On the 24th, Saitama Seibu Takumi Kuriyama announced his retirement at the end of the 2026 season. The announcement, made at a press conference after his contract renewal, was streamed live on the team's official YouTube channel, and was also reported directly to fans.

He joined Seibu in the fourth round of the 2001 draft from Ikuei High School. In 2008, he won the title of most hit and Best Nine, contributing to the team's victory in the Japan Series. In 2016, he exercised his overseas free agent rights and remained with Saitama Seibu, and in 2021 he achieved 2,000 career hit. Along with fellow Lions player Takeya Nakamura, he has been with The Lions for 24 years, and has been a key player and the team's "bone and fangs" for many years.

Although his performance this season was poor, appearing in only 11 games, he recorded 2,150 hit in 2,312 career games, the most in the NPB. He also has excellent batting eye, and his 1,051 career Walk rank 16th in NPB history. What kind of performance will he show in his 25th year, which he has decided will be his final year as a Legend Lion?