Lotte's fall practice was held at Zozo Marine Stadium on the 16th.

This season, in his second year as a pro, Ryusei Terachi played in 116 games, batting .256 Home Run and 33 RBI. This fall, he has been training thoroughly on offense, catcher 's gear and practiced catcher for over an hour. "I thought my legs would break," he recalls, reflecting on how hard he trained.

On this day, after the whole team practice, they practiced defensive drills individually. It seems like they are focusing on defense practice in the fall practice, but Teraji replied, "Rather than focusing on it, I feel like I'm doing the set menu with the awareness that it will lead to the game."

When asked what he focuses on during defense practice, he revealed, "Right now, I'm focusing on blocking and catch rather than throwing, so I'm working on the areas that didn't go so well this year, and making sure I can block properly while catch, so I can do it properly from the stance stage."

During batting practice that day, when the batting pitcher was pitching, he told the runners to hit "buster, buster and run, and run and runner." Regarding his intention, he explained, "I think it's a sign that will definitely come out in my mind, and I think it's something I'll do in a real game, so I try to do a variety of things during these opportunities, like run and run, bunt, buster, buster and run and run."

Furthermore, when asked what he focuses on during batting practice, Teraji said, "What I'm focusing on now is not just hitting well, or sharp line drive that land in front of outfield, but line drive that go through the gaps in outfield, and hits that go over outfield' heads."

"Swing hard and hit the ball far. My goal for next season is to increase my slugging percentage and hit more long hits, so I'm trying out various things with that in mind," he said, setting the goal of "increasing my slugging percentage."

◆ Fumiya Ono "A year filled with many experiences"

Fumiya Ono was the only member of bullpen to complete the first-team stint this season, pitching in more than 40 games (47 games) for the first time in three years, with a record of 2 wins, 2 losses, 10 hold, and ERA 2.59, making for an impressive year of "return."

Ono reflected on this season, saying, "It was a season in which I was able to make it into the first team for the first time. I think it was a year in which I was able to experience a lot of things, for better or worse."

He said enthusiastically about this fall's training, "I think the main focus will be on running, so I want to run hard and do various things to improve my stamina for next year and to be able to perform well all year."

This season he has pitched in a variety of positions, including behind-the-line games, tied games, and winning situations, but he said with emphasis, "I want to pitch more in winning situations, and I want to make a strong case starting in the spring and show that I can do it, and win the games myself."

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita