Satō–Suzuki Baseball Match

The Satō–Suzuki Baseball Match (Japanese: 佐藤VS鈴木草野球大会, Hepburn: Satō VS Suzuki Kusayakyū Taikai) was an amateur baseball match between people with the surnames of Satō and Suzuki, the first and second-most common surnames in Japan, respectively. It was held on March 9, 2025, a day before "Satō Day", at the Agekke Sano Yakyujo ballpark in Sano, Tochigi.

Satō–Suzuki Baseball Match

Suzukis Satōs 2 4
Teams	Suzukis Satōs
Date	March 9, 2025 (2025-03-09)
Venue	Agekke Sano Yakyujo ballpark
City	Sano, Tochigi, Japan
Managers	Ichiro Suzuki (Suzukis) Takahiko Sato (Satōs)
Time of game	12:45 p.m. (JST)
Television	Tochigi Television

Background

Satō is the most common surname in Japan, with approximately 1.86 million people having the surname according to a 2023 survey, accounting for 1.5% of Japan's population. It is believed that surname "Satō" originated in Sano, Tochigi.^[1][2][3] "Satō Day" is an annual event held in Sano, Tochigi, who calls itself the "Holyland of Satō", every March 10, where people who have the surname Satō can receive discounts in the city.^[4]

Suzuki is the second most common surname in Japan after Satō, with approximately 1.77 million people having the surname. The surname was believed to have originated in Kainan, Wakayama.^[3][2]

Preparation

Sano announced in December 2024 that they were looking for 11 contestants for each team whose surnames are "Satō" and "Suzuki". They planned to hold an amateur baseball match between the two common surnames. The city called the event "final showdown for surname pride". The applications for contestants were held until January 19, 2025.^[5][6][7][2] 90 players applied for the match (47 for Satō and 43 for Suzuki), but only 15 for each team were selected.^[8][9][10]

Match

The match was held on March 9, 2025, at 12:45 p.m. at the Agekke Sano Yakyujo ballpark in Sano, Tochigi. The "Satō Team" was coached by former professional baseball player Takahiko Sato while the "Suzuki Team" was coached by former professional baseball player Ichiro Suzuki. More than 600 people from Kainan, Wakayama cheered for the Suzukis.^[11] The game had seven innings and used a hard rubber ball instead of the regular baseball.^[7][12] The match was won 4-2 by the "Satō Team".^[11] The MVP of the match was Ryuji Sato, a firefighter from Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture.^[11][13]

See also

• Josh fight