"I'm really determined to do it, so I'll practice hard this offseason and do my best to get off to a good start at camp in February."

Hirodai Inoue, who transferred from Hanshin Tigers to Lotte in the active player draft, held an introductory press conference at Zozo Marine Stadium on the 17th.

Inoue expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "They really value my hitting, so I want to do my best to produce solid results." Regarding his move from Central League to a Pacific League team, he looked ahead, saying, "I can only see this as a positive, so I think there will be a lot of pitcher I haven't faced before, but I want to be proactive."

◆The competition for regular outfield positions is fierce.

Inoue is aiming for a regular outfield position, but the team also has other players vying for the spot, including Kyota Fujiwara, who reached the required number of plate appearances in his seventh professional season; Misho Nishikawa, who won Rookie of the Year; Akito Takabe Daito Yamamoto who hit a Japanese-high 11 Home Run; Hiromi Oka, whose clutch hitting is his charm despite having fewer opportunities to play this season due to injury; and also Katsuya Kakunaka, Aito, Koshiro Wada, and Shingo Ishikawa.

Inoue's batting prowess will be crucial to his success in outfield. Looking at footage of his batting, he appears to be good at hitting inside pitches, such as when he hit triple to right field off an inside fastball from Ryosuke Otsu in a minor league game against Softbank Hawks Hawks on July 1st of this year.

When asked about how he handles inside pitches, he said, "Depending on the situation, there are times when it's okay to swing hard, or times when right-handed hitter is more likely to score runs. I don't really have a strong preference for or weak against inside pitches, but I think it's important to change your batting style depending on the situation."

Inoue threw 31 pitches in the farm team this season, but since September he has been Walk. "It's a battle with the opposing battery, and I was able to think about whether they would go for it or not, so I think this will lead to next season," he said in his analysis.

Next season, his first year with the team, he vowed, "I will fight in the first team for the entire year!" and expressed his determination, "I want to hit double-digit Home Run, so I will do my best to achieve that!"

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita