"A lot of things happened and I was able to experience a lot of different things. I don't think it's something you can experience in your first year, so I was in a bad mood and things weren't going well at first, but now I think it was good that I was able to experience that first thing."

Lotte's Misho Nishikawa, who was named Rookie of the Year, has had a turbulent year.

Nishikawa was a talented player who was selected by two teams, Lotte and Orix Buffaloes, at the professional baseball draft held last October. Upon joining Lotte, he was given the number 6, a number previously worn by The Marines right-handed hitter Hiromitsu Ochiai, Kiyoshi Hatsushiba, and Toshihito Iguchi. With high expectations on his shoulders, Nishikawa donned the The Marines uniform and, starting on February 16th, played in 16 games against the Marines, posting a batting average of .403 (25 hits in 62 At Bat hit), one Home Run, and nine RBI, earning him a spot on the opening day first team.

On March 28th, in the opening game against Softbank, he started as starting line-up hitter and left fielder, and in his third at-bat in the sixth inning with the score at 1-1 and runners on first and third, he said, "When the ball came to the inside, I was thinking of spinning it, so I was able to hit it the way I imagined. I'm glad I got my first hit at a good moment. I'd like to give the ball to my parents." He hit a timely hit to left field off the third pitch thrown by Kohei Arihara with one ball and one strike. This was his first professional hit and first professional RBI, and the hit that led his team to win.

Nishikawa recorded his first regular season hit at Zozo Marine Stadium in his third at-bat against Orix Buffaloes on April 2nd, hitting a ball to center fielder field. Then, in his third at-bat Orix Buffaloes on the 3rd, with the score at 0-2 and one out and a runner on first base, hit on a curveball thrown by Espinoza on the fourth pitch of a 1-ball, 2-strike, extending his consecutive game hit to five since the start of the season, tying the team's record for most consecutive games with a hit since the start of the season. However, after this hit, he went hit in five games and 19 at-bats. "My weaknesses were clearly apparent in the first team, and I'm working hard to correct the areas where I wasn't good so I can immediately contribute when I return," he said. Nishikawa was removed from the first team roster on April 12th.

The season began with good results in practice games and exhibition matches in February, but perhaps there was a change in the opposing pitcher' approach.

"I thought there were a lot of inside shots, and that's where I got stuck, which is why I didn't do well. My swing was broken down as the games went on. Now I'm preparing myself so that I can hit the ball whenever the ball comes up."

However, when watching practice games and exhibition games, in the exhibition game against The Giants on March 22nd, just before the start of the season, with the score at 0-3 in the fifth inning with two outs and runners on first and third, he was up to bat for the third time, when Funasako Taiga threw a 143 km/h shot on the inside of the fifth pitch after two balls and two strike, and hit a two-run doble over center fielder field, showing his ability to handle inside pitches. Has the inside attack since the start of the season felt different from that of the exhibition games?

"The quality of my straights is different, but I used to be able to handle them on the inside, but now that the season has started I can't do that, so I'm working on that now."

On April 18, he recorded five hit in one game against Yakult second team, and then had four consecutive multi-hit games from the Yakult second team game on April 20 to the DeNA second team game on April 25. In the game against Oisix on regular season 24, hit his first official home run, although it was in the farm team, saying, "I had heard that there was a quick pitch, so I kept that in mind and just went up to bat with the intention of hitting Home Run at my own timing."

He hit .423 (52-22) on the farm and was promoted again on April 29. On the same day against Orix, he batted 0-0 in the second inning from Hiroya Miyagi, the leading pitcher in baseball, with one out in the second inning, and carried fork the third pitch from 2 strike in front of center fielder, and the third pitch from 1 strike in the seventh inning, 0-1, with one out runner, change-up in front of hit and 2 hit in left field.

After hitting hit in his fourth at-bat against Softbank Hawks on May 3, he went 17 consecutive at-bats without hit, but on May 18 against Nippon-Ham Fighters, he came in as a pinch hitter for Atsuki Tomosugi in the 12th inning with the score at 1-1 and runners on first and second with one out. "Honestly, I was reluctant to swing at a strange ball before going up to bat and get out, but when I calmed down, I remembered my batting style and since I've always swung at the first pitch, I decided to stick to it and went for it from the first pitch," he said, swinging at the first cutter thrown by Takumi Yamamoto, and the ball went for a timely doble to right-center field. His hit in a while was walk-off hit that led the team to win.

Due to poor health, he was again removed from the first-team roster on May 27th, but he continued to produce results with the bat, batting .419 (31-13), and was promoted back to the team on June 13th. In the three-game series against DeNA starting on June 20th, he had multiple hit in three consecutive games, and in the game on the 22nd, he had a wild game with four hit, including his first professional multi-hit game. He hit well in June, batting .441 (34-15), and was good at taking advantage of opportunities, with an astonishing .571 batting average in scoring position.

It wasn't just his batting that shone. On defense, on June 22nd, in the first inning against DeNA with the score at 5-0 and runners on first and second, center fielder Fujiwara fumbled a ball by Keita Sano in left center field, but he quickly covered for the runner on first base, Matsuo, and made a nice cover to prevent him from scoring.

Since the start of July, hit in four consecutive games, from the game against Rakuten on the 2nd to the game against Orix on the 6th, and in the game against Seibu on the 13th, he achieved his second multi-hit game since turning pro, saying, "I feel like my own condition is improving even during batting practice, so I would like to work hard each day so that I can hit more and more and improve my condition."

"We struggled at first, but we're improving now and the first half of the season gave us both good and bad experiences, so we'd like to do our best to improve in the second half."

◆ Established himself as a regular in the second half of the season

In the second half of the season, he batted fourth for the first batting order since turning pro on July 30th against Rakuten Eagles. In his second at-bat in the fourth inning with one out and no runner on base and the score at 0-3, he hit his first professional Home Run, a 131 km/h ball on the 12th pitch thrown by Takayuki Kishi with three balls and two strike, into the left field rogue seats.

"I'm extra inning if that hit could turn into home run, so I'm not getting too excited about it and just keeping working on it."

He hit his first professional Home Run, and after a game against Orix Buffaloes on August 10th, his batting average, which had temporarily dropped to the single digits, rose to .289 (67 At Bat 232 hit). Including his ability to handle inside pitches, it seemed like he had overcome one of the "pro barriers."

Nishikawa thought for a moment and said, "Hmm," before analyzing himself, "I think I'm currently able to hit the balls I should be hitting, so there are times when I make a few mistakes, but when I make a mistake, I think the most important thing is how I reflect on my next turn at bat.I try to think about that carefully even during the game."

When it comes to a game, he never stops preparing and reflecting, saying, "I want to hit a home run in every game, and I write down the theme for the day in a notebook every day. I always reflect on whether I was able to achieve it that day and why I wasn't, and make corrections, so I think that's really leading to good results."

Hitting coach Kurihara Kenta commented, "Since the start of the season, he's been swinging at balls that aren't quite his style, but he was demoted to the minor leagues once and has been doing what he's been doing in the farm team. He's become able to hit balls to right field even when the ball is jammed, and his hitting zone has expanded. He's always been able to pick up and hit breaking breaking ball. I think the biggest factor is that he's become able to hit balls to right field even when the ball is jammed."

Nishikawa's momentum continued to accelerate. hit five consecutive games from the game against Softbank Hawks on August 16th to the game against Rakuten Eagles on the 21st. After the game against Rakuten Eagles on the 20th, his batting average rose to .297.

Against Rakuten Eagles on August 20, he was 2 hit but showed his legs as well: in the second at bat with two outs in the 0-2 5th inning, he hit two seam fastball the first pitch center fielder 136 km hit to right thrown by Tatsuki Koja, and without slowing down, he hit a timely doble double that stole second base. Against Softbank Hawks on August 31, with one out in the 1-1 3rd inning, he hit Kyuto Ueda to left center hit and stole first base runner. Nishikawa made a good base running advance to third base and was brought home alive by a wild pitch while Ryusei Terachi at bat. He was not the MVP for the month of August, but he had a .344 batting average and 5 RBI runs for the month.

Even in September, he had his 31st multi-hit game of the season, including his second solo hit, in the game against Orix Buffaloes on the 9th, and his third Home Run in two consecutive games in the game against Softbank Hawks on the 11th.

A great one was against Rakuten Eagles on September 13 base running. With two outs in the fourth inning of a 6-2 game Hiromi Oka, first baseman runner Nishikawa, who was starting on 3 balls and 2 strike, saw Rakuten Eagles third baseman Franco go to first throw, and without slowing down, he made a good base running fall at third base.

"I think that's one thing that can determine whether the team wins or loses, and sometimes a single base running can make the difference between winning and losing. I'm always aiming to get ahead, so I think that base running (Rakuten Eagles on September 13th) was good for me."

In the September 14th game against Rakuten Eagles, he is known for his aggressive hitting, but forced Rakuten Eagles pitcher to throw 31 pitches in five at-bats. On September 16th against Orix Buffaloes, stolen base his first professional base, and on September 20th against Nippon-Ham Fighters, he hit a timely doble to right-center field off of Rookie of the Year contender Kota Tatsu. On September 28th against Nippon-Ham Fighters, he was hit in his first two at-bats, but hit in his third and fourth at-bats, achieving a multi-hit hit.

"I've been feeling good for a while now, and it's easier for me and my mental health when those days continue to be good, so I'd like to keep going."

He reached the required number of at-bats for the season in his second at-bat in the final game of the regular season against Softbank Hawks on October 5. In his first year as a professional, he played in 108 games, batting .281 with 3 Home Run, 37 RBI, and a league-leading 27 doble.

"At first, I struggled to get results, but after learning from many people and thinking about it myself through trial and error, I think I was able to achieve results in my own way, so I would like to continue working hard to improve my results from next year onwards."

He overcame each issue one by one, and towards the end of the season, he persevered and drew more walks at Walk. "I'm also very particular about my on-base percentage, so I felt with each game that even when I'm not in good form, being able to draw one Walk means a lot. From my second year onwards, I want to use my experience to come back even more improved this winter during the off-season."

　外野の守備でもゴールデン・グラブ賞受賞とはならなかったが、補殺は外野手部門でリーグトップ。「守備も自分の中でこだわりを持っているひとつ。補殺1位取れましたけど、それがあるとないとでは、ピッチャーの気持ちの面でもチームを助ける意味でも、すごく大きと思うので、そういう役割を担っていると毎試合思って、全イニング守っていますね」。

Next season, his second year as a pro, will be extremely important. "I think it will be very important in terms of my performance to improve and achieve career highs each year, and I'm still not satisfied with myself, so there's always someone better. In that sense, I want to improve even more, and next time I want to become a batter who can aim for Home Run runs." He will return to Marine next season even more improved.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita