"I got more opportunities to play, but the thing that I regret most is not being able to hit home run. At the end of the season, I was swinging to hit home run, and it was difficult to change my mindset during the season. Since autumn, I've been practicing to improve my angle, so I hope to be able to do that next year."

Lotte's Naonori Yasuda played in 93 games, up from 55 last season, but had a batting average of .243, RBI, and no Home Run for the second year in a row.

Looking ahead to the 2025 season, he said, "I talked with the batting coach and analysts and we discussed the direction I wanted to go in, and I thought I needed to take my time, so I did my training alone this year."

"During this period, I have more time to think. I do things on my own and do what I can, and I think I was able to concentrate and have good practice," he reflected.

He started spring training in February with the Miyakonojo team and joined the first team in a practice match on the main island of Okinawa. He played in 23 practice and exhibition games in February and March, batting .208 (53-11) with 5 RBI, but will start the season with the first team.

He played in two games as defense replacement at the start of the season, but was removed from the first-string roster on April 2. Looking back on his time with the farm team, he said, "I had a lot of practice, and Saburo-san gave me a lot of guidance, so I think I was able to devote myself fully to baseball for about a month and a half."

"I'd always held the bat short while I was at the farm team, but during my last week or two at the farm team I decided to go back to holding the bat longer, so I played tee practice with Hori and others and went back to the way I'd been doing it up until then, and I started getting hits, so I guess that's how I went back to holding the bat longer," he explained, explaining how he started holding the bat longer again.

He was promoted again on May 15th, but his batting performance in the farm team during his final week before promotion, from May 7th to 14th, was 7 At Bat in 13 hit for a batting average of .538. After a game against Yakult' second team on May 4th, his batting average temporarily dropped to .217, but after a game against Kufu HAYATE on the 14th, his batting average rose to .268. His condition improved, and he was promoted again.

In the June 10th game against Hiroshima, he hit hit against left-handed pitcher, who he had struggled against until last season, including Shogo Tamamura, Atsuya Iwae, and Ginji Hasebe, and achieved a multi-hit game. Yasuda commented, "The first one was a bit of a snag, but that one gave me a good feeling," referring to his first at-bat in the second inning with the score at 0-0 and one out and a runner on first base. He hit a shot from Tamamura with two strike inside the infield, but despite being snag, he managed to hit hit to right field. "I think I had some productive at-bats against left-handed pitcher after that," he said.

When asked why he was hitting against left-handed pitcher at this time, he explained, "I've been playing in a lot of games this year against left-handed pitcher, so I think it's partly a matter of getting used to it, and when I was in the farm team I also faced a lot of left-handed pitcher. I think it's also partly a matter of getting used to it. I haven't had many at-bats yet, so it's hard to say for sure."

On June 28, against Softbank Hawks 1-0 in the first inning against runner no outs, he said, "Recently I've been getting a little more ground balls, so it's not a good trend. I'd like to increase the number of pitches like when I hit Uesawa." Naoyuki Uwasawa 's fifth pitch, a 148-kilometer fastball shot over the light doble from 2 strike to 2 balls, was very good.

Since the end of the interleague games, Yasuda has had more opportunities to bat as the third batting order, but he said, "Sabu-san (head coach Saburo) told me, 'It's fine as long as I get one hit and one Walk per day,' so I'm working towards that goal in the games."

He played with the goal of getting one hit and one Walk per day, but the long hits that fans wanted just didn't come easily. Even during an interview during the season, he said, "I haven't had many long hits recently, so I hope I can increase them a little more." In an interview on July 13th, he said, "I want to hit home run runs and long hits soon," but his feelings remain unchanged: "I'd like to increase the doble, and hopefully I can hit home run as extra inning of that."

He said he wanted to hit the ball so that the ball he hit wouldn't be a grounder, and he responded, "I've been hitting fewer grounders lately, but I wish I could put a little more angle into the ball."

While he's good at hitting long balls, what The Marines fans want from Yasuda is his ability to hit in scoring position. In the August 2nd game Seibu Lions, "It was a chance, and after walk, I went for it aggressively from the first pitch," he said. With the score at 3-4 and the bases loaded with one out in the ninth inning, he hit a priceless tying hit, deflecting Kaima Taira 's first pitch to center fielder. The following day, on the 3rd, with the score at 1-1 and two outs in the ninth inning, with runners on first and second, he hit a game-winning RBI single to center fielder off Takeru Sasaki 's first pitch, a 147 km/h two-seam two seam fastball. Regarding his batting in opportunities, he maintained a calm attitude, saying, "I try not to change things too much. I'm just focusing on doing what I normally do."

During the season, current manager Saburo gave him the order to "allow one hit and one Walk per day," but he ended up achieving "one hit and one Walk" in 15 games.

"At the beginning of the season, I was able to get Walk, but if they can't hit home run, they start pitching in strike zone, so if that happens, you can't get Walk unless you pitch in the ball zone. I think you can't do that unless you become hitter that the battery is afraid of. Saburo also set goals for me, but I wasn't able to put them into practice, so hits alone don't often lead to Walk. I'd like to work hard so that I can hit one more big one."

Yasuda further confessed, "Halfway through the season, Saburo told me, 'That's fine (1 hit, 1 Walk), just hit home run.' I wasn't able to achieve that either, so it's something that I'm really struggling with. I want to work hard to hit one soon."

In the Phoenix League, outfielder Daito Yamamoto plays third base, and he has many rivals, including Kyuto Ueda and Raito Ikeda. During the off-season, he plans to become an apprentice to Yuki Yanagita of Softbank Hawks and improve his technique. In order to win the competition, he just has to hit.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita