Nippon-Ham pitcher Kota Tatsu renewed his contract at ESCON on the 3rd, signing for 42 million yen, an increase of 31.5 million yen. This is a significant increase from the estimated 10.5 million yen this season.

In his fourth season this year, he set a professional baseball record of seven consecutive wins without a loss as a starter since his debut in 2012, with eight wins and ERA of 2.09. "I feel like I was properly evaluated, and I'll look forward to next year as well. It was an amount that made me want to work hard. I thought it would be a bit tough if I hadn't produced results in my fourth year after graduating from high school, so I decided to go for it this year. I was able to show results before my classmates who had graduated from university joined the team, so I think that was good," he said.

Although his progress has been significant, the 21-year-old is far from finished. This offseason, he will travel to America for training for the second year in a row. Last season, he spent the huge sum of 4 million yen, nearly half of his annual salary, to travel to the States and train for nearly two weeks. "I really invested a lot last year and got a big return this year, so I think that the investment I made will really pay off right away. I want to spend it where I can," he said, actively investing in himself again this season. "I really don't have enough to be successful and dominate in Japan and on the world stage. With that in mind, I have to level up in every way. I don't think I can dominate in Japan unless I grow one, two, maybe even five times, so I want to work hard." He has his sights set on even greater heights.

He has been booked to start in the third game of the season on March 29th next season. "I really think it's going to be my turn if we win two games in a row to open the season. I want to win three games in a row, stay in first place from start to finish, and win the Japan Series," he said enthusiastically.