Nippon-Ham pitcher Kota Tatsu (21) opened up his training session to the public at the team's second-division facility in Kamagaya, Chiba, on the 18th, announcing his intention to "postpone the graduation of the big-mouth." Last season, his outspokenness drew a lot of attention, even drawing attention from manager Shinjo. He considered taking a break, but when his contract was renewed in December of last year, the team unexpectedly praised him, saying, "Since baseball is a form of entertainment, we're grateful for that." "I want to improve my accuracy, not my size," he said. While continuing to make unique remarks, he plans to hone his speaking skills by incorporating more mature comments.
For the second year in a row, he traveled to Arizona, USA, to take part in the offseason. He also exchanged ideas with major leaguers of his generation, and said, "He taught me about sweepers. I felt like I could get a grip on a fast slider." He expanded his repertoire. One of his themes is to increase his pitching speed from his fastest pitch of 156 km/h, and he aims to break his own record by saying, "First, I'm aiming for 158 km/h."
Last season he had eight wins in 16 games. This season, his fifth year as a pro, he aims to achieve his first 10 wins and 170 inning. He has already been confirmed as the starter for the third game of the season on March 29th (against Softbank Hawks and Mizuho PayPay). "If it's the boss, he might cancel the game. He's a guy who does crazy things, so I want to play with a sense of tension." The young star of the Shinjo Ham Fighters will continue to update his play and his words. (Kawakami Haruki)
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