{"id":45212,"date":"2026-07-27T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stocks-future.com\/?guid=52c062de8782a9cfc4cd921b952be6c7"},"modified":"2026-07-27T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:00:00","slug":"seibu-lions-signed-indian-pitcher-akshay-more-as-a-development-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/?p=45212","title":{"rendered":"Seibu Lions Signed Indian Pitcher Akshay More as a Development Player"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"bwalignc\">\n<b>- <i>First Indian Player to Sign a Professional Contract with an NPB Club <\/i>-<\/b><\/p><p>TOKOROZAWA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SEIBU LIONS, INC. (Head Office: Tokorozawa, Saitama; President &amp; CEO: Tsuyoshi Okumura) is pleased to announce that Indian pitcher Akshay More has signed with the club as a development player for the 2026 season as part of the organization's Global Strategy initiative.<\/p><br\/><a href=\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20260721918127\/en\/2857358\/5\/img_616836_1.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20260721918127\/en\/2857358\/22\/img_616836_1.jpg\" \/><\/a><br\/><a href=\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20260721918127\/en\/2857358\/5\/img_616836_1.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20260721918127\/en\/2857358\/21\/img_616836_1.jpg\" \/><\/a><p>\nThis marks the first time an Indian player has signed a professional contract with a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) club, representing an important milestone for both the Lions and the continued global growth of baseball.<\/p><p>\nWith a 194-cm, 88-kg frame, More possesses outstanding athleticism and delivers from a smooth, repeatable motion. He features a lively fastball that reaches the high 140s km\/h, complemented by a sharp forkball. During the club's tryout in June, Lions scouts were highly impressed by his long-term upside. Although he has only six years of baseball experience, his sincere attitude toward the game and commitment to continuous improvement were key factors in the club's decision to sign him as a development player.<\/p><p>\nLaunched in November 2025, the Seibu Lions Global Strategy is designed to identify and develop international talent with the potential to succeed in NPB while expanding the club's global player pipeline. Building on the club's long-standing expertise in player development, the Lions aim not only to strengthen the organization but also to contribute to the continued growth of baseball around the world. More's profile is provided below.<\/p><p>\n<b>1. Player Profile\n<br\/><\/b><b>Name:<\/b> Akshay More\n<br\/><b>Date of Birth:<\/b> December 4, 2003 (Age 22)\n<br\/><b>Height \/ Weight:<\/b> 194 cm \/ 88 kg\n<br\/><b>Nationality:<\/b> India\n<br\/><b>Education\n<br\/><\/b>\u2022 Shri Narayandas Ramdas High School and Junior College\n<br\/>\u2022 Lovely Professional University\n<br\/><b>Position:<\/b> Pitcher\n<br\/><b>Throws \/ Bats:<\/b> Right \/ Right\n<br\/><b>Uniform Number:<\/b> 146\n<br\/><b>Professional Experience:<\/b> \u2014<\/p><p>\n<b>Player Comment\n<br\/><\/b>\"I am truly grateful to the Seibu Lions for giving me this incredible opportunity.\n<br\/>I will continue to work hard every day, learn from my teammates and coaches, and do everything I can to contribute to the team's success.\n<br\/>My goal is to become a player our fans can be proud of, and I look forward to growing both as a player and as a person with humility and dedication.\n<br\/>I can't wait to meet everyone soon.\"<\/p><p>\n<b>Comment from Koji Hiroike\n<br\/><\/b><b>Executive Director of Baseball Operations\n<br\/><\/b>Playing baseball in Japan has always been More\u2019s dream. He uses his height to create exceptional extension. His fastball tops out at 150 km\/h, and he features a solid repertoire of offspeed pitches, including a sinker, splitter, changeup, and curveball.\n<br\/>More is an outstanding athlete who finished runner-up at India\u2019s national judo championships. We have also been captivated by his integrity and character.\n<br\/>After performing well in Baseball United\u2014the first professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia\u2014he showed great future promise at our tryout in June, which led us to sign him to a developmental contract.\n<br\/>We hope he continues to grow with the Lions and becomes a beacon of hope for baseball players in India.<\/p><br\/> <b>Contacts<\/b> <br\/><p>\nCompany name: SEIBU LIONS, INC.\n<br\/>TEL: +81-4-2924-1154\n<br\/>E-mail: <a  href=\"mailto:pr-international@seibulions.co.jp\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">pr-international@seibulions.co.jp<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; First Indian Player to Sign a Professional Contract with an NPB Club -TOKOROZAWA, Japan&#8211;(BUSINESS WIRE)&#8211;SEIBU LIONS, INC. (Head Office: Tokorozawa, Saitama; President &amp; CEO: Tsuyoshi Okumura) is pleased to announce that Indian pitcher Akshay M&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-infos-businesswire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45213,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45212\/revisions\/45213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}