Seibu Lions outfielder Takahiko "G.G." Sato notified his club on Tuesday that he will apply for salary arbitration. If the Pacific League accepts an application from the 29-year-old slugger, it will be the first arbitration case since the Nippon Ham Fighters lost to left-hander Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi in 2001 and only the seventh time in which Japanese baseball contract talks go to arbitration. Sato refused to accept a contract offer worth an estimated ¥35 million, up from ¥23 million from 2007, plus performance incentives in the fifth round of talks with Seibu this winter on Tuesday.
