Seibu Lions infielder Natsuo Takizawa (22) held an open practice session in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, by the 24th, where he trained with Genda and others. He vowed to surpass his "mentor" in order to achieve his goal of winning the Golden Glove Award.

In his fourth season last year, he played in a career-high 125 games, mainly at second base and shortstop, 21 more than Genda. However, he says, "I still can't match Genda in terms of skill. I want to surpass him with results," and he spends his days sweating it out alongside his "rival." Nippon-Ham acquired Ishii, their starting second baseman last season, through free agency. Takizawa's position is even more uncertain, but he is determined to run around relentlessly, saying, "I want to give my all in whatever position I'm given the chance to play."

He said that "this may be my biggest goal," winning the Golden Glove award, which his mentor won seven times over seven consecutive years. He made great strides last season but didn't win the award, and said, "I was disappointed, so this year I want to work hard to keep playing at one position." His popularity is on the rise, as seen in a year-end TV program where he was voted "No. 1 in defense category" by other players. He is 164 cm tall. Although he loses the title of "the smallest player in baseball" to Hiroshima's third draft pick, Katsuta (Kinki University), by just one centimeter, he remains "No. 1" defense. (Oonaka Ayami)