This season, Softbank Hawks 's super utility player Taisei Makihara 's 15th year as a professional, has been a fulfilling one, hitter his first batting title, being named to the Best Nine as second baseman, and winning the Golden Glove Award.

Makihara has played a variety of roles up until now, including second baseman base and outfield, but he has had many seasons where he just missed the required number of at-bats, with 436 in 2019 and 441 in 2022. In particular, in 2022, when he recorded a batting average of .301, he was just two at-bats short of the required number.

Although he started from the bench in the opening game against Lotte this season, he came in as a substitute defense and hit hit to left field in his first at-bat of the season. Early in the season, his batting average did not improve, and while he was in starting line-up, he also started from the bench.

He recorded multiple hit in three consecutive games starting with the game against Lotte on May 2nd, and his batting average skyrocketed. After hitting .294 in May, he continued to hit .333 in June, .302 in July, and .385 in August. In August, he not only improved his batting average, but also had a great performance with three Home Run and 18 RBI, earning him his first monthly MVP award.

His batting average dropped slightly in September, and he was uncertain about reaching the required number of at-bats, but he reached the required number of at-bats for the season (443) and finished with a batting average of .304. He was named the batting hitter for the first time.

While the spotlight has often been on the achievements of Kodai Senga (currently with the Mets) and Takuya Kai (currently The Giants), who joined the team as development players in the same year's draft, Makihara was undoubtedly the star this year.