Three Lotte players, Akito Takabe, Keisuke Sawada, and Rikuto Yokoyama will be changing number this season. Each of these three players has their own reasons for changing number.

Takabe, who wore number "38" until last season, said, "I have a great admiration for Ogino-san. I have been following his back in my professional baseball life, and I really respect him. Takashi Ogino I really want to carry on Mr. Ogino's legacy, so this time I asked to be a part of it," he said.

Takabe stated his determination, saying, "I thought of him as a rival, and we competed with each other to play in matches, but he was always a senior who showed me the way and gave me a goal to aim for, so I'm really grateful to him.I wanted to do more, but from now on I'll wear number 0 jersey and do my best to surpass him in my own way."

Yokoyama's number will be changed from "60" to "15". Manabu Mima, who wore a number 15 until last season, said, "My mentor is the same as Coach Mochimaru, so I feel that kind of relationship and I think it would be nice to be a pitcher worthy of number next season," and said, "It's the number Mima-san wore, so I think it's a heavy number, but it's solid number I want to play an active role next season."

Keisuke Sawada will wear the "54" that pitcher coach Tomohiro Kuroki wore during his active career from number "66". Sawada said through the club at the time of the number change, "Number 54 is the number that contains the soul of Johnny (pitcher coach Tomohiro Kuroki). While Johnny always gives me various guidance, I was impressed once again when I saw the video of his pitching during his active career."

When I interview Sawada about slider, Coach Kuroki's name often comes up. In an interview on October 31, 24, he said, "slider was told by Johnny about this kind of image from his form, and when he threw slider with that form slider, he started to bend quite a bit. Growing into an important pitch that supports pitch.

In an interview on August 30th of last year, when asked about slider 's curve-like trajectory, he replied, "There was wind, and Coach Johnny told me that if it curves too much to the side, I should imagine throwing it vertically as well, so I tried to throw it with a slightly vertical curve."

number Looking ahead to the new season, Takabe said, "The first thing I want to do is win the batting title. I have never won a batting title, so I want to aim for it and win it. I think the defense base running title also requires a player who can run, attack, and defend, so I want to pursue that and play injury-free all year long," said Takabe. I want to play without injury for a year. I would like to play a full year without any injuries," he said.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita