Nippon-Ham pitcher Kota Tatsu (21) conducted voluntary training at the team's facility in Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture on the 22nd, revealing that he is embarking on an "experiment" in preparation for the start of training camp.

February 1st is New Year's Day for baseball players. Teammates who have been doing their own training in various places gather at the training camp and practice in their uniforms. On that day, professional baseball players all say the same thing.

"Camping is tiring..."

They said with a smile.

"Is it really just the uniform that makes you tired, or is it just a matter of mindset? It's an experiment."

He is currently training in black pants, the same specifications as his uniform. He has three pairs of pants on hand to ensure he doesn't go blank, so he is serious about his experiments. On this day, he threw 60 pitches in bullpen, including breaking ball.

"It's been like this forever. For the sake of the experiment. For now, it's like this all year round. If I'm tired after February 1st, then it's a matter of attitude. The uniform has nothing to do with it!"

While he works hard at training, he doesn't forget to have fun. Armed with a powerful fastball reaches a maximum speed of 156 km/h and a variety of breaking ball, he recorded eight wins in 16 games last season. He has already been confirmed as the starter for the third game of the season (against Softbank Hawks and Mizuho PayPay) on March 29th. Just a few more sleeps until camp starts. I'm already looking forward to the research report from Nago. (Kato Hiroshi)