"In the end, I was able to get a little bit of a grip at the end of camp, but I thought I had the season figured out, but it wasn't. Even though I have it figured out this time, it might change again once it starts. I just hope I can find what's right for me at the time."
This season, Lotte's Shinya Matsuishi 's second year as a professional, has been a year of trial and error in finding the right timing.
During a game against Seibu second team on March 22nd, Matsuishi said, "Saburo taught me how to lift my leg and how to get the timing right, and I started seeing results right away. Just learning the timing and lifting your leg really makes such a big difference, so my batting average was 0% in the exhibition games, but after the exhibition games were over and he taught me at the start of the season, I started to get better at hitting little by little. I think that's really good." In his third at-bat in the fifth inning with the score 8-0 and two outs and runners on first and second, he hit doble fork inside by Ryosuke Moriwaki, which hit the left wall for a double.
Since last season when he was a rookie, he has always spoken about "how to make the top" and "how to get the timing right." Is that something he values?
"There are a lot of fast pitcher among the foreign players, so I try to be in a position where I can hit at any time, and I'm always able to get on top so I don't get caught out. There are also pitcher who suddenly make a quick move, so I try to be conscious of being able to respond accordingly. I think I'm gradually getting better at it."
On July 9th, in his second at-bat against Nippon-Ham with the score at 7-3 and two outs in the ninth inning, with runners on first and strike, he hit slider thrown by Koji Fukutani with one ball and two strikes over the left doble double, which was also very impressive. In July, he had a batting average of .308, but he struggled in August with a batting average of .132, saying, "I'm trying out a lot of different things with my batting, and I have good times and bad times, so I haven't got it down perfectly yet. I'm still experimenting."
He continued to struggle in September with a batting average of .143, but ultimately played in 97 games with a batting average of .208, RBI, and an OPS of .489.
Regarding the off-season, he said enthusiastically, "The most important thing is to build up my physique, to get a stronger body, but I also want to work on my technique, everything, from running to hitting. I have numerical goals, such as muscle mass and body fat, so I want to get bigger."
Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita
