Yorito Okumura (18), the third overall pick in the Lotte Draft with a left arm speed of 148 km/h, pledged on January 12 to become a "national treasure level ace" along with fellow first overall pick Genki Ishigaki pitcher (18) of Kentucky University Takasaki.

In November, after the fateful draft, Okumura took the Keikyu line from his training camp in Nomidai to a movie theater in Kamiooka. He was there to watch the smash hit "National Treasure." "It was a really fun three hours. I ate popcorn while watching. I was so inspired, I even put a sticker on the back of my smartphone." He was glued to the screen, not even bothering to go to the bathroom, which was a concern given the long duration of the screening.

The story revolves around Tachibana Kikuo (Yoshizawa Ryo) devoting his life to the art of Kabuki, where lineage is highly valued, as he competes fiercely with Ogaki Shunsuke (Yokohama Ryusei), the son of a famous actor. Both Ishigaki and Okumura were worthy rivals who thrilled Koshien and played alongside each other on the Japanese high school national team. As in the film, attention will be focused on the friendly rivalry between the two young actors, and Yoshizawa said enthusiastically, "In the film, only one of them was portrayed, but I will do my best so that both of them can become 'national treasures'."

On this day, he was at Lotte Urawa and looked very satisfied as he entered the third day of the rookie joint voluntary training. "I can't wake up in the morning, so I have Ishigaki come and wake me up," he said with a laugh. "I want to hone my high-quality, one-of-a-kind straight pitch," said Okumura. The "Youth Edition" begins. In both baseball and Kabuki, the first step is practice. (Kato Hiroshi)