"First of all, most hit. That's what I want to achieve the most, and recently the batter who gets the most hit hasn't been hitter hitter so if I can achieve those two things, I think I'll be a top-class batter, and that's what I'm aiming for right now."

Lotte's Akito Takabe has set his goal for this season as "most hit" and "leading hitter." At a press conference after contract renewal negotiations on December 17th last year, he said, "If it's hits, I'd like to get 200. I think that's the mark for a top-class hitter, so it's quite difficult to achieve in this day and age, but I'd like to aim for something like that."

Takabe's batting average since August of last season, when he started to focus on "swinging hard," has been .337. Takabe is in good form when he is able to swing aggressively from the first pitch. "I think players who can hit are bound to get more Walk. The first priority is to hit, so I'm going to go for it regardless of the ball I think I can hit."

If he is assigned to a higher batting order, he will have more at-bats and a higher chance of hit the most hits. In 2022, when he had 148 hit, second in the league, he batted most often as the leadoff hitter with 70 games, followed by the second batter with 61 games, so he often batted "higher" in the order. Last season, he often played lower in batting order, batting third in 26 games, first in 20 games, and seventh in 11 games, so batting order was not fixed.

Regarding batting order, Takabe said, "I think my role will change depending on batting order batting order, but I don't think what is expected of me will change, so I don't particularly think it's better to be fixed in my position. I want to be able to continue to firmly defend and do what I'm assigned to do," and he intends to fulfill his role in batting order he has been assigned.

◆ Indicators of title wins in recent years

Looking at Pacific League 's "most hit" that Takabe is aiming for, in the 2010s, all players except Shogo Akiyama (then Seibu Lions) with 216 hit in 2015, Tsuyoshi Nishioka (then with Lotte) with 206 hit in 2010, and Seiichi Uchikawa (then Softbank Hawks) with 157 hit in 2012 have had over 170 hit to win the most hit title.

Since 2020, no player has had 170 hit among those with the most hit, and hit with the most hit was Takashi Ogino (then with Lotte) in 2021 with 169 hit. Last season, the player with the most hit was Itsuki Murabayashi (Rakuten Eagles) with 144 hit.

If he can accumulate around 160 hit, he will be able to win the most hit hit. In September of last year, when he often played as leadoff hitter, he hit 33 hit in that month, and if he can continue to accumulate hit at this pace throughout the season, simple calculations show he can hit nearly 200 hits.

▼ Most hit in Pacific League since 2020

2020: 146 hit Yuki Yanagita (Softbank Hawks)

2021: 169 hit Takashi Ogino (Lotte)

2022: 161 hit Hiroaki Shimauchi (Rakuten Eagles)

2011: 163 hit Yuki Yanagita (Softbank Hawks)

2024: 158 hit Ryosuke Tatsumi (Rakuten Eagles)

25: 144 hit Itsuki Murabayashi (Rakuten Eagles)

Looking at the batting hitter, in the last three years, Yuma Tongu (Orix Buffaloes) had a batting average of .307 in 2011, Kensuke Kondo (Softbank Hawks) had a batting average of .314 in 2012, and last season Taisei Makihara (Softbank Hawks) was the batting hitter with a batting average of .304. In the past, the batting hitter line was around .333, but that line has dropped dramatically over the last three years. Takabe has also had a batting average of .337 since August of last season, so if he can continue hitting like he has since August of last year throughout the season, becoming the batting hitter is not just a dream.

Every year he plays in search of a new sensation, but this year Takabe Eito is aiming for a style for 2026: "Last year I really couldn't hit, so this year I just want to hit, create a rhythm from the Akito Takabe side, and play well in defense and base running, so first of all I want to make my presence felt with my batting."

He won the batting title and will be wearing the number "0" from this season in Akito Takabe colors.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita