This season, in his sixth year, Softbank Hawks 's Tatsuru Yanagimachi reached the required number of at-bats for the first time and won the title for highest on-base percentage.

It wasn't all smooth sailing from the start of the season. He played in 16 exhibition games with a batting average of .216 and started the season in the minor leagues. After being registered to the main league on April 1, he played mostly as a pinch hitter early in the season, and his batting average temporarily dropped to .118. However, he had a great game against Orix Buffaloes on April 23, and then had two hit against Rakuten Eagles on the 25th, which boosted his batting average to .292. He also had three hit against Rakuten Eagles on the 27th, raising his batting average to .355, and from there he began to get more opportunities to play in the starting starting line-up.

He finished April with a batting average of .333, followed by a .291 average in May, a .349 average in June, and a .397 average in interleague games, topping the batting averages of the 12 teams. His batting average dropped to .203 in July and .250 in August, but in September, as the race for the league championship intensified, he batted .337. While he ultimately fell short of .300, he finished with a .292 average. He won the title for highest on-base percentage with a .384 average. He also won Best Nine honors, making it a fulfilling year.

With the spotlight expected to be tighter next season, it will be interesting to see if he can survive the fiercely competitive The Hawks outfield and become a genuine regular.