Softbank Hawks Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo visited Fukuoka Children's Hospital on the 17th. This was the team's 10th visit and Kokubo's third consecutive year since taking over as manager.

Wearing his uniform, he walked around the ward, smiling and interacting with the hospitalized children. During the Q&A session, which was also attended by parents, he was asked, "Is (Nippon-Ham) Manager Shinjo conscious of this?" to which he replied, "At the beginning of January, it wasn't 'beat The Hawks' it was 'beat Hiroki Kokubo.' It wasn't even the team name (laughs). This year, we're in the position of being chased as champions, but if you think about it objectively, (Nippon-Ham) is a high-level, strong team. We have no choice but to be conscious of the fact that we're going to be competing against them." He answered other questions candidly and even received a gift of an autographed card with a message, spending about two hours interacting with the children.

In 2013, they achieved the Japan Series title they promised during their previous visit. When they handed over a signed autograph to Director Koichi Kusuhara, they smiled and said, "I've achieved my goal and fulfilled a promise." However, as they said immediately afterward, "I'm focused on this season," they will turn the cheers from the children into power to win the league for the third consecutive year and the Japan Series title for the second consecutive year.