Nippon-Ham Fighters pitcher Taiki Kikuchi The Giants in the active player draft, held an introductory press conference at Escon on the 12th and expressed his strong desire to join the dance unit "Kiyomiya Friends," led by his classmate Yuki Kiyomiya. The unit will feature Kiyomiya and others in drag performing songs and dances at fan appreciation events, and Kikuchi has already watched some videos on YouTube to prepare. He said, "I haven't really done anything like that before, so I'd like to do as much as I can in this new environment," as he envisioned the challenge in Hokkaido, which he is visiting for the first time.

Naturally, his first priority is to do well in his main job. In 2011 he made 50 appearances on the mound, but this season he has made only seven, and he will start anew wearing number 55, saying, "I want to do well on the first-team stage once again." He is the same age as Tanaka Akira, who was transferred from Nippon-Ham to The Giants in last season's active player draft and has made a big leap this season with 62 appearances on the mound. "He's a real role model. Conversely, I want to do well like that with The Fighters," he said, setting his sights on the "Eight Road." (Kawakami Haruki)