infielder Kazunari Ishii (31), who will be transferring from Nippon-Ham to Seibu Lions as a free agent, held a press conference on the 26th at the team office in Tokorozawa, Saitama.

After the press conference, Ishii was surprised to receive a message book from fans, to which he smiled and said, "I'm so happy." His family grows "Ishii rice" in Tochigi. When he was with Nippon-Ham, salted rice balls made with "Ishii rice" were sold at the stadium as one of the player's gourmet foods, and there were many messages about rice. "I'm a baseball player after all, but I'm looking forward to Ishii rice... (laughs). I hope everyone will look forward to my play," he vowed with a smile.