Softbank Hawks On March 26, Hotaka Yamakawa infielder opened his voluntary training session in Fukuoka City and talked about his strong commitment to being the No. 4 hitter player. I've always said that the No. 4 position is the best part home run of the No. 4 position. baseball The first thing to do is to make sure that you have the right equipment and the right people to help you. I definitely want to be No. 4 for the season opener," he said enthusiastically.

"It's not like Shohei Ohtani is batting fourth, and I think Kon-chan (Kensuke Kondo) is the best hitter in Japan right now, but he should be second or third," he said, fully aware that in today's baseball, the fourth batter does not necessarily mean the strongest hitter. He added, "It's like showing off. It's stubbornness. From elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and the pro 2nd and 1st teams. I've been the fourth batter here for six generations, so it's my stubbornness. But if I perform like I did last year, obviously I won't be good, so I'll be taken off the team. It's like, 'Manager, you can sleep in.' I really want this to be that kind of year, so the batting coach doesn't have to worry about batting order either. I know it's difficult to be a true fourth batter, but that's why I'm aiming for it."

In his first year after the transfer in 2012, Yamakawa was assigned as the number 4 batter in every game, but last year he was removed from the number 4 position in mid-May due to extreme poor performance.