Daiki Kikuchi, pitcher transferred from the Yomiuri The Giants to Nippon-Ham through the active player draft, visited the Taiki Kikuchi league facility in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture for the first time on the 12th to conduct his own offseason training.

He had visited the stadium before as an opponent, but this was his first time in the indoor practice field or the lockers in the dormitory. "I don't know where to go, so I just keep wandering around," he said with a wry smile.

At the indoor practice field, he also met with his senior from Toin University of Yokohama, Saito. "He said, 'You've finally come,' and told me to ask him anything if I don't understand something, so it's really encouraging," he said with gratitude.

Up until this point, he has been doing his usual voluntary training in Nagano, where he has been doing weight training and agility exercises to improve his stamina. Looking ahead to the season in his new home, he said enthusiastically, "(Manager Shinjo) said that this year was all about results, so I want to get solid results and win the league championship and become number one in Japan. I want to be a part of that and make a solid contribution."