◆Nippon Life Insurance Central vs. Pacific League Interleague Play 2025 The Giants 1-4 Nippon-Ham (19th, Tokyo Dome)
They watched the fly ball as if praying, amid a mixture of cheers and screams. With one out in the ninth inning no hitter continuing, Nippon-Ham Koki Kitayama pitcher Wataru Kitayama (26) stood there in a daze after Taku Oshiro hit a solo home run over the right field fence, shattering his dream of achieving a major record.
"I might not be able to sleep tonight because I'm so upset."
Even so, he was so impressive that he pitched perfectly until he walked with Walk outs in the seventh inning, and after the game he commented, "It was such an amazing atmosphere that it was impossible not to think about it. I'm happy to have been able to pitch in such an environment." Although he missed out on the feat that Hiroshima's Osera achieved last year, he pitched a complete game with one hit and five strike out in nine innings for his fifth win. ERA 1.15 has now surpassed Seibu 's Imai to become the league leader.
He is Manager Shinjo's favorite. He was the 8th pick in the 2021 draft. He was the 76th of 77 players under contract, but he was selected as the opening pitcher in his first year and was given the role of closer midway through the season, with 3 wins, 5 losses and 9 saves. The manager looked back on that time with great pleasure, saying, "I had an eye for him. I think he understood why I promoted him to the first team just by watching three pitches in the farm bullpen." His first words were, "Oh my gosh. Ah, I'm frustrated. I wonder if I'll be able to sleep tonight." Nevertheless, he praised his fastball, which topped out at 155 km/h, saying, "His fastball was really good. The way he jumped after pitching was really cool."
He has an overwhelming knowledge of training methods and is affectionately known as "Professor". He has studied exercises and breathing techniques, and even developed his own training equipment by combining equipment purchased at center fielder. He is also particular about sleep, and sleeps without a pillow, saying "I want to sleep in a position close to standing", and his research has led to the evolution of his own pitch.
The 26-year-old is a member of Shinjo Children. On this day, the manager told him, "I don't like it because it makes me look like a rapper," so he slightly bent the brim of his hat, which had been fastball up until then, and laughed, saying, "Maybe my vision has improved." "I'll take this as a message that if I achieve it here, I'll feel relieved, and I'll keep on working even more greedily." With the confidence of overpowering the Central League champions last season, he will continue on the path to becoming a great pitcher. (Haruki Kawakami)
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