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The story
Chunichi’s Akira Neo, now in his 8th pro season, is struggling in the farm league since converting to pitcher, posting an 0-3 record with a 7.25 ERA. He earned his first career win against DeNA on April 10, but was demoted from the first team on May 4 and has remained in the minors since. Hirokazu Ibata, the former Samurai Japan manager, appeared on Chunichi’s official supporter program on the 13th and praised Neo’s usage, saying his outfield defense is ‘among the best in professional baseball.’ On 5channel, this feature sparked discussion about Neo’s history of position changes — shortstop to outfield to pitcher, shifting with each new manager — and debate over whether the team’s development approach has been the right one.
[Chunichi] Former Player Hirokazu Ibata Shares His View on How to Use Akira Neo: ‘This Is Just My Personal Opinion’
Hirokazu Ibata (51), the former Samurai Japan manager, appeared live on the Chunichi Dragons supporter program ‘Sunday Dragons’ (CBC) on the 13th, where he spoke about pitcher Akira Neo (26), now in his 8th professional season.
That day’s episode of Sunday Dragons aired a feature on Neo, based on footage the show has been following since last year. Neo picked up his first career win in an April 10 game against DeNA (in Yokohama), but was removed from the first-team roster on May 4.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
It's still around, but Chunichi's never gonna put him up for it.
He should've skipped pro ball and gone to med school instead.
He should've gone to college, built up his body properly, and played shortstop for four years.
Joining the Swallows and being handed over to Miyamoto (legendary Yakult shortstop-turned-coach) would've been the right call.
He wanted infield → "not as good as Tatsunami" → outfield → can't hit → pitcher, lol.
Enough already.
Yoda drafts him
→ "Don't underestimate pitching!" (sticks him at shortstop only)
Tatsunami takes over
→ "Don't underestimate shortstop!" (moves him to outfield)
Inoue takes over
→ "Don't underestimate the outfield!" (moves him to pitcher)
Honestly, you gotta feel bad for the guy.
Lucky he's popular.
He doesn't draw crowds, so it's obvious he's not really popular — they just can't cut him because of his contract.
Same deal with "Handkerchief" (nickname for ex-pitcher Yuki Saito, famous for wiping his face with a handkerchief).
Classic baseball thing.
As a last-resort option.
He comes from a family of science types, so he could probably handle that too.
Put that brain to use for baseball from a different angle.
Any other player would've been cut long ago, right?
It's not even good for the team.
Well, of course — he was a first-round pick that four teams fought over.
Even if it's not good for the team on the field, the front office has a responsibility here, and fans, amateur coaches, and future draft prospects are all watching how this plays out.
→Don't underestimate pitching! (sticks him at shortstop only)"
Yoda just rejected the two-way idea, so his sin is relatively minor.
The real problem was Tatsunami not being able to teach him hitting.
Tatsunami's just too talented himself — he doesn't seem like the type who can teach others.
Hitting isn't something that gets better just because someone teaches it.
Both Ichiro and Matsui could already hit in the farm league from day one. Players who go on to become regulars after only six months to two years in the minors always show something exceptional right away.
There's a world of difference between him and Kozono and Fujiwara.
Outfielders are actually in surplus, so there's no spot for him there.
He's already been given plenty of pro-level chances — normally he'd have been released by now. He's only still around because Chunichi prioritizes local-connection players and he was a first-round pick.
Position players who actually make it to the first team start hitting well in the farm league almost immediately.
You have to take a long view on hitting.
Do you know what Furuta's (Yakult) rookie-year stats looked like?
He was a first-round pick, the No. 1 catcher out of the corporate leagues.
Yaegashi used to joke that his batted balls wouldn't even go forward.
They played him anyway, turning a blind eye to his hitting, just to let him gain experience as a catcher.
And in year two, he won the batting title.
It's less that his contract literally can't be terminated, and more that Chunichi (backed by the newspaper company) can't give up on a player who joined as their pet local-connection pick — plus if he suddenly blossomed on another team they'd get slammed for it. It's really just the front office covering itself by avoiding a trade or release, lol.
It's probably just a contract situation where they can't cut him.
Baseball has a fair number of players like that.
Lotte's Okada, too.
>Furuta actually put up first-team-caliber numbers in his rookie year
No he didn't, lol.
Since Ibata played shortstop himself, he does seem to get that Neo's shortstop defense was a bust, at least.
Guess you can't exactly say he'll be cut this year.
Even Neo's "failed" shortstop defense is a lot better than Kozono's shortstop defense.
If he hadn't gone into baseball, he'd probably be a doctor by now.
Neo's not actually that sharp, so med school's off the table at this point.
He's not the genius type — he's the hard-working honor-student type.
He just studied twice as hard as everyone else to make up for not being naturally gifted.
Neo was never suited for shortstop or pitcher.
They should've developed him as a late-innings outfield defensive replacement, giving him the occasional start in the outfield along the way.
Background and Key Points of Debate
Neo joined Chunichi as a shortstop after being a first-round pick contested by four teams in the 2018 draft, and has since been repeatedly converted between shortstop, outfield, and pitcher every time the team got a new manager — Yoda, Tatsunami, and now Inoue. The thread split over the question of “whose responsibility it is that he’s still being given chances after all this time,” with some pointing out that as a team tied to a local newspaper, Chunichi can’t easily let go of a first-round pick, while others blamed failures in the order and judgment behind his development. Comparisons kept coming up with fellow 2018 draftees Kaito Kozono and Kyota Fujiwara, who are now thriving, fueling persistent questions about why Neo alone keeps getting converted. Ibata’s comment that his “outfield defense is top-class in the sport” was meant to praise his defensive potential, but it sparked debate precisely because of the gap with his stalled batting and pitching numbers — pointing to a backstory behind the team’s handling of him that isn’t visible from the raw stats alone.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5channel (Geino/Sports News+) thread “[Baseball] Chunichi’s Akira Neo Struggling at 0-3 with a 7.25 ERA in the Farm League — Hirokazu Ibata Weighs In on His Usage: ‘His Outfield Defense… Is Top-Class in the Sport’.”
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