"Honestly, I didn't think I'd be able to go this far. I was told to be a reliever but ended up being a relief pitcher, and with my character not being fully established, I sometimes wondered if I'd end up just being a jack-of-all-trades again, but in the end I was given the role of setup man, and it was also a season in which my strengths became clear. In that sense too, it was a really fulfilling season."

This season, Lotte's Shuta Takano 's third year, saw him achieve results as a long reliever, rising up the ranks and eventually being entrusted with pitching the eighth inning of a winning game, making it a breakthrough year for him.

This season, he was aiming to be in the starting rotation at the start of the season. In preparation for this season, during the off-season, he said, "I went to a place where I could have my pitch form looked at and receive guidance. I went to more than just Driveline, and I rebuilt my form from scratch. I spent the off-season pursuing a pitching style that would make the most of my strengths." He analyzed pitch form and revised it. He not only used fork and slider, but also tried curveballs and two seam fastball, so that he could have a wider pitch in preparation for his transition to starting pitcher.

Last season, Urawa's data team had such trouble with his change-up style forkball, fork has a unique trajectory that it was impossible to tell without looking at the grip, that during the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island, he said he needed to "improve his level a bit more." However, in a training game against Hanwha of Korea on February 23, he pitched three innings, allowing one hit and strike out.

Regarding fork he had been experimenting with during the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island, he said, "I've been able to get strikeouts in actual games, and the feeling I'm throwing it isn't bad. I feel more confident than last year." He added, "I've been throwing it with a good feeling, just as I did after the Hanwha game," and gained confidence, earning a spot on the opening day first team.

"I'd like to be used well in either position (starting or relief) and do my best to achieve my career high."

After the opening, he was entrusted with relief. In Game Softbank Hawks on March 29, which was his first appearance of the season, Takano went up to mound in the bottom of the 6th inning immediately after Soto's Home Run tied the game, and took the lead Tomoya Masaki and the following Kenta Imamiya with a fork in a row, struck out and cleared the Downs with a fly to the left with three people without danger, and 2 inning In the 7th inning, Richard grounded to three, Takashi Umino flew to left, Ukyo Shuto fork and swung struck out, and 2 inning perfect relief. Recorded his first professional hold.

On April 3 against Orix Buffaloes, he took over for the starter Shuta Ishikawa who left the game with one out bases loaded in the second inning of a 0-0 game and pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up 4 hits hit, 5 strike out, and no runs. He also pitched 2 hold, 8 strike out, 0 BB, no runs, ERA 0.00 pitch in 2 games and 5 2/3 innings and was removed from the lineup the following April 4. While he was closer in the first army, he adjusted in the farm.

"It's important to keep up my good form, and I think this is a good time to try out slider and curveball that I wasn't able to try earlier."

He is confident in slider, saying, "I've been able to strike out batters in games, and my feel for it is improving. I'd like to continue using it." Regarding fork, which has a unique trajectory and has racked up a mountain of struck out from first-division hitter, he said, "It's been the same as always, and my fastball is good too, so it's in good condition and I've been able to adjust it."

In the first team, he had taken a lot of struck out, but on the farm, he said, "I will increase the strike rate, or rather, I will go with a three-pitch game, and I often start the game as the second starter, so I think it is a small number of pitches that I have been conscious of for a long time to take the strike first and bring it to an advantageous count," and in the Rakuten Eagles second team game on April 16 and the The Giants second team game on April 29, both hit 1 inning with only 8 pitches, and there were closer appearances with a small number of pitches.

On May 5th, he was promoted back to the first team, saying, "For now, I'm being counted on as a relief pitcher, so my first goal is to be able to come back with zero losses no matter what the situation, and bring momentum to the team's win. I want to be able to fully demonstrate my abilities."

"I've always pitched multiple inning, so I feel comfortable pitching in the medium to long innings, and I actually feel like I'm in a position where I can show my strengths," he said, as he was promoted again to long relief.

Even though he is a long reliever, there are various situations in which he is behind by one or two runs, such as the June 6 Chunichi game, or when he is behind a lot with the opposing lineup completely behind, or on the other hand, when he is leading mound with a lot of runs scored by his side, or when he is expected to pitch bring a flow to his team with a tie, or when he is on the board after starter an incident. There are various situations.

"I have a unique pitching style, so I think that if I play to my strengths I'll be able to do well even if the other team is in good form, so I don't mind at all," he said, as he takes to mound determined to play to his strengths no matter what the situation.

Long relievers have a hard time getting an opportunity to pitch if starter they are stable, and Takano had an interval of more than two weeks between his first appearance on May 22 against Orix and his next appearance on June 6 against Chunichi. It is difficult to adjust to the situation, but he had to get a result, which is different from a reliever pitching in a "winnable" game.

"There are various ways in which I can go about things, and when the score isn't that big in the early stages I might be the second starter just like the first, or if I'm closer the rhythm down and we're behind, I think I'm in a position to create a rhythm from defense so that we can get into good momentum for the next attack. Either way, I try to change the momentum with my pitch so that the team gets into good momentum," he said, swinging his arm with all his might in the position he was given.

In the Hiroshima game on June 12, he took the mound in the 7th inning with a score of 4-4 and made a perfect relief in 2 innings. In the 7th inning of the 1st inning, Shunsho Noma finished off the lead with a struck out swing from 2 balls 2 strike to fork, followed by Fabian with 4 consecutive fork to 1 ball 2 strike, and finally the 5th pitch with a 145 km fastball struck out.

hitter fork fastball struck out Takano thanked the 19-year-old Ryusei Terachi catcher for his lead, saying, "That was a result of Teraji's leadership, or rather, the result of leaving it to Teraji, so it's more Teraji than me taking credit for that.

After closer the other team to three strikeouts, Terachi hit infield hit to take the lead. In the eighth inning, with the score at 5-4, Takano got Kaito Kozono on a grounder, struck out Shogo Sakakura, and got a fly out to right field. Takano closer the score at runs in the second inning and earned his second win.

In the Hanshin Tigers game on June 17th, he took the mound in the 5th inning with a score of 0-1, and in the 5th inning of the first inning, he was able to advance runner to third base, but Takumu Nakano was closer to struck out with a 131 kg fork from 2 balls and 2 strike, and escaped the pinch. In the 6th inning, which was the 2nd inning, the batting order started with No. 3 Shota Morishita, but Morishita flew in the middle, Teruaki Sato swung struck out with fork, Yusuke Oyama with fastball and swinged struck out, and immediately after that, in the top of the 7th inning, the batting line scored 3 runs and turned the game around, and the 2nd inning was runs closer Takano won his third victory.

"I've had the opportunity to pitch in thrilling situations and also gone two inning behind, so being able to pitch in many different situations is a great experience."

I wonder if it is reassuring in pitch to have fork in the deciding ball after pushing it -.

"They'll swing at it even if it's a ball, and when they're in good form, they'll struck out out looking if it's high. If I can throw it to a decent spot, it can be a decisive pitch, so it's very useful as a finishing pitch."

While showing a stable pitch centered on behind-the-scenes games and long relief, he took the mound from the ninth inning of 2-3 in the Orix Buffaloes game on August 11, and in the 10th inning of 3-3, which was a inning span, he was hit by a Ryo Ota hit in the 10th inning, and in the Nippon-Ham game on August 13, he allowed walk-off hits to Shun Mizutani in the ninth inning of 2-2.

"It was difficult (to switch gears), and I had a lot of thoughts about when I pitched the next time I got hit, but I was able to hear a lot of different stories from Masuda, Sawamura, and Shuta Ishikawa, and that gave me the motivation to switch gears."

With encouragement from his seniors, runs 13 consecutive scoreless games from the game against Softbank Hawks on August 17 to the game against Nippon-Ham on September 28. In the game Rakuten Eagles on August 19, he was entrusted with the seventh inning of a 3-2 winning game, and after closer a runs inning, he began pitching more often in winning games.

"I've been given more opportunities because I've been called upon to pitch in better situations, and I've also been able to pitch in better situations mentally, so I think I'm able to stay calmer than before even in competitive situations."

Even though his pitching position has improved, he remains committed to keeping the opposing batters in check for the sake of his team and himself, saying, "No matter what the situation, what I do is come back with zero effort.Whether we're closer, hitter, tied, early innings, or late innings, that's what I'm going to do, regardless."

Since he started pitching the 8th inning of a winning game, he said, "I feel pressure. （It's totally different," he said. There have been times when I've pitched two games lose where I've won or lost the game I pitched in. lose pitcher I felt the pressure more than when I was pitching behind the scoreboard. I've learned the joy and the fear of pitching in important situations.

"I feel a lot of things before pitching, more so than when we're losing badly, but once I'm on mound, I'm still focused on going for it. Manager Yoshii told me not to think about anything outside the circle on mound, or rather, to concentrate on what's within my reach inside the circle on mound. Since then, if I start to think about things outside the circle, like the score difference, the game's development, or the fans' reactions, it can become an evil thought and have a negative impact on my performance, so I try not to think about those things. When I'm on mound, I'm still focused on coming back with zero points, no matter how the game goes."

In the end, he pitched in 37 games and 53 2/3 innings, finishing with a career-best record of 5 wins, 3 losses, 15 hold, and ERA of 1.84.

"I've heard that there's a bit of a Lotte jinx about not performing well two years in a row, so I want to make sure that doesn't happen by performing at the forefront of the first team again. I also think that the matches will be more well-prepared for various countermeasures, so I want to work hard this offseason to acquire the skills to be one step ahead," he said, tightening his resolve.

As for the points that surpass this season's performance, he explained, "I want to improve the accuracy of the third pitch, increase the speed of the straight ball, and make a ball that can get a foul even if I throw it straight and wait straight, so I want to use a pitch style that other pitcher do not have."

Being able to start and relieve is a strength. I want to shake off the "second-year jinx" in any position and make next season my second consecutive season of success.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita