Seibu Lions Taiga Hirasawa infielder (27) signed a contract renewal at the team's office in Tokorozawa, Saitama, on March 3 for a salary of 14 million yen (estimated amount), a decrease of 2 million yen. He announced that he had gotten married last offseason.

Towards the end of the press conference, Hirasawa announced, "I actually got married in December of last year." His partner is an older, ordinary woman from Kyoto Prefecture, and he was transferred from Lotte in last fall's active player draft, so he decided to make the announcement at this time.

This season, his 10th as a professional, he earned a spot on the opening day first team, but was forced to withdraw from the opening game due to acute back pain, and ended up playing in just seven games. "I wasn't able to be of any help to the team this season. I hope to be able to get over my disappointment next year, when I won't be able to play unless I hit," he vowed to make a comeback.