"To be honest, I really wasn't able to do anything this year, but I had a long period of time when I went to the farm team and was able to carefully review what I needed to do and work on it, so I would like to make use of that next year. I am sorry and frustrated that I wasn't able to contribute as a member of the first team."

Lotte's Shogo Nakamura had a disappointing year this season, his 11th as a professional, playing in just 20 games, his worst total since turning pro, and undergoing lumbar arthroscopic surgery at a hospital in Fukushima Prefecture on September 8th towards the end of the season.

Last season he tried his hand at third base, but for this season he volunteered to return to the second second baseman for a long time, and I've had a lot of realizations and experiences second baseman wanted to give it another go, so last year I felt a strong desire to play second baseman that into consideration, I asked the manager if I could play, and he's letting me do it now."

In exhibition games, his batting average was .188, but in his third at-bat in the sixth inning against The Giants on March 22nd, with the score tied at 2-3 and two outs and no runner on base, he persevered against Keller with a 3-2 strike, and drew Walk after deciding on a 134 km/h splitter on the 13th pitch.In his fourth at-bat in the ninth inning with the score tied at 3-4 and no runner on base, he hit a tying Home Run into the left-field stands on the third pitch thrown by Martinez with a 1-1 count, a 149 km/ strike fastball. His form was improving as he headed into the opening game.

Although hit since the start of the season, he got his first hit of the season in a game against Rakuten Eagles on April 4th, and then in the game Rakuten Eagles on the 6th, in his first at-bat in the third inning with the score at 0-2 and no runner on base, he hit a 129 km/ change-up, the fourth hit thrown by starter Tatsuki Koja with a 1-ball, 2-strike count, to the left field for a hit.In his third at-bat in the eighth inning with the score at 0-4 and no runner on base, he hit an irregular hit to right hit near first base, achieving his first multi-hit of the season.

The team as a whole had three hit that day, hit of which were Nakamura's. After the game, manager Masahito Yoshii said of Nakamura, "Both were lucky hits, but I think he'll get a break from those, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he does in the future." He also had hit against Seibu Lions on April 9th, making hit three consecutive games. He was hit as a pinch hitter against Softbank Hawks on April 11th, but had two hit hit including his first of the season, against Nippon-Ham on April 16th. In the April 18th game against Rakuten Eagles, he was 0-At Bat 3, but in his second at-hit with two outs and no runner on base in the 5th inning with the score at Walk, he persevered against Hayakawa, drawing a walk on the 10th cutter after a 3-2 strike.

On April 22 against Seibu Lions, he hit walk-off a 1-1 10th inning one-out bases loaded second batter, Kaima Taira bounced a 155 km fastball third pitch center fielder from 1 ball 1 strike to . On April 23 against Seibu Lions, he touched up from second to third on Polanco's right sacrifice fly in a 3-2 3rd inning one-out double, Ryusei Terachi timely infield during hit. He came back alive. hit again on April 25 against Nippon-Ham and raised his batting average to .275 after the same game, but he had no hit after that game and was removed from the first-team roster on May 6.

In his first regular season since 2017, he hit four hit in a game against Yakult' second team on May 16th, showing his superiority. He played in nine games in May, batting .429 for the month, and .379 for the month in July. His hits dwindled in August, dropping to a .067 average. He did not play after The Giants' second team game on August 31st, and underwent back surgery on September 7th.

In an interview on September 14th, 2011, Nakamura talked about his determination to play in matches, saying, "I do have injuries and pain, but I'd rather find a way to play even if it hurts than not play at all, and I think there are still many things I can do. I think there are many things that can only be done while playing in a match, so it's easy to take a rest, and right now I have days off called rest, but originally I wanted to play in every match and contribute to the team. I've seen my seniors do that, so I played through injuries and played in consecutive matches, and I wanted to be a player like that, and I also felt that I had to contribute while I was playing." He fought on ground with a strong resolve.

Despite his determination to play in games, he decided to have back surgery in September during the season. When asked why, he explained, "I was constantly in pain, but I continued to give it my all, but the situation worsened, and I felt that it might be best to have surgery, so I decided to have surgery." He revealed, "I consulted with Saburo and Fukuura, and after consulting with many people, I decided to go ahead with the surgery."

Currently, he says, "I'm able to move without any restrictions, and I need to increase my output even more." "As Saburo said, if I can hit, I'll be able to play in the game, so I think I need to improve my batting and defense, of course, but I also want to make sure I show my batting skills from training camp and exhibition games." With young players emerging, Shogo Nakamura is able to make good situational judgments, forcing opponents to throw more pitches, running base running one step ahead, and hitting a base hit with no outs and a runner on second base. I hope to see him hit many balls with his heart and soul next year.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita