"I got the impression that we really stumbled at the start, but in the second half we managed to hold on through trial and error."

Lotte's Yudai Fujioka reflected on the past season as follows:

After the end of last season, he said his off-season theme was, "As I do every year, I'm working on improving my swing speed and also building up my body. I want to focus on hitting." However, he also said, "In my personal training, I worked on my form, and focused on hitting with my form in mind," as he swung the bat firmly.

This season, he served as team captain, and during the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island, he said, "I always make an effort to speak up and give instructions," and continued to actively encourage younger players such as Atsuki Tomosugi and Ryusei Miyazaki during defense practice, just as he had done before. Reflecting on the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island, where he spent time as captain, he said, "It wasn't that different from before, but since it was mainly young players, I think that was the difference."

In an interview on February 16th, the final day of the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island, he spoke about the upcoming season, saying, "Personally, I want to be in good condition when the season starts, but it's a long 143 games, so I want to take a holistic approach. As a team, I want us to be a team that can win from the open games, and I hope we can start with good momentum." Although he had been sidelined due to injury, he returned to the first team for the open game against Hiroshima on March 14th, and had a great performance in the final open game against The Giants on March 23rd.

He began the season with the goal of achieving an OPS of over 8, saying, "That's what I'm aiming for."

In the opening game against Softbank Hawks on March 28, Fujioka, who started as the number 2 batter and starting line-up second baseman, came to bat for the third time in the 6th inning with no outs and runners on first and second two seam fastball after the team had taken the lead with timely hits from Ryusei Ogawa and Misho Nishikawa. He didn't let the momentum stop and made a perfect sacrifice sacrifice bunt on the first pitch, a two-seam fastball thrown by Kohei Arihara. It was a valuable sacrifice bunt that led to a two-run timely hit by Kyota Fujiwara and a two-run homer by Toshiya Sato.

Again on March 30 against Softbank Hawks, with no outs in the 7th inning of a 1-4 game, Naoyuki Uwasawa threw a 116 km curveball, the third pitch he threw from 1 ball 1 strike, to first base runner and advanced Nishikawa to second on a groundout. This was followed by Polanco's timely doble hit to left-center field and a double doble to tie the score by Hiromi Oka the substitute batter.

He contributed to the team with advancement hits and sacrifice bunt bunts, but it took him 5 games and 14 at-bats to get his first hit of the season.

At the contract renewal meeting after the season ended, he analyzed the reason for his stumbled start, saying, "I had an injury (to my right elbow) during training camp, so I wasn't able to adjust as I wanted, and I didn't get to bat in many games before the season started, so that didn't match up with what I had imagined. Also, the things I had done in my personal training hadn't really sunk in when the season started, so I think that worked out for the worse."

Even though he didn't hit easily after that, he didn't score against Softbank Hawks on April 11, but in the first at bat with no outs in the 0-0 first inning, Arihara pulled two seam fastball the third pitch he threw from two balls and got two ground balls. He played a minimal role, advancing first base runner ・Fujiwara to second base.

After getting two hit on April 15th, he went on to get hit in six consecutive games from that point, finishing April with a batting average of .232. On May 7th against Rakuten Eagles, he hit his first home run of the season, saying, "I just went up to hit with the intention of keeping the inning going, and it resulted in the best possible outcome." He followed that up with his second Seibu Lions run, a solo shot, against Seibu on the 23rd.

Since the interleague games began, in the game The Giants on June 4th, he hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot in the second inning, saying, "I was behind in the count, so I went for it. I'm glad it worked out in the best way possible." He also hit a timely single in the third inning, saying, "It was a chance, so I'm glad it dropped." He had a great game with two hit and three RBI. He then went on to get hit in four consecutive games starting with the game against Yakult on the 14th, and in the game against the DeNA BayStars on June 20th, he was down in the count with two pitches against Kei, but he was able to distinguish between foul balls and balls and drew Walk on the seventh pitch, a 135 km/h slider.

"In the first half of the season, I received injections every 10 days and continued like that for about three months," he revealed, explaining the current condition of his right elbow, "In the second half, it calmed down a lot, but I started throwing more often and it was a strain, but I don't think it's bad enough to require surgery."

In September, when his elbow was recovering, he played in 18 games, batting .360 Home Run and 5 RBI. While aiming for an OPS of 8, he recorded an OPS of .908 in September. Were there any aspects of his hitting that will carry over to next season?

"Honestly, I didn't know why I was able to hit in the second half, so I guess I was in good form and was able to hit, but I don't feel like I finished with any real momentum that will help me next year."

Although he didn't reach the required number of plate appearances this season, he played in the first team throughout the season, appearing in 102 games and finishing with a batting average of .256, 4 Home Run, 25 RBI, and an OPS of .694. After the regular season ended, he decided to stay with the team without exercising his domestic free agency rights, which he acquired this season, saying, "I had the desire to win the championship here, and I felt that I had to carry that feeling with me into next year and beyond." One of the deciding factors in his decision to stay was his return to playing short stop, saying, "They asked me to play short stop next year, so that was a big factor for me."

Fujioka said, "I don't know yet where I'll be playing, but I want to be prepared for any position by the time spring training begins." However, when asked by reporters about his preference for short stop, he said, "I think the player who can play the most consistently should play that position, and the middle infielders also have to be aware of their surroundings, and there are a lot of signs. It's a position that requires a strong sense of responsibility. I feel it's a very rewarding position."

"It was a very tough season throughout, and I personally had a lot of things that didn't go well, so I want to make sure that doesn't happen next year." Next season, both for the team and for Fujioka personally, he wants to make it a year full of smiles.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita