"My biggest goal is to become a player with a long career and one that is supported by many people."

Lotte's sixth-round draft pick, catcher Ryoki Okamura (Tomishima High School), outlined his goals as a professional baseball player.

"During Golden Week in my second year, I found out that we wouldn't have catcher the next year, so I started practicing around Golden Week and started playing catcher seriously in the fall of my second year," he said. He has experience as infielder, having played third base in the Miyazaki Prefecture qualifying tournament in the summer of his second year of high school, but it wasn't until he joined the new team in his second year that he began to seriously try his hand at catcher.

I wonder if he hadn't played catcher until junior high school.

"In junior high school, I alternated between playing catcher and pitcher. When I entered high school, it was during Golden Week in my second year that I first started playing catcher."

Although he is catcher, his speed is also an advantage. "I am confident in my start when it comes to stolen base. When it comes to the start, I am confident in base running," he said emphatically.

In terms of batting, he was assigned as the third hitter in the Miyazaki Prefectural Tournament in the summer of his third year. "I've always focused on batting, so I'm switching from a metal bat to a wooden bat, and I want to practice batting with the wooden bat from now on."

When asked about his batting characteristics, he said, "I think my strongest traits are the power of my swing and my full swing."

He is about to enter the professional world. "I think that my first year is about building my physique, so I will continue to work on that, but if I get the chance I will show my skills and do my best to be in the first team in my second or third year," he said enthusiastically.

▼Ryoki Okamura

Date of birth: May 3, 2007

position: catcher

Height / Weight: 172 cm / 77 kg

Throwing/Hitting: Right/Right

Career: Tomishima High School - Lotte (6th pick in the draft)

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita