"I've been catching pitches thrown from standing positions in bullpen, and I've noticed the difference in the quality of balls thrown by college students and working professionals. Up until now, I've only been catching balls thrown by high school students, so there's a difference in level there. My classmates this year are all amazing pitcher, so what I've noticed most is how amazing they are when I'm catching them."

Ryoki Okamura (Tomishima High School), the 6th overall pick in the Lotte Draft, received a standing throw from Kaihiro Mori (Meiji University), the 2nd overall pick, on January 20, a standing throw from Junto Fuji (Nippon Express), the 5th overall pick, on January 18, a standing throw on January 15, a sitting pitching catcher on January 20, the 7th overall pick, Daisho (Honda Suzuka), during the joint training period for rookies and on January 23, he received a standing throw pitch from Kaishu Takahashi (Shikoku IL, Tokushima), who was ranked 2nd in the developmental ranks.

"breaking ball is completely sharp, but the quality itself is completely different from that of high school students. I enjoy being able to receive the ball, so I want to get better at catching it without making catch."

On the day he first received Daisei's standing pitch, he was surprised by the speed, saying, "It's incredibly fast. In high school, I only received pitcher who threw 140mph or so, so I was really surprised at first." He looked ahead and said, "I've gotten used to it. I don't often receive breaking ball, so breaking ball 're scary, but I'd like to get used to them and adapt to their speed."

After pitch practice in bullpen, he communicates closely with pitcher. Using the example of pitcher he was receiving in bullpen one day, he revealed, "pitcher himself asked me about whether a shooting ball was good, whether it was a cutting ball, and he said that a shooting ball is fine as long as it doesn't drop, so we talked about that, about how the ball grips the fingers, and when the ball was cutting, we reflected on it and said, 'That ball was bad,'"

When asked about the type of catcher he aspires to be, he said, "I think the best catcher is one that pitcher feel comfortable throwing to, so first of all, as catcher I want to value communication with pitcher, and then I want to aim to be catcher can hit.First of all, I want to be conscious of how I can be close to pitcher."He aims to be a "catcher who is close to pitcher."

When practicing, he uses glove instead of mitt. When asked why, he explained, "I originally played infield, so I had an infield glove made so I could play in a variety of positions. I'm particular about being catcher, but if I have the chance, I'd like to play in a variety of positions. That's why I took practice in an infield glove."

　春季キャンプに向けては、「技術のところは全然まだまだこれからゆっくりではないですけど、しっかりやっていけばいいと思っているので、まずは体力の部分とキャンプは1日中野球ができるので、体のケアをしっかりできたらと思います」と意気込んだ。

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita