Lotte's Hiromi Oka was sidelined for a period this season due to injury, but he played in 65 games with a batting average of .274, Home Run, 18 RBI, an OPS of .726, and a batting average in scoring position of .333.

"When I bat, I am conscious of the speed of the ball, and as I did last year, I am also working hard to make sure that the balls I pull don't become grounders."

Last season, Oka recorded a career-high 420 at-bats, 104 hit, and 44 Walk, surpassing his 2023 numbers, while also recording the exact same numbers of Home Run and RBI (23).In preparation for the 2025 season, he has been working hard on his own training, focusing on ``swing speed'' and ``hitting more line drive.''

He started spring training with the Miyakonojo team. "The actual games were later than usual, so I was able to work on my physical condition for longer than usual, and I think I was able to make the adjustments I could." He played in external games from a practice match against Orix on February 26th, but had not had a hit in 18 hit since his first. "I guess I was checking the video while I was at bat," he said, facing his challenges.

He recorded his first hit in an exhibition game against Softbank on March 9th, and played in 12 exhibition games, batting .265 with Home Run and four RBI, and his form continued to improve as he entered the opening game.

runner He was not on starting line-up the opening day of the season, but in his first starting line-up at bat on March 29 against Softbank, with two outs and runners on first and third with the score 0-1 in the fifth inning, Tomohisa Ozeki gave up a three-run homer to left field on fastball, the sixth pitch he threw from 3 balls to 2 strike, to temporarily turn the game around. In the 8th inning, with no outs runner and no outs, Hernandez hit the 6th fastball pitch from 2 strike to center fielder to complete his multi hit. Then, in the 5th at bat with one out in the 10th inning (4-4), Koya Fujii hit a timely hit to the right of the batter's box on an outside pitch cutter from 1 ball 1 strike, including Home Run, for a 3 hit 4 RBI grand slam.

Oka got off to a good start as of the end of April 5, with a batting average of 450, 1 Home Run, 6 RBI, an OPS of 1.150, and a .600 on-base percentage, but he was humble: "It's only a few games, so I can't say for sure...I also played a lot struck out against Orix on April 2.

home run His batting average was .241 in March and April and .190 in 9 games in May, but on June 4, the first game of the exchange games against The Giants, he was batting first right after No.4 Daito Yamamoto hit the first Home Run ball to the right field. He was driven in by two pitches against the starter, Atsuhiro Inoue, but he was able to spot the ball, foul it off, and then, after 3 balls and 2 strike, he chose to forgo the ninth slider and Walk, leading to the next hit Yudai Fujioka. It was a brilliant move.

In the game The Giants that same day, in his second at-bat in the third inning with the score at 3-0 and two outs and runners on first and third, Inoue said, "I went up to bat with the desire to somehow get some more runs.I'm glad I was able to get runner back."He hit a timely hit to right field for an additional run on the third pitch, a 127 km/h slider that Inoue threw with two balls.

During this period, Oka's fly balls increased, and the balls he hit were more often fly outs than ground outs. In an interview on June 11, Oka said, "Even the fly balls are not coming through very well. They're not weak, but there are a lot of those kind of hits, so I'd like to hit the balls that I can catch well."

Since the start of the interleague games, more young players starting line-up been starting, and looking at the players on the first team, there are only a handful of players over 30. As an older player, Oka supported the young players, saying, "I want the young players to go all out and do their best, and I want to support them so that they can approach the game without hesitation."

He recovered with a batting average of .345 in June and .333 in July, but was removed from the first-team roster on July 14th due to injury. He returned to the second-team regular season on August 22nd against the DeNA second-team team and was promoted again on September 11th. In his second at-bat in the fourth inning against Rakuten on September 13th, with the score at 0-2 and no runner on base, he said, "We were at a stage where we were losing somehow, so I just wanted to get on base." doble hit a double to right-center field on the fifth pitch thrown by Kosei Shoji with a 1-ball, 2-strike fastball This hit sparked the team's fierce hitter, scoring six runs in one go and successfully turning the game around.

starting line-up On September 24, he appeared in a game against Seibu at No. 3 center fielder. In the 0-0 first inning, with two outs runner and no outs, he hit a 146 km fastball pitch from Shinya Sugai to left field, his sixth hit start in a row. In the 3-0 fifth inning, with one out bases loaded, he said, "I was hit in the previous at-bat, so I wanted to get back. I wanted to get runner back in this at bat. I wanted to score an extra run, and I'm glad I did." Sugai hit a two-run double off the second change-up pitch he threw from 1 strike in front of center fielder. He contributed to win with 2 hit 2 RBI on the day.

He was hitting well before his injury and has been hit since his return, but in an interview on September 23rd he analyzed his batting condition, saying, "Hmm, I don't think it's particularly good, but I don't think it's bad either. I do think I'm able to organize myself well each day and step up to the plate."

He continues to rack up hit just as he did before his return, so it seems he had a pretty good time between his injury and his return to the first team.

"The most important thing is to minimize missed hits, and as I've always said, I'm also focusing on hitting strong balls, pulling the ball and trying to avoid grounders," he said, stating that he has been focusing on batting that prevents grounders.

Also, while Oka was out due to injury, younger players such as Misho Nishikawa and middle-ranking fielder played in many first-team games. Oka was inspired by the success of the young players, saying, "Everyone is really growing in some areas, and I think I have to improve myself every day."

Oka finished the season with a solid batting average of .297 in September and October. The team finished last, and with veteran players leaving one after another and a younger team, the team needs the power of veterans. I hope he will continue to be an indispensable player next season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita