"I didn't get any good batting results in the first half and couldn't contribute to the team. In the second half, I started to get some results and I think I was able to finish the season on a really good note. With the way I felt in the second half, I felt that if I could start playing from the start of next year, I might be able to get some decent results throughout the year."

Lotte's Ryusei Ogawa finished his fifth season with a solid sense of accomplishment.

Last season, in order to acquire the "feel for hitting low line drive to the shortstop/third base area," he swung the bat desperately from the fall practice in November 2011, and as a result, he showed improvement in his batting, appearing in a career-high 119 games for the season.As an added bonus for this season, he has been focusing on "swinging harder."

At the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island, he said, "I'm starting to show some strength, so I think I need to improve my consistency in that area," but in an interview on March 18th before the season started, he said, "I haven't been able to hit the ball as I imagined very often, and I don't think I've been able to hit the ball to my satisfaction yet, so since there's not much time left until the season starts, I'd like to make some fine adjustments."

He was also experimenting at this time last year, but he showed confidence, saying, "Compared to last year's exhibition games, I have a better idea of what I want to do and my own style, so although I'm still thinking about a lot of things and working towards that goal, I feel like I'm doing well."

He started the season with the first team, but said, "I don't think I've been able to fully demonstrate my play and what is expected of me in both defense and batting, so I think there are areas where I can contribute more to the team by paying attention to the small details. I want to keep that in mind and work even harder." His batting average was a low .154 as of the end of April.

In the game Softbank on May 2nd, in his second at-bat with no outs and no runner on base in the fifth inning with the score at 3-0, against Kohei Arihara, he was down to two pitches before fouling off the 11th strike, a low cutter on the inside, and drew Walk, showing his typical batting style. However, he reflected, "I think I was able to hang in there to a certain extent in that at-bat, and do what I've always done up until now, but that was the only at-bat where I was able to hang in there and have a typical at-bat, so it was different from what I imagined, or I don't think I was able to create the at-bat the way I imagined it would be, or the content of my batting."

In May, his batting average was .154, and he gradually started to play more as a pinch runner and defense player. In the game against Nippon-Ham on May 31, starting line-up started as the ninth batter and second baseman baseman. In the fifth inning with the score at 2-1, with two outs and a runner on second base, he hit a 135 km/ two seam fastball two-seam hit on the first pitch from Sachiya Yamazaki on the outside corner to third base, but was removed from the first team roster on June 1 due to an injury.

"Since I had time, I was able to compare current footage with old footage and practice while trying out different things, so I think it was good."

During his time with the farm team, he reexamined his batting. He returned to action on June 17th against The Giants league team. In his third at-bat in the sixth inning, with the score tied at 0-0 and a runner on first base, he bunted a 130 km/h outside cutter thrown by Toda, a pitch that was pitched with no outs and a runner on first base, almost to the side of first base. "It was a situation with no outs and a runner on first base, so it was a sign for safety, but I was conscious of the need to bunt a little, so I think it was a good bunt." He demonstrated the technique he had been practicing repeatedly since last fall, the "safety bunt on the side of first base," in a real game.

On June 20, he was registered as a member of the first team and played in a game against DeNA on the same day, playing second base stolen base and starting on the following day, June 21. In the first at bat against DeNA on June 22, he said, "I was given a chance to score an extra run, so I decided to return runner somehow. I'm glad I was able to get him back," he said. In his third at-bat in the fourth inning, he went on a 3 hit 3 RBI rampage, giving up two runs on a timely hit.

During the game The Giants on June 24th, he said, "It's coming out in the end, so I think that's good, but I still need to be more consistent, and I want to improve my hitting percentage even more during practice, so I'd like to work on that more." In his third at-bat in the sixth inning with the score at 6-4 and no runner on base and no outs, he hit the fifth slider thrown by Baldonado on a 1-ball, 2-strike, to the left field, hit he has been working on.

Since the game against Softbank Hawks on June 29th, he has been using a "torpedo bat," which has a thicker core than a regular bat.

When asked why he started using a torpedo bat, Ogawa explained, "I want to get the point as close as possible, so I think it will hit my hand more often. So, the first thing I do is bring the center of the bat there. Having the head in my hand increases the controllability, so I think it's about using the bat well and doing it properly. In that sense, a torpedo bat suits me, so I use it." The length and weight of the bat remain the same at 84cm and 900g.

In his batting since switching to the torpedo bat, in the game against Softbank Hawks on July 15th, with the score at 2-6 and no outs and a runner on first base, he came up to bat for the third time. With the score at 2-6, hit threw a two-seam fastball on the outside two seam fastball on the sixth strike, and he hit it to the left field line, hit that was typical of Ogawa.

"I'm getting some solid hits, so I think it's great that I'm able to go for the bat, but I still need to improve my tenacity and not draw Walk. I think I need to work harder on my approach when I'm in a tight spot."

During games he hits with a torpedo bat, but in pre-game practice he says, "First I hit with a bat that's not a torpedo (when hitting off a tee). I practice a bit, feeling the weight of the head and making the head move, and then I move on to the torpedo. If you hit everything with a torpedo, the tip of the bat is at the bottom, so it's hard to get a feel for the head. At first, with a non-torpedo bat, the head is at the front, so I practice making the head move." He practices hitting with a bat that's not a torpedo bat.

As he prepares to produce results every day, in the game against Softbank Hawks on August 30th, with the score tied at 4-4, in his third at-bat in the sixth inning with two outs and runners on first and third, Ogawa hit a timely hit to left field off the fifth strike, a 143 km/h cutter on the inside corner thrown by Arihara with two balls and two strikes, in a display of typical Ogawa batting.

Ogawa analyzed himself, saying, "I think that being able to hit the ball in that way when I'm in a tight spot is a strength, or one of my good points," but also mentioned a challenge he faces, saying, "I think it would be good if I could get more at-bats like that when I'm in a tight count, so I'm conscious of that."

Entering September, hit five consecutive games from the match against Nippon-Ham on the 4th to the match against Orix Buffaloes on the 8th, and then hit eight consecutive games from the match against Rakuten Eagles on the 15th to the match against Nippon-Ham on the 27th, giving him a batting average of .362 (21 At Bat 58 hit) in September and October. "My intuition is improving a lot, and I'm getting solid results in games and I'm increasingly able to bat the way I want to. I think that's where I'm getting better." The results of his hard work swinging the bat since the fall practice in November 2011 are starting to show.

Although he played in fewer games than last year, he showed his competitive spirit by appearing in 87 games with a batting average of .264, RBI, 12 Walk, and an astonishing .383 batting average in scoring position.

When asked why he is good at taking advantage of opportunities, he explained, "Especially when opportunities come my way, like always, rather than deciding on my own, I pass the ball to the back or somehow show my strengths, and it just so happens that it results in good results, so I think it's good."

Even if you defend it, "In the first half, there were easy mistakes and ordinary mistakes, so I practiced all the time to eliminate those areas throughout the season, so I think it's good that we were able to make no mistakes in the second half," he said, after making an error in the Orix Buffaloes match on July 19th, and from the Orix Buffaloes match on July 20th defense The game ended the season with 41 consecutive games without an error.

Regarding the reason for his error-free performance after the All-Star break, he analyzed, "It was just a feeling, and I think the fact that we were able to correct some of the small technical details in the first half and then go into the second half led to good results in the second half."

Saburo will be the new manager from next season. "I don't think what's expected of me will change, so I'll contribute more than anyone with solid defense and base running, and I'll also do my part on offense, improve my level and get hits, and I want to do more of those things. My role won't change, and what I do won't change, so I hope to improve my level and produce even better results."

Looking ahead to next season, he said with emphasis, "I hope to produce results that will earn me the nickname 'regular', and to be a regular in starting line-up throughout the year, focusing on results and producing results." He is aiming to become a regular next season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita