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Ayami Sato

@sato_18

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🇺🇸WPBL @wpbl_queens #18
🦁埼玉西武ライオンズレディース #18
⚾️侍ジャパン女子代表投手 #18(2010〜)
International inquiries: please contact @mayo.hirano 📩

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11 innings pitched. 4 earned runs. 6 strikeouts. 2 wins.
The first-ever complete game in the WPBL.
Ayami Sato is the first-ever WPBL Championship MVP. by @sato_18

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6 days ago

On Sunday, superstar pitcher Ayami Sato just became the first woman to play in a Canadian men’s professional baseball league. ⚾️

The 35-year-old Japanese star took the mound for the Toronto Maple Leafs and delivered two perfect innings, striking out one and allowing zero baserunners in her debut. [That means no hits, no walks, no errors, nobody even made it to first base while she was pitching! Total dominance.]

Sato, a 6-time World Cup gold medallist and 3-time MVP, is no stranger to shattering ceilings. From dominating boys’ baseball in junior high to inspiring the next generation of girls in sport, she’s rewriting what’s possible.

Maple Leafs Head Coach Rob Butler, said after the game “It’s a beautiful story. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be a part of this.”

[Images via Dan Hamilton | Imagn Images]

#womenssports #baseball #investinwomenssports by @sato_18

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a year ago

9月16日（アメリカ時間）に行われた
サンディエゴ・パドレスVS ヒューストン・アストロズの試合🏟️

里綾実が務めた始球式の様子をお届けします⚾️

女子野球選手として、日本人がメジャーリーグの始球式をするのは史上初。

歴史的瞬間です…！

Posted by 里綾実FC

#里綾実 #padres #astros taken in Petco Park Stadium- San Diego, CA by @sato_18

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2 years ago

Seven weeks ago, the Los Angeles Queens opened the inaugural season of the Women’s Professional Baseball League by winning the first game in league history.

Tuesday night, the LA Queens closed the first WPBL season as its first champion, winning the league’s final game of the season.

Riding an historic performance from out Japanese baseball legend Ayami Sato, the @wpbl_queens downed the San Francisco Firebells, 2-0, in the fifth and deciding game of the WPBL Championship Series.

@sato_18 earned WPBL Championship Series MVP honors for her ability to silence the offensive buzzsaw that was the 2026 Firebells.

San Francisco scored 40 runs in the previous four games of the series, including 17 in its game 5-forcing win on Sunday.

The three-time Women’s World Cup MVP pitched the first complete game and first shutout in league history, holding the Firebells to only five hits and zero walks. Though she admitted surprise at her selection as MVP, Sato’s performance made the choice undeniable.

Follow the link in bio to read more. by @sato_18

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5 days ago

I believed in myself and kept challenging myself, no matter what.

And yesterday, something truly unbelievable happened.

LA Queens are the first-ever WPBL Champions!! 🏆

“Women shouldn’t play baseball.”
“You can’t make a living playing baseball.”
“You can’t play for a men’s team in Canada.”
“You can’t play in a professional baseball league.”

I’m sure there were many people who thought these things were impossible for me.

But I did it!!

There were so many things in this league that didn’t go the way I wanted.

I gave up a lot of hits and home runs,
and I gave up a lot of runs, too.

But I continued to believe in myself.

My incredible teammates and our amazing fans believed in me, too.

I truly believe that all of you made me the MVP!
I am grateful from the bottom of my heart.

Failure is scary.

But I believe that having the courage to challenge yourself is what opens new doors.

And when you keep moving forward without giving up, eventually you begin to see the path to success.

That is what I believe.

To everyone who walked this incredible baseball journey with me,
thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you so much for all of your messages and congratulations.

More than anything, seeing all of you happy makes me happy.

I also received congratulations and messages from players from the @wpbl_firebells , @wpbl_heights and @wpbl_hunters .

I know that celebrating the championship of a team you have battled against all season is not easy.

It isn’t easy for me either.

But they still celebrated our championship with us.

I am truly grateful and deeply honored to have played alongside and competed against such incredible people and players.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Today, I’m going to cry a lot of happy tears. 😭✨ by @sato_18

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5 days ago

I realized that I had been trying to hurry through what has been some of the greatest time of my life in this league.

Today is the final day of the inaugural WPBL season.

When I really think about it, the Queens are the team that gets to experience this entire WPBL season—from the very first Opening Day all the way to the very last game.

There aren’t many opportunities in life to have an experience like this. And the fact that I was able to truly fall in love with this team in such a short amount of time is all because of every one of you.

We’ve shared so much—not only as players, but also as people. We’ve shared our values, the way we see baseball and life, and so many other things along the way.

You have all become like family to me.

So today, I don’t want to rush toward the end anymore.

I want to take in every single moment until the very last one. I want to see everything in front of me, feel everything, burn it all into my eyes, and etch it all into my heart.

And in these final moments together, I want to reconnect with the pure love for baseball that I had when I first started playing, and enjoy this game with all my heart, giving everything I have until the very end. by @sato_18

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6 days ago

No one knows how the game will end.

But there is one thing we do know.
It’s very simple:

The team that deserves to be champions will win.

So we will give everything we have to prove that we deserve it.

To all the fans, thank you for coming out to the stadium and supporting us.

You are the ones who make this stage so special!

I’m truly happy.
Thank you. by @sato_18

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9 days ago

At our very first team meeting of the season, I said, in my imperfect English, “Let’s become champions.”

At that time, the WPBL was just beginning, and none of us knew what this league would become.

But from the very beginning, I wanted us to be more than a team that simply wanted to win.

I wanted us to carry ourselves like champions, play like champions, and have the mindset of champions every single day.

I wanted us to become a team worthy of being champions.

And together, we built that one step at a time.

This season was not perfect. There were games where we were far from the team we wanted to be. But we never gave up or ran away from those moments. We faced them, talked honestly with each other, challenged each other, and kept moving forward together.

That is why we are here now, in the Championship.

Through this WPBL, I have also learned something deeply personal:

You can be yourself.

You don’t have to become someone else to be accepted.
You don’t have to be like anyone else.
Being your true self is what allows you to shine the brightest.

I have experienced that here.

I have met teammates who accept me for who I am, and fans who support me for who I am.

So many times, I have had moments where I thought,

“This is who I am. And that’s okay.”

That is one of the most important things I have gained from this WPBL.

And now, the goal we talked about at the beginning of the season is right in front of us.

I will continue to be myself, be proud of who I am, and fight until the very end with my Queens.

I want to enjoy every moment of this Championship together with the best opponent we could ask for, and remember this moment for the rest of my life.

Let’s go, Queens.

I am truly proud of this team the @wpbl_queens by @sato_18

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11 days ago

This morning, I had a wonderful time with CJ, an amazing person who supports our league as a stadium DJ, Rakyung Kim from the New York Heights, and Mayo.

After grabbing some delicious coffee at a local coffee shop in downtown Springfield, we went to a nearby farmers market.

Among the local produce, accessory shops, and spice vendors, we even found a WPBL booth!

To all the WPBL staff, thank you so much for promoting our games not only at the stadium but also throughout the community, and for helping make WPBL feel closer and more familiar to so many people.

While enjoying such a wonderful morning, I also met so many fans wearing WPBL merchandise.

The time I get to connect and interact with all of you is truly special to me.

I’m able to head into today’s game with such a wonderful feeling.

Today, I’m going to give everything I have and compete against an amazing opponent. 🔥

I got some locally grown tomatoes. 🍅✨ by @sato_18

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12 days ago

The New York Heights were a team that brought so many different emotions throughout this season.

They were our biggest rival, and just like their name, they were a high and formidable wall standing in front of us until the very end.

Throughout the season, I personally struggled against the New York Heights.

As a team, we also felt that playing against the Heights was always going to be difficult.

In the final game, I didn’t have any room to think about anything else. I just focused on what was right in front of me and gave everything I had until the very end.

I am truly grateful to the New York Heights for giving us the opportunity to fight with everything we had until the final out.

Thank you so much, @wpbl_heights. 🗽 by @sato_18

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13 days ago

Sato with a bit of PFP! 👏 by @sato_18

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14 days ago

There are so many different people in the world, and everyone has their own feelings, values, opinions, and ways of seeing things.

Maybe I don’t need to share this much of my honest feelings.

But here, I want to share what I personally think and feel, just as I feel it.

Of course, I don’t believe that my opinion is 100% right. If I realize that I was wrong or that there was something I could have done better, I want to acknowledge it, reflect on it, and continue improving myself so that I can become a better person.

As a player, it is truly frustrating and painful that I haven’t been able to contribute to my team’s victories as much as I want to.

Even so, I can confidently say that I compete with respect for my opponents. I don’t believe in putting others down or making fun of them.

As a member of the WPBL, I take pride in representing my team and giving everything I have to baseball.

No matter what happens, I will always compete fairly, with respect and pride.

Maybe I don’t need to reveal every part of myself.

But this is who I am.

I will give everything I have to do what I can do.
That’s all.

Tomorrow is the day. 🔥 by @sato_18

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15 days ago