On the 20th, Orix Buffaloes manager Mamoru Kishida revealed that catcher Kenya Wakatsuki, who has been selected for Japan's first WBC national team, will be allowed to play in the first Red-White game of the Miyazaki training camp, scheduled for February 8th, if he wishes. While planning to use mainly young players, he promised to support his supporter, who will be participating in Samurai Japan's pre-season training camp starting on the 14th. "If he is selected (for the national team), we will have to adjust accordingly. I think Wakatsuki will also start playing games and live BP (batting practice in a real game setting) early," he said, hinting at an "update" from 2015, when his first real game was on the 17th.

On the same day, he attended a meeting of the 12 teams' managers in Tokyo. Regarding the change of the advantage system for the Climax Series (CS), which was on the agenda, he said, "I think the aim is to make the game exciting until the very end. For the field, the only thing that matters is winning. If the customers and viewers can enjoy the game until the very end, the baseball world must do its best to make that happen.