Seibu Lions team president Kenji Ono and public relations manager Akira Kuroiwa resigned Monday over the growing scandal surrounding pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's off-field activities.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| *Yomiuri | 78 | 57 | 0 | .578 | - |
| Chunichi | 70 | 65 | 0 | .519 | 8.0 |
| Yokohama | 69 | 66 | 1 | .511 | 9.0 |
| Yakult | 66 | 69 | 1 | .489 | 12.0 |
| Hiroshima | 65 | 70 | 1 | .481 | 13.0 |
| Hanshin | 57 | 78 | 1 | .422 | 21.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| *Daiei | 73 | 60 | 2 | .549 | - |
| Seibu | 69 | 61 | 5 | .531 | 2.5 |
| Nippon Ham | 69 | 65 | 1 | .515 | 4.5 |
| Orix | 64 | 67 | 4 | .489 | 8.0 |
| Lotte | 62 | 67 | 6 | .481 | 9.0 |
| Kintetsu | 58 | 75 | 2 | .436 | 15.0 |
Ono and Kuroiwa met with a reportedly angry Hiroyuki Toda, the acting president of the Lions' parent company Seibu Railway Co., in Tokorozawa, Saitama Pref., to submit their resignations.
Ono will continue to work in the club's front office as general manager, but his future beyond the end of the season was unclear. Kuroiwa will return to the general administrative department of another firm with the Seibu group.
On Friday, police sent papers on Matsuzaka to the public prosecutors office, accusing him of driving a car without having a valid license last month in Tokyo and other traffic offenses.
The police also sent papers to the prosecutors on Kuroiwa, 39, on suspecting him of lying to cover up for Matsuzaka, who left for the Sydney Olympics soon after.
Season ends
Shingo Ono went the distance on 160 pitches for his 13th win of the season as the Lotte Marines closed out the Pacific League season with a 7-1 win over the Orix BlueWave Monday.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.