"First and foremost, I want to win the most hit. That's what I want to achieve the most, and recently, hitter who win the most hit haven't been able to win the hitter title either, so I think if I can win both of those, I'll be a top-class batter. 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 focused on "swinging hard," has been recorded at .337. Takabe says that when he is able to aggressively swing at the first pitch, he is in good form. "I think players who can get hits naturally draw more Walk. My priority is to get hits, so I will swing at any pitch I think I can hit, regardless of the circumstances."

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 hit 160 hit, he'll be in contention for the most hit title. Last September, when he often played as the leadoff hitter, he recorded 33 hit in that month, and if he can maintain hit throughout the season, he could easily get close to 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) won with a batting average of .307 in 2023, Kensuke Kondo (Softbank Hawks) won with a batting average of .314 in 2024, and last season Taisei Makihara (Softbank Hawks) won with a hitter average of .304. In the past, a batting average of around .330 was the line for the batting hitter, but in the last three years that line has dropped sharply. Takabe's batting average since August of last season was .337, so if he can maintain that level of hitting throughout the season, hitter the batting title is not out of the question.

Every year he plays seeking a new feeling, but this year, Eito Takabe's style for "2026" is, "I really couldn't hit last year, so this year I want to just hit, create a rhythm from my batting, and also make good plays in defense and base running, so first of all I want to do is make my presence felt with my Akito Takabe."

Having won the batting title, he will paint the number "0" he will wear this season with Akito Takabe style.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita