On the 16th, Lotte announced that they had published the "The Marines Math Drill Winter 2025 Edition" and distributed it free of charge to 109 public elementary schools in Chiba City. In addition, as part of their social contribution project "MARINES LINKS," Atsuya Hirohata visited Chiba Municipal Tsuga Elementary School today and held a presentation ceremony for the "The Marines Math Drill" with all 429 students in attendance.
At the end of the presentation ceremony, Hirohata addressed the children, saying, "Your fun winter break will soon begin, but first I would like you to study using the math workbooks that we distributed today. The 'drill' in math workbooks is like the drill used to dig a hole; you dig the hole little by little by moving around in circles. In the same way, work hard at your studies. And enjoy your winter break to the fullest. Thank you for today."
The Marines Arithmetic Drill is a self-study material consisting of questions related to Chiba Lotte Marines and baseball with the cooperation of "NPO Chiba Arithmetic and Mathematics Enjoyment Society". This is the 43rd edition since its distribution in 2011. The winter 2025 issue was produced as a review of the content studied up to December. School visits by athletes have been conducted since 2011. The presentation ceremony was suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to the spread of the new coronavirus, but will be resumed in 2022. The last visit was made by Ryusei Miyazaki infielder in July 2025.
"MARINES LINKS" is a social contribution project in which the The Marines team, together with partner companies, supports social contribution activities led by the Marines players. The project name reflects the desire to "LINK" all people involved with Chiba Lotte Marines, including players, fans, local residents, government agencies, and partner companies.
▼ Atsuya Hirohata pitcher Comments
"The math workbook we gave to the children this time features the players themselves, giving hints in speech bubbles that lead to the answers. Kyota (Kyota Fujiwara outfielder) says something really difficult, and I personally thought it was a very interesting teaching material because I thought, 'Kyota Fujiwara would never say something like that!' (laughs). I think the content is really well done, so I hope the children will make good use of it. I myself will continue to work hard and do my best to perform well next season."
