"I had more time to think after my injury, and although I've been at many different stages in baseball career, this was a time for me to reexamine baseball from scratch."

Lotte's Yu Tatematsu reflected on his first year as a professional like this. Tatematsu, who has been playing baseball in his hometown of Chiba since junior high school, is registered infielder, but before the start of the rookie joint voluntary training, he practiced third base, first baseman, catcher, and outfield, preparing to be able to play any position.

During the rookie joint training session in January, catch ball was used for catcher, and for knocking, glove for infielder. On the first day of the Ishigakijima Spring Camp, he put on the pinstripe uniform and played in it.

The next day, on the 2nd, he received a bullpen ball from a Atsuki Taneichi of his classmate. Tatematsu said, "I thought it was a great experience to be able to receive the first-class pitcher of my classmate, and I also thought that the quality of breaking ball was a step different from when I was working," and as for splitter and fork, he experienced firsthand their greatness, "The fast fork is too scary to see at first sight, and I want to try my best to stop it.

Even though he was able to run, during individual practice after the team practice was over, he said, "I think the way of shuffling is different depending on the club and team, so I didn't know how to do it, and Coach Ishimitsu invited me.I had always wanted to practice base running, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to participate."He had one-on-one base base running practice with Coach Ishimitsu Shota on the second day of the first course of the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island.

"When I was at Nippon Life, I was quite fast, so I often got signs to steal. I had stolen base bases at the professional level, but I hadn't done much other base running, so I think it was a good new learning experience," he reflected. Coach Ishimitsu also said, "I don't think the basic shuffle will change no matter where you go. Ultimately, it's a matter of timing, so we're just checking whether it's right or not."

On February 11th, he made his first appearance as the fourth batter and DH in the Red-White game, hit 0-for-1 Walk At Bat and then taking over as mask midway through the game. After the game, he practiced bunting at the indoor practice facility. On February 16th, in the game against Rakuten Eagles Monkeys, he came in as catcher and came in as defense in his first at-bat in the seventh inning with the score at 4-3 and runners on second and third with one out. "I felt a bit relieved, and I thought maybe I was finally a part of the team," he said. He hit the third pitch from right-handed pitcher Suh Jun-jiang on a 1-ball, 1-strike count over center fielder field for a two-run triple, marking his first hit and first RBI in his first at-bat in an external game.

On this day, he not only catcher, but also took on defense of first baseman. Regarding his defense at first baseman, first baseman said, "When the scenery changes, the level of tension changes, so I think I was able to play without being nervous because I've been playing first base recently." During spring training, he mainly practiced defense at catcher and hardly practiced defense at first base, but he reflected, "I haven't absorbed positioning or the Lotte way of thinking, so I was told to 'do it the way you want to!' So I tried to do it with that in mind."

In the 12 games played outside the game since February 18, he failed to appeal with 14 At Bat 1 hit and played in the farm for the last time in the open game against Softbank Hawks on March 9. Eastern League After the opening day of the season, on April 12, Seibu Lions against the second team, Lopez hit a technical doble to left field with a 138 km splitter outside pitch, the sixth pitch he threw from 1 ball 2 strike in the 2-1 7th inning, and on April 23, Oisix against the third team, Mikami hit a 1 in the 3-4 8th inning with one out and two on base. Mikami hit the second sinker pitch he threw from ball 1 in the 8th inning of a 3-4 game center fielder before hitting a final two-run homer.

On April 30th, in a game against The Giants' second team at Zozo Marine Stadium, the team's home field, he was up to bat in the third inning with the score at 2-1 and no runner on base. Home Run to right field on Imamura's first pitch, a 143 km/h fastball high and inside. This was his first Home Run in an official The Giants-team regular season. He had three consecutive games with RBI, including one Home Run and seven RBI, and was promoted to the pros on May 7th. That same day, in a game Rakuten Eagles with the score at 7-3, he came in as a pinch hitter for Shingo Ishikawa with two outs and runners on first and second, making his professional debut. However, he attempted to hit a 139 km/h cutter thrown by Nakagomi on a 1-ball, 1-strike, but hit a fly ball to left field. On May 9th, against Seibu Lions, he made his first starting line-up start as the seventh first baseman, but went 0-At Bat-4 with struck out hit and two runs, leading to a defense ball that allowed a run. He was removed from the first-team roster on May 16th.

After being removed from the first-team roster, he was working hard in the farm team, hoping to be promoted again, but in July he underwent arthroscopic hip labral replacement surgery on both hips at a hospital in Tokyo. After The Giants second-team game on June 29, he did not play in either the first or second teams, ending his season.

At a press conference held after contract renewal negotiations on November 28th, he said, "I've been told to prepare as catcher, so I can't get started until I can move like catcher. That's what I want to do." He enthusiastically said that by the time of spring training in February next year, "I want to get catcher 's sense back, and since batting is my greatest strength, I want to make an impact."

For his second year as a professional, he said, "First of all, I want to show The Marines fans that I can run properly. My goal is to be able to show them wearing a mask." In his second year as a professional, he wants to spend more time playing in the first team.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita