"(The team) told me to become a regular player next year and hit 30 home runs."

Lotte's Daito Yamamoto hit 11 Home Run this season, including his first professional Home Run, the most of any Japanese player on the team, and took his first step towards becoming a long-distance hitter this season.

Lotte's Daito Yamamoto, who won the double crown of Home Run and RBI in Eastern League last season, has been focusing on "how to use his left foot" and "how to get the timing right" since August of last year, and has posted a batting average of .377 since August in the farm team. "I continued like that and focused on not missing any easy pitches," he said, and in Australia he participated in the Australian winter league after the end of the season, where he played in 20 games, posting a batting average of .301, Home Run, and 7 RBI.

After the winter league ended, he said, "I took a little rest and quickly lost body fat, so my body is in good shape, so I think I'm going well," and added, "I finished the second half of last year feeling good, so I'm just working hard to keep it up and improve even more." He continued to work on what he had been working on during his own training in January.

At the Ishigakijima spring training camp, after the team practice on the first day, he had one-on-one practice with hitting coach Kenta Kurihara. Yamamoto revealed, "I asked him to check how I use my feet and if he noticed anything, I wanted him to tell me. It's been a while since I've had a coach look at me, so I thought I'd have him take a look."

Coach Kurihara, who coached Yamamoto at the farm team last season, said of Yamamoto, "He's been working on the advice of Manager Saburo since around the summer, and I think he's pretty used to his movements now."

During the camp, he also took batting practice in the same group as fellow right-handed long-range outfielder Koki Yamaguchi and first-round draft pick Misho Nishikawa (Aoyama Gakuin University).

In an interview on February 8, Yamamoto said, "I think we're paired with three players of the same type, but they both hit the ball well, so I don't want to lose to them. I'll keep in mind the things I need to focus on, and hopefully I can show something better than them, but at the moment I'm not able to. When I'm batting with these two, I just put in the effort."

When asked again on February 13th, towards the end of the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island, he revealed, "It hasn't changed since then, and we always put in our best. There are three of us with the same type of personality lined up, so I guess it's a bit of a competition, and we talk about how we're in the same group again. Everyone said they put in their best."

Yamamoto said, "I'm continuing to do what I've been doing since about August, so I'm looking forward to seeing how well it will work in the first team practice games." In an open game that began on February 16, in an outing against Chunichi on February 22, Tatsuya Shimizu, batting first with two outs bases loaded in the 1-1 9th inning, hit the first strike pitch he faced from 2 balls to 1 . He hit his first grand slam pitch, the fourth fastball he threw, into the front row of the light stand, and then hit a powerful shot into the back screen in a practice game against Hanhwa of South Korea on the following day, February 23.

He also came on as a substitute in a game against Lotte Korea on March 1st and hit Home Run into the left-field stands, but he was unable to make an impression in practice games and exhibition games, with a batting average of .158 (38-6), 3 Home Run, and 9 RBI.

"I wasn't worried about my form or anything, it was more about my feelings, and the fact that I couldn't swing my way on the first team stage.To be honest, I think I was expecting too much from the results during the exhibition games, and I was a little too small."

Was there any difference in your feelings between last year when you played for the first team and then were demoted to the farm team, and this time when you were demoted to the farm team before the start of the season?

"I just wanted to be able to hit whenever I was up there, and I knew there wouldn't be many chances, so I thought that those things were important in order to get good results."

At the farm team, he said, "I was always thinking about preparation, how to focus, how to wait, and even if I could hit home run at the farm team, I wondered how I would do in the first team. There were home run runs that I hit but wasn't satisfied with, so I was strict with myself about those things. This time, I went for it, and if I couldn't hit it, I'd just have to practice more. I feel like I'd prepared that much." He finished with a batting average of .365, Home Run, and 21 RBI, and was promoted to the first team on April 12th.

"I believe that if I continue doing what I've been doing and prepare well, I will definitely be able to hit the ball, so that's all there is to it. I just need to not give in and do what I can."

On April 16th, in a game Nippon-Ham, he said, "I swung as hard as I could at the first pitch and I'm glad I was able to hit home run." In his third at-bat in the sixth inning with the score tied at 0-0 and one out and runners on first and third, he hit a 134 km/h cutter, the first pitch thrown by Toshihiro Sugiura into the upper left-field stands for his first professional Home Run.

After that, he played in and out of games, but on May 10th against Seibu Lions, he made starting line-up start since the April 29th game against Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes, and hit six consecutive games from Seibu Lions game on the same day to Nippon-Ham game on the 16th. In the May 13th game against Rakuten Eagles, he hit his second solo home run, saying, "It was a headwind, but I knew it was there the moment I hit it."

On June 4th, when the interleague games began, he played as the fourth batter for the first time since turning pro in a game against The Giants The Giants. In his first at-bat that day, he hit slider on the second pitch from Atsushi Inoue after a ball, sending it into the right field lagoon seats for a great hit. "It was an outside breaking ball, so I didn't pull it and I was able to hit the outside ball firmly into right field as usual, just like in practice, so I think that was good," he reflected.

On June 15th, in the game Yakult, with the score at 0-2 and no outs, in his second at-bat with a runner on first base in the fourth inning, Yamamoto said, "I was thinking that I'd go for it if it was a sweet pitch because it was 3 balls. I was glad that I was able to hit it with my own swing when it came to that point." He hit his fifth two-run strike run, a 150 km/ fastball on the fourth pitch thrown by Keiji Takahashi with 3 balls and 0 strikes, into the upper left field. In his third at-bat with a runner on first base and the score at 2-2, in the sixth inning with no outs, Yamamoto said, "count was favorable for me, just like in my previous at-bat, so I went for it." He hit change-up on the third pitch thrown by Takahashi with 2 balls into the left field stands, giving Yamamoto a temporary lead. This was Yamamoto's first two Home Run in one game in regular season.

In an interview on May 17th, he said, "Sometimes I'm able to do what I've been working on, and sometimes I'm not, so I want to improve that percentage." When asked again in an interview on June 14th about the areas in which he would like to improve the percentage of what he's been doing in the farm team, he analyzed, "My percentage is still a long way off, but even count, I'm starting to be able to get into Walk strike after being down 2-strike and 2-balls, and I'm able to go for it from 3-2-strike. If I can get a walk or get a hit, my percentage will go up, and I think I'll be able to broaden the range of my batting." In a game against DeNA on June 20th, he hit Home Run after being down 3-2 against Kei.

After the league resumed, he went hitless in four consecutive games from the game against Softbank on June 27th to the game against Rakuten on July 1st, and Yamamoto revealed about this period, "My physical condition wasn't very good at the time, so that was a factor and I wasn't able to play or swing the way I usually do. I just accepted it and did what I usually do."

He hit his first hit since the league resumed in a game Rakuten on July 2nd, and then hit two Home Run in a single game against Orix on July 5th, his second time this season that he has hit double-digit Home Run.

During the interleague games, he said, "I think there were balls that I felt I could hit better, and that I was able to hit (Home Run) with," but he showed confidence, saying, "I have balls that I'm aiming for, or rather, balls that I can aim for as long hits, or home run, when they go as planned."

In the July 6 game against Orix Buffaloes, in the first at bat with two outs in the 0-0 first inning, Alen Kuri hit a left hit on the fifth pitch fastball pitched from 2 balls 2 strike, followed by a left hit on the first pitch runner pitched by Kuri without two outs in the 1-0 third inning, an "in-course" shot to left. The "in-course" response was also good.

Yamamoto explained, "I was aiming for the shot and slider, and the inside pitch was on the inside, so I think I was able to hit it just as I intended.There was nothing special about how I hit it.I just aimed for the right spot."

On July 16th, he was selected to play in the Mynavi All-Star Game 2025 for the first time through Plus One voting, and in the second All-Star game, starting line-up started as the fourth batter and DH. In his first at-bat in the first inning with the score at 0-0 and one out and runners on first and second, he said, "I'm glad I hit it well. It felt good. My first All-Star hit was a timely hit to score the first run. It's just the best." He hit the second straight fastball thrown by All-Central starter Murakami Shoki (Hanshin Tigers) after a ball, and hit a two-run doble double to left-center field, achieving results on the big stage. "I heard about various types of practice and ways of thinking, so I'm trying out things that suit me," he said, describing the All-Star game as a fulfilling time.

After returning to the team in the second half of the season, he wanted to contribute to the team's win with his long hits, but he struggled.

When we interviewed him on June 14 during the exchange games, he said, "The biggest issue for me is not to help pitcher or pitcher by putting my hand on the ball," and he cited "putting my hand on the ball" as an issue. In an interview on August 20, he said, "I was swinging at the ball, and I was attacked at the very edge of the strike zone, and I would react to that. It was my own fault, but they also thought I would swing at balls, so I think my pitch distribution has changed in that area.

During this period, he has been practicing hard in order to demonstrate the long-range hitting ability that is expected of him, saying, "I've been hitting all morning with Saburo helping me, so I hope to start seeing results little by little."

Although he has been going through a difficult period without producing results, he has expanded his batting repertoire and took a positive approach, saying, "I think I will continue to have slumps like this, so the key is to get back into form as quickly as possible, which will carry over to next year and beyond.I wouldn't call it a good season, but in a way it has been a learning season.I am learning how to get back into form as I go."

August was a disappointing month, with a batting average of .156, one Home Run, and one RBI, but as September began, he began swinging fewer pitches on the outside. In his fifth at-bat against Nippon-Ham on September 2nd, with two outs and runners on first and second in the eighth inning, he persevered against Kenta Uehara, drawing a walk after passing on the 11th pitch, a 136 km/h fork on the outside corner, after a three-ball, two-strike. Then, in his third at-Walk against Softbank Hawks on September 11th, with one out and a runner on first in the fifth inning with the score 8-1, he readied the first pitch, a 140 km/h cutter on the outside corner, thrown by Taiga Kamichatani, for a ball. Then, with two balls and one strike, he readied the fourth pitch, a 140 km/h cutter on the outside corner, for a ball. Then, with three balls and one strike, he hit the fifth pitch cutter on the outside corner, to left field. Looking back, he said, "I felt like I was able to keep a good eye on that one, too."

Although he has been swinging at fewer outside balls, he analyzed himself by saying, "My form is improving in that area, and I've become better at judging them."

September also saw an increase in his long hits to right-center field. In his second at-bat in the fourth inning of the game against Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes on the 16th, with the score at 0-3 and a runner on first base and no outs, he said, "I had been imagining right-center field, so that's what I got." He took a fastball thrown by Daiki Tajima on the outside corner with one ball and two strike and hit it over the right field for doble.

In the game Rakuten Eagles on the 18th, with the score at 6-0 and one out and a runner on third base in the second inning, he said, "We all felt like we needed to keep the momentum going, so I was determined to keep the momentum going with a hit rather than sacrifice fly. I went for a hit." He hit a curveball on the first pitch thrown by Takayuki Kishi, sending a timely doble to right-center field.

After the All-Star break, he had hit just one Home Run, and in 40 games he played he had a batting average of .196 with Home Run and eight RBI. However, in an interview on September 18th towards the end of the season, he said, "I've come to understand the difference between my good and bad times, and I've found ways to practice to correct them, so I'm starting to understand how to get back into form quickly when I'm not in good form." He finished the season with a batting average of .234 for September and October, showing signs of recovery.

Now that he understands the difference between when he's in good form and when he's not, and how to practice to correct that, what kind of batting does he want to show next season?

"Of course, I want to further develop my strengths, such as my ability to hit long balls, and I want to focus on that," he said firmly.

"I'm sure I'll fall off at some point, so the question is how quickly I can correct it when that happens. This year has been long, but I've learned that this is what happens when I'm not doing well, so I'd like to use that experience to my advantage next year," he said, looking ahead.

outfield While aiming for a regular position in the Miyazaki Phoenix League, which was held after the regular season ended, he said, "There is no harm in having a lot of places I can go out, so I hope to be able to protect other positions besides outfield, and I hope I can go out, so of course I want to play outfield, but I also want to do my best at third. In the Miyazaki Phoenix League, which was held after the regular season ended, he also tried out for the third position.

His personal goals for next year are to become a regular player and to become Home Run king. We hope that he will go from being a promising long-distance hitter to becoming a "real" long-distance hitter next season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita