CHIBA — Almost right away, Ikuhiro Kiyota and Yohei Oshima shook their heads when asked whether they would be playing on such a privileged stage like the Japan Series before their first pro season began this year.
That shouldn't be a surprise. After all, both are rookies and weren't high-profile draftees last fall.
"Oh no, I didn't even dream of being here," Chiba Lotte's Kiyota said before Thursday's Game 5 of the Japan Series, in which the Marines crushed Chunichi 10-4 at Chiba Marine Stadium.