This season will be a very important one for Seibu Lions 's Manaya Nishikawa.

Nishikawa was expected to be a regular every year, but he had difficulty securing a regular spot. However, in his eighth year as a pro, he established himself as the leadoff hitter last season. He played in a career-high 124 games, batting .264 with 10 Home Run, 38 RBI, and 25 stolen base to secure a regular spot.

He was competing for a regular spot until last season, but this year he will be a regular player as he enters spring training and exhibition games. However, he only performed well last season. To a certain extent, he has become a reliable player, but to become a permanent regular, he needs to perform at the same level as last season from the start of this year.

Seibu Lions has acquired Masashi Kuwahara as a free agent this offseason and has added new foreign player Anke Hayashi, making the competition more intense than last season. Even though Nishikawa was a strong performer last season, the current outfield depth is such that there must be a sense of crisis that there are players who can replace him. He hopes to perform well from the start of this season and establish himself as a permanent fixture.