Lotte's fall practice was held at Zozo Marine Stadium on the 13th.
This season, Akito Takabe played in over 100 games for the first time in three years since 2022, with a batting average of .286, Home Run, 34 RBI, and 20 stolen base bases. This fall, he said, "First of all, it's my body. I need to make my body stronger, so I need to understand what my abilities are and first know my limits. I need to think about whether my body can move even when I'm tired, how I move, and what kind of movements I make when I'm tired. I want to think about it as hard as I can." He is working hard in rigorous training to find out his limits.
On September 26th of last year, he underwent a right knee bifurcation patellar osteotomy and right femoral exostosis removal surgery, and was in the rehabilitation group at this time. "After the injury, my body wasn't in top condition and it was difficult for me to move, so I hope to be able to get rid of that little by little."
In recent years, he has often been sidelined due to injury, but this season, although he was demoted to the farm team midway through the season, he was able to fight through the entire year without any major injuries. "It's a positive thing for me that I was able to go a year without injury, and it was my goal, so it's good," he said, but added regretfully, "The results haven't been there. I want to produce better results. I'm more frustrated than anything."
◆ Aito remains unwavering in his focus on hitting long balls
Aito, who is in the same grade as Takabe, focused on weight training and hitting in the opposite direction from center fielder as per team policy during last year's fall practice, but this fall he said, "I've been getting batting lessons from (Rakuten 's) Asamura (Hideto) during my personal training, and I'm trying to make what I've learned my own style."
This season, he has been swinging the bat with a "focus on hitting long balls." "I feel like that's all I'm focusing on. My focus on hitting long balls hasn't changed, and I'm just working on the shape and form to hit long balls."
Perhaps hitting with a no-step batting style or hitting in the opposite direction during batting practice during the season is a way of preparing for long hits.
"Yes, anyone can hit home run by pulling the ball, but Asamura's specialty is hitting long balls to the right. I think the ultimate result is when you pull the ball and it has a high probability of becoming home run, so he aims for that and thinks about how to hit it so that it hits nicely and doesn't fly far."
◆ Ueda: "We still have a lot to learn in every aspect."
In his second year as a professional, Kyuto Ueda played in 66 games this season, up from the 21 games he played last season, and had three Home Run, including his first professional Home Run, 20 RBI, and a batting average of .211.
Looking back on this year, he said, "I haven't had the chance to look back on it that much yet, but there were good and bad things, and I think the good thing was that I was able to continue playing games without getting injured all year."
Having played more games than last season, was there anything he felt during the first-team matches?
"I still feel that there is a lot to be done in all areas. I'm currently being given some data, and I hope to be able to sort it out and think about it myself as I go along."
Regarding fall practice, he resolved, "I still have a long way to go in terms of my level, so I want to work hard to improve in base running, defense, and batting," and vowed, "My batting average wasn't exactly what I was satisfied with, so I'll think about what I can do to improve it, and hopefully I can hit some long balls."
Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita
