Konoshin Tomiyama in his second year as a Lotte development player, has attracted attention for his loud voice that livens up the bench, but he has also shown growth on the offensive and defensive sides, appearing in 45 games, up from the 16 he played in the previous year.
In his first appearance and first starting line-up of the season as the eighth batter and catcher against Oisix on March 20th, he hit a single to right hit in his first at-bat, marking his first hit of the season, and on defense he limited the Oisix batting line to just two runs through the fifth inning, contributing to win.
After this game, he was away from starting line-up lineup for a while, and his batting average dropped to .091 after June 10. On June 12, he recorded multiple hit in a game against the DeNA second team, and on July 3, he also recorded two hit in a game against Rakuten second team, and from that day onwards, he hit in three consecutive games, raising his batting average to .280.
While humbly saying, "My batting is really just a matter of chance," he reflected on the need to not be struck out easily at the plate, saying, "One thing I've changed recently is holding the ball shorter, and after two strike I have breaking ball in mind, but now when it comes straight I can hit it.I don't have to make it a hit, I just try to make it a foul and force the pitcher to throw more pitches, and now I stand up there with the image that it's not going to end easily."
On defense, in his fifth start this season against starting line-up minor league team on July 3rd, he led the team well, holding five pitchers to just one run in Rakuten: starter Seiun Akiyama Daiki Iwashita 3 innings, 1 runs runs), Rikima Ichijo (2 innings, no runs allowed), Yuki Kuniyoshi (1 inning, no runs), Takahiro Nishimura (2 innings, no runs), and closer pitcher (1 inning, no runs allowed).
"It felt like bullpen day, so pitcher changed in the early inning, and as a starter you pitch for long inning, and the batters also face a different pitcher every time, so the type of pitch changes, so it was easy to be aggressive."
In starting line-up lineup as the seventh batter and catcher in the game against Yakult second team on July 6th, he wore the mask until the sixth inning and provided good leadership, closer Ryotaro Mori (2nd inning), Ryota Nakamura (2nd inning), Ichijo (1st inning), and Guerrero (1st inning) runs.
Before the Fresh All-Star season, I catcher appeared in 7 games starting line-up, but after the Fresh All-Star season, I wore the mask starting line-up in 21 games. In September, "Matsukawa-san and Ueda-san are playing in the first team, and the number of games is increasing with veterans. I am trying to do what I can do even if I make mistakes or something." He played in 17 starting line-up games.
After the match, he reflected, "Basically, I watch the video and focus on the parts that make me think 'Ah,' and think about what I can do to improve those parts."
When asked what he values most, Toyama said, "If I make a mistake, I practice by imagining the mistake I made today, or I look back at the entire game and check the video to see how it went and if there was anything strange about my pitching, and then I write it down in a notebook."
He applied what he learned from his mistakes in the next game, and received advice from catcher with extensive first-team experience, such as Tatsuhiro Tamura and Tomoya Kakinuma.
"Tamura and Kakinuma also give me advice on how to use different pitches, so I write it down in a notebook and keep it in mind so I can use it in the next game."
What is noteworthy is that Toyama's strong arm was utilized to stop stolen base. In the match against Oisix on August 28th, he stopped two stolen base in one game.
"I feel like my sense is getting better. Even when I don't make it, my sense isn't bad, so I'm trying to focus on throwing in the same spot without wavering."
Regarding his batting, after the All-Star break, he said, "That was just a coincidence, so I'm thinking about my at-bats without thinking too much about it and just aiming to hit." On August 16th, in his second at-bat in the eighth inning of a game against Nippon-Ham Fighters' minor league team, with the score at 3-1 and no runner on base, Takahide Ikeda threw a 148 km/ fastball on the fifth pitch of a 3-1 strike, sending it to left field for his first professional Home Run. And it was at ES CON FIELD, the home of Nippon-Ham' major league team. With more appearances in starting line-up lineup in September, his monthly batting average was .167, so his next challenge will be to maintain that batting average.
Toyama will not rest during the off-season, and will take part in the Japan Winter League Advance 2025 from November 22 to December 18. They hope to gain practical experience and carry it over to their third year in good form.
Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita
