"It was a frustrating season."

Lotte's Koshiro Wada has recorded double-digit stolen base for five consecutive years since being registered as a controlled player in 2020, including winning stolen base base title in 2021. However, this season he played in just 17 games, had a batting average of .125, and recorded zero stolen base, his worst record since being registered as a controlled player.

During fall practice last year, Wada worked on hitting the ball in the opposite direction from center fielder, using the inside of the bat, and continued to keep that in mind while swinging the bat during his voluntary training. "During the fall, I gradually began to understand various things that I was not good at and things that I was good at, so I felt like I was keeping that in mind while I was practicing," he said, reflecting on his own batting during the off-season.

"If I hit a fly ball, I can't use my legs, so the first thing I do is roll the ball and hit line drive, but first I want to practice batting in a way that doesn't allow me to hit a fly ball." He has also firmly organized the axis and core of his batting.

At the Ishigaki Island spring training camp, after the team practice, he said, "I'm really getting to an age where my chances are running out, so I feel a sense of urgency," and spent nearly two hours hitting the machines next to the indoor practice facility almost every day.

In the first at-bat of the Red and White game on February 11th, 0-0 with two outs and one out, the first at-bat on second base, "I think I was able to hit the ball as I practiced," Haruya Tanaka has been working on before the left of the second pitch from the first hit ball. In the second at-bat of the 4th inning with no outs and second base in the following 0-0, Fuki Tanaka went to hit the fifth pitch thrown from 1 ball 2 strike and advanced to the base. It became one out and third base, leading to a sacrifice fly to Chatani's right. However, he was not satisfied, saying, "In the end, it was a sign of a runner to advance the base, so I'm glad I was able to proceed, but if I were greedy, the first pitch and the second pitch were fouls, so I think it would have been better if I could have proceeded there."

After the Red vs. White game, he said, "I haven't been able to hit for years. I don't think the people around me have high expectations of me, so I want to work hard to bat in a way that will inspire them," and he spent nearly an hour hitting in silence against the machine.

Watching Wada during the spring training camp in Ishigakijima, his sense of crisis and determination for this season was very clear. Wada himself expressed his determination by saying, "I think I'm getting close to the age where my legs will start to weaken, so I need to show my batting skills if I want to survive. I want to work hard on my batting first and foremost."

Since the start of practice games, in his second at-bat in the second inning against DeNA on February 20th, with the score 3-0 and two outs and a runner on first, he hit a 133 km/h two-seam two seam fastball from Shinichi Onuki, who was pitching a 3-0 hit, into right strike. Kajiwara then attempted a diving catch on a ball hit to center fielder by Akito Takabe, but the ball deflected off his glove and the ball continued to move around, allowing him to make a long run from first base to score. He had three hit against Hanwha Korea on February 23rd, and struck struck out in his first at-bat against Lotte Korea on March 1st. "Dealing with breaking ball is an issue every year, and I was defeated by breaking ball. I hit a left-handed slider, a curveball, and a curveball, and I felt like I was starting to get a good feel for it. My timing is a little different from a straight ball, so I'm learning how to make up for that slight difference. I'm learning little by little, but I think I'm still learning," he said, earning two hit and showing off his bat.

Since the start of March, he has had many at-bats in the educational league, and while he reflected, "The numbers don't really show results, so I think I still have a long way to go, but I gained a lot from playing in games during that period, so I hope to be able to use that this season," he still had multiple hits in a game against Nippon-Ham Fighters' second team on March 6th and hit Oisix on March 12th. He joined the first team on March 18th, and also had hit in an exhibition game against The Giants on the 23rd.

"I say this every year, but I hope to do the job that is expected of me as a team player while also preparing myself so that I can produce good results when I'm suddenly put in starting line-up."

He started the season with the first team. While aiming to become a regular, his role from the start has been pinch runner and defense replacement. With few at-bats, he prepared for batting practice as if he were playing in a game, saying, "I don't think my eyes get used to it even if I practice, so I'm trying to get used to hitting fast balls with a machine."

On April 25th, in the seventh inning against Nippon-Ham with the score tied at 1-1, he came in as a pinch first baseman for third baseman Polanco with one out and runner on first and third, and scored the winning run on squeeze play to first base by Ryusei Terachi. He appeared in 12 games, but was unable to make an impact with only 0 hits in 4 At Bat hit, and was removed from the first-team roster on April 28th.

In the farm team, in the game against the DeNA second team on May 9th, he used a walking batting style in his third at-bat, and a buster walking batting style in his fourth at-bat. In the game against the DeNA second team on May 11th, he returned to his usual batting form, and in the game against Yakult second team on May 16th, he used a hitched batting form. From the game against Rakuten second team on May 25th, he tried hitting with a torpedo bat, saying, "The point was too far forward, so I felt like I was trying to focus on getting the ball stuck."

Among them, on June 4 against Oisix, the first batter with two outs in the 8th inning of 7-6, Kaito Irei threw 139 km fastball from 2 balls 2 strike to the right line doble, on June 20 Seibu against Nigun, the third batter without runner in the 6th inning of 6-3, Ryota Itokawa threw the fourth pitch from 1 ball 2 strike, 145 Kilo fastball to the right line doble, June 22, Seibu second game, 0-3, 6th inning, one out, runner third batter without , Wataru Matsumoto pitched the first pitch 130 Kilo cutter to the right line doble was good.

"I don't think I can get up there just by using my legs, so I think I need to show something other than just my legs. I'll do my best."

Even after the All-Star season, in a 3-0 6th inning game against DeNA on July 27, Horioka, batting third with two outs in the 6th inning, bounced fastball the third pitch line drive thrown by Horioka from 1 ball 1 strike in front of the right hit of the performance, and in a 0-0 first inning game against DeNA on August 10, Koen In a 0-0 first inning game against DeNA on August 10, he bunted splitter the first pitch thrown by Kenta Koenen pitcher in front hit of the batter.

Since August, he has returned to using a non-torpedo bat, saying, "It's all about my own feelings."

"The most important thing was that I was able to hit a lot, which was a good experience, so I hope I can increase the hits I want to get out of that," he said, returning to the first team on September 25th, towards the end of the season. That same day, he came in as a substitute defense against Orix, and said, "I think I was able to show what I've been practicing." In his second at-bat in the ninth inning with one out and no runner on base and the score at 6-0, Kaito Iriyama threw fastball after one strike, and he took it straight to left field for his first hit of the season, doble.

This was his only hit of the season. Until last season, when the team was fighting for the championship and a spot in the A class, Wada was able to play in the first team as a pinch runner or defense replacement in the final innings of games, but this season the team struggled early on, making it difficult to find situations where Wada was needed. Furthermore, with Misho Nishikawa, Akito Takabe, and Kyota Fujiwara all rising to positions close to becoming regulars, the competition for outfield became fierce, with Daito Yamamoto, Hiromi Oka, and Koki Yamaguchi all competing.

"I have to get into that kind of environment too, so I'll do my best to catch up."

He took part in the Miyazaki Phoenix League held after the regular season ended, batting with a horizontal batting form. I wonder if he was able to get a grasp on his batting technique for next season.

"We made a lot of changes around Phoenix, and there were times when it worked and times when it didn't. I think we just need to continue with the things that worked well in our own training and do them again at camp."

I was determined to enter the 2025 season, but it ended in disappointment. I want to make next season a year in which I can erase this disappointment.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita