◆ Indispensable Activities

"Although this is my seventh year, I think it may be my last year that people will have high expectations of me, so I want to do my best here and become the face of Lotte."

Lotte's Kyota Fujiwara said this in January of this year, and in the team's difficult situation, he has become an indispensable player in terms of offense, running and defense.

Fujiwara started as leadoff hitter and right fielder in the game against Yakult on the 13th. In his second at-bat in the second inning with the score tied at 1-1 and runners on first and second, he let go of the fifth pitch, Walk on the outside corner thrown by Okugawa Yasunobu with fastball count of 3 balls and 1 strike, which led to a two-run RBI hit by Ryusei Terachi.

Although it did not lead to a run, in his fourth at-bat in the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on second base and the score tied at 4-4, he made a good call on the sixth pitch, slider on the outside corner thrown by Taguchi Reito with three balls and two strike, and extended his chances.

Then, in his fifth at-bat in the ninth inning with the score tied at 4-4, he said, "I had a good batter, Terachi, behind me, so I thought if I got on base he could do something, so I'm glad I got on base with a hit." He hit the sixth pitch from Bauman with three balls and two strike, a 155 km/h fastball, to center fielder, creating an opportunity.

On the next pitch, Teraji attempted stolen base second base, but was called out, but the call was overturned after a request and he succeeded in stolen base second base. During Daito Yamamoto 's at-bat, the fourth pitch, with one ball and two strike. The fifth pitch was also a wild pitch, and he scored a walk-walk-off home run.

◆ The way he pulled himself back after being cornered

Although he did not reach the required number of at-bats last season, he recorded a batting average of .290 (231-67), saying, "I continued doing the same thing throughout the season, and that led to results, so I think the content was better than the results. It's been a challenge for me, so I haven't been able to compete throughout the season, but I've been improving over the past two or three months, and it's the first time I've gone three months without any ups and downs, so I think that's an area where I've grown."

This season, he had two hit in the opening game against Softbank on March 28th, and four hit in the game against Softbank on April 11th, bringing his batting average to .526. "I'm not in good shape, but I feel like I'm doing my best," he said, as he finished with a batting average of .327 at the end of April.

Since the start of May, he has been hitting many hit in the opposite direction from center fielder after being cornered, but on the 22nd against Orix, when he was at bat for the fourth time with two outs and runners on first and second in the sixth strike with the score at 5-0, he hit a timely hit to right field off the 10th change-up Kawase threw with three strike and two strikes. "There are more inside pitches, so I hope I can hit while watching the situation," he explained the reason.

In the game against Nippon-Ham on June 1, he hit a single off Yi-Lei Sun 's first fastball, a straight hit, in front of right field, and he also had a hit from an early count. "I think my condition is improving, so I hope I can improve my batting average from here," he said.

stolen base

Immediately after the opening, he sometimes started on the bench, but since the match against Nippon-Ham on June 1, starting line-up has started in 10 consecutive games, and since the first game of the interleague match against The Giants on the 4th, he has batted first in nine consecutive games. When asked what he is conscious of as the leadoff hitter, he said, "There's nothing in particular, but it depends on whether I play or not, so I hope I can give the team momentum."

As of the end of May, he had two stolen base, but since June stolen base four and is currently on a three-game stolen base, so he will also contribute with his feet as the leadoff hitter. Regarding stolen base, he said, "I've always wanted to run, so I want to be ready to run when the sign comes."

"I hope to continue doing what I can. I want to produce results so that I can play in games all the time." I hope that he will achieve his goals of reaching the required number of at-bats, hitting .300 and hitting double-digit Home Run this season, and show such performance that he can confidently say that he has become the face of the team when the season ends.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita