Masato Watanabe (46), who was announced on the 13th that he will be taking up infield defense base running coach role from the 2026 season, appeared at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi fall practice is being held. Dressed in a suit, he went to ground and gazed intently at the practice scene. "I felt that each player was facing their own challenges and working hard. I felt that they were practicing in a good atmosphere," he said.

Coach Hajime Miki was two years older than him at Jogyo High School in Osaka. "I was a freshman and Coach Miki was a junior. I don't even remember ever having a chance to talk to him on ground," he recalled, "He was captain, so when I became a junior, he was a player I looked up to and wanted to be like." He contacted him when he was appointed, but when asked what they talked about, he said, "There was nothing special about it...it was just a matter of understanding." Under the guidance of his idolized senior, he will further hone base running, which saw him steal 110 stolen base this season, the most among the 12 teams.

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