and the team went on to score three runs in the top of the 12th inning to win. This game can certainly be called the highlight of their impressive run.Saitama Seibu Lions has dominated other teams in the number of times they’ve thrown out runners on pickoff plays runner, recording a league-high 42 pickoff outs pitcher since 2024. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at pickoff plays—Saitama’s Seibu Lions “signature move.”

The top individual players were the two left-handed pitchers who lead the team.

Looking at the pickoff data by pitcher, left-pitcher Natsuki Takeuchi and Chihiro Sumida both recorded the most pickoffs in the pitcher, with 13 each. pitcher is particularly outstanding, with a league-leading pickoff rate of 8.3% (the number of outs divided by the total number of pickoff attempts). He can be considered one of the best pickoff pitcher in the baseball world.

Also, although he's pitcher from another team, Ren Fukushima of Hokkaido Nippon-Ham pitcher is the only right-handed pitcher to make it into the top 5, while the top spots are dominated by left-handed pitchers. While he's known for his powerful fastball, this suggests he also possesses refined techniques. Incidentally, pitcher with the most pickoff attempts since 2024 is Andre Jackson, who joined Chiba Lotte Marines this season. He has attempted 442 pickoffs so far, far surpassing the 253 attempts of the second-place pitcher, Sumida. It might be interesting to count the number of pickoff attempts Jackson pitcher when he takes the mound in the future.

The true weapon is the sign play

Next, let's look specifically at instances where a team attempted a pickoff using a pre-arranged sign. However, it's difficult to determine from the outside whether a pickoff was thrown using a sign or initiated by pitcher. Therefore, for this analysis, we will consider pickoffs as sign plays when there are runner on first and second base, second base, second and third base, or the bases are bases loaded, where no fielder are waiting on the bases.

Looking at the number of runner put out using this sign play, while other teams manage a maximum of two, the Saitama Seibu Lions record a league-leading nine. Even considering the differences in the number of attempts among teams, the Saitama Seibu Lions are able to get an out at a rate of one in three, which undoubtedly makes it an effective weapon for them.

A distraction to keep the "runner behind" in check.

Next, take a closer look at the pickoff data for the first, second, third, and bases loaded bases where you attempt a pickoff by signing, as well as against the leadoff runner "non-lead" bases. In this base situation with multiple runner, pick-ups against the runner behind the runner in the lead, that is, the behind, are very rare; since 2024, only Saitama Seibu Lions and Orix Buffaloes have attempted Pacific League. This play could be seen as a clever tactic to exploit the opponent's opening, but Saitama Seibu Lions has a high probability of getting outs four out of eight innings.

A single decisive blow that can determine the outcome of the match.

If we list the checks on items other than the first runner,

・All right-hand pitcher
・Frequent attempts at relief pitcher
・All pickoff targets are at first base
・Lots of trials in the matches where the competition is competing

This tendency was observed. When successful, it becomes a big play that energizes the team, but a pickoff thrown toward the first baseman who should have entered the base while turning with his back to first base can lead to fatal mistakes if misaligned. The tense and most intense moments of that play, combined with multiple pitcher succeeding, can truly be seen as the result of pre-season practice.

Deceive pitcher runner Considering not only individual technique but also the accuracy of the sign-making play mentioned earlier, there is no doubt that Saitama Seibu Lions possesses some of the league's top pickoff techniques. Looking back at history, Saitama has shown impressive pickoff plays in numerous situations, including the 1990 Japan Series Game 2, where Yoshitaka Kataka pitcher came in as a reliever in the 9th inning and escaped a crisis with a pickoff at second base. We deserve continued attention to this "family craft" that has been continuously passed down through the team.

*All figures in the text and tables are as of July 2, 2026.

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