Nippon-Ham infielder Kotaro Kiyomiya (26) revealed his ideal marriage partner for the first time on the 14th. He attended a talk show with Imagawa at a wedding venue in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. When asked about his ideal wife in front of about 350 fans, he said, "The other day, Tatsu said something really good, someone with strong mental fortitude," revealing that he agreed with the opinion of his younger teammate, the right-handed pitcher. He added, "baseball players go to all sorts of places and don't have much time to spend together. We might move to a place where we don't have any friends, but we have to make the most of it," offering a perspective unique to an athlete.

He also recently attended the wedding of his former Nippon-Ham teammate, The Giants Tanaka Eiji, and gave a speech as a friend of the friends. "It was wonderful. If I do say so myself, I spoke well," he recalled. Regarding his own wedding, he said, "I want to have a really expensive one," a statement befitting a 100 million yen player that had the audience roaring with laughter.

Next season, he will be the team's player representative, in his ninth year as a professional. "I think if I hit 30 Home Run runs, we'll win more games, so I want to contribute to the team with my power hitting," he promised. (Haruki Kawakami)