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The story
On September 10, 2026, 5ch’s “Hello! Project” board lit up over live commentary on the Giants-Dragons game at Tokyo Dome. While fans grumbled about Dragons pitcher Kanamaru giving up a hit off his curveball for the second straight game, the real focus of the thread was Yomiuri Giants star Hayato Sakamoto’s doubles total. He’s managed just 4 so far this season, a steep drop from his 29 in 2023, but posters reacted to the note that he’s now just “14 doubles away” from Kazuyoshi Tatsunami’s all-time NPB doubles record. Skepticism about whether he’ll actually get there mixed with jokes like “he just hit one!” and “he’ll get there next year as a DH.”
What people said
Giants Acting Manager 130
Starting Lineups
【Giants】 【Dragons】
4 Urata 4 Fukunaga
8 Cabbage 6 Muramatsu
3 Dalbec 7 Hosokawa
2 Oshiro 3 Sano
5 Sakamoto 5 Ishikawa
6 Izumiguchi 8 Hanada
7 Matsumoto 9 Fukumoto
9 Sasaki 2 Ishii
1 Inoue 1 Kanamaru
Heading to Mamy Mart (a local supermarket chain — i.e., "I can leave now, game's decided")
He just hit one though
He'll get there next year as a DH
2023: 29
2024: 14
2025: 10
2026: 4
The problem is they can't beat anyone except us
He's in the starting lineup today though
It always comes down to this, huh
It's fine
It's Rokuryu
Good luck multitasking! (i.e., not really watching the game)
Typical, our team never wins games like this
Kadowaki would've turned that into two outs
Sure, if the bases weren't loaded
Background and Talking Points
Kazuyoshi Tatsunami finished his playing career with 487 doubles, the most in NPB history, so even by simple arithmetic Sakamoto still needs a substantial number more to match him. Looking at the year-by-year doubles totals posters cited (29 in 2023 → 14 in 2024 → 10 in 2025 → 4 in 2026), the clear downward trend explains why many in the thread were skeptical he’d ever catch up. The “he’ll get there next year as a DH” joke, meanwhile, plays off the fact that Sakamoto has kept playing the field despite the physical toll, implying a DH role would free up more playing time and spare his body. How close Sakamoto actually gets to Tatsunami’s record will depend on his games played and hitting output going forward — nothing in this thread amounts to a definitive prediction.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Giants Acting Manager 131.”
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