I had been getting struck out all the time and didn't know what to do, but my coaches and seniors talked to me, which made me want to try my best and swing hard in the next at-bat. I kept at it until the end, and I'm glad that resulted in a hit.

Lotte's fourth-round draft pick Yuya Sakurai (Shohei High School) recorded his first professional hit on the 2nd.

Sakurai, who played in 102 games in the farm league and recorded a .245 batting average, 6 Home Runs, and 43 RBIs, joined the first team on the 1st. 'Previously, I was called up right after I got some results, like the month after I won the monthly MVP, so I didn't have much interaction with the veterans. But after spending the whole season talking with them, I feel more relaxed than before and am able to work in a comfortable environment.' During pre-game practice for the Softbank Hawks game on the 2nd, he hit powerful balls during batting practice, practiced defense at third base, and spent a long time on base running drills.

He was registered to the first team on the 2nd and made his first professional appearance in the starting line-up as the 'number 8 third baseman' in the match against the Softbank Hawks on the same day. Although he struck out swinging in his first two at-bats, in his third at-bat with two outs and no runner in the 7th inning with the score tied 1-1, he hit a 138km/h outside fork thrown by Yugo Maeda on the fourth pitch after a 1 ball 2 strike count for a joyful first professional hit to the center fielder. He celebrated by pumping his right fist on first base. Regarding the commemorative ball from his first professional hit, he said, 'I will give it to my mother.'

◆ Things worked on at the farm

In May, Sakurai appeared in 19 games, recording a .316 batting average and 13 RBI, winning the 'SMBC Trust Bank Farm Monthly MVP Award' for May, and earned his first professional promotion on May 31. In a game against the Hanshin Tigers that same day, he made his professional debut as a pinch hitter for Polanco with two outs and a runner on third in the 8th inning while leading 4-2. In his first professional at-bat, he swung and struck out on the fifth pitch, a 143 km/h outside two seam fastball thrown by Masaki Oyakawa after a 2-ball, 2-strike count. He appeared in 2 games and had 2 at-bats in the first team, where he struck out twice, and was removed from the first-team roster on June 4.

After returning to the farm team, he reflected on his experience with the first team, saying, 'I came back after swinging at balls outside the zone, so I want to change how I see pitches in the batter's box and focus on waiting for and hitting balls that are clearly a strike.'

In the second plate appearance of the Yakult farm team game on August 2nd, with no runners out in the 3rd inning and a 4-1 lead, he hit a 119 km/h outside sinker thrown by Masanori Ishikawa on a 1-ball count for his 3rd solo home run into the upper left-field stands. Then, in the third plate appearance of the Chunichi farm team game at Vantelin Dome on August 5th, with two outs and no runners in the 5th inning and a 4-0 lead, he hit a 128 km/h first-pitch cutter from Takahiro Matsuba for a three-run homer into the left-center stands that was gone the moment it was hit.

In the Nippon-Ham farm team game on August 11, during his fifth at-bat in the 9th inning with no runners out and the score at 3-4, he hit a priceless game-tying Home Run near the left field pole off the 6th pitch—a 135km inside cutter thrown by Ryusei Kawano after a 2-ball, 2-strike count; he hit three home runs across 18 games in August.

Even after entering September, in the Seibu Lions farm team game on the 22nd, during his third at-bat in the 6th inning with two outs and a runner on second while trailing 0-2, the home run he hit the moment he connected with the second pitch—a 131 km/h inside sinker thrown by Ryota Itokawa after a 1-ball count—was excellent.

Regarding his batting after changing how he tracks the ball, Sakurai shared, "It's like I changed my perspective and just kept working hard at it." When told that his Home Runs hit off Chunichi's Matsuba and Seibu Lions' Itokawa were wonderful, Sakurai reflected, "Both felt good. I received advice from the staff to raise my zone and reduce swings and misses on balls outside the zone, and they also told me how to be more decisive. By doing that, even though it was only two, I think those kinds of at-bats were created."

In the farm league, he was entrusted with the cleanup spot for a team-high 96 games. In an interview on March 27th just after the season started, he said, 'I'm not the cleanup hitter because of my results,' but he held that position throughout the season, albeit in the farm league. Reflecting after the farm league ended, he bit his lip and said, 'I wasn't able to rack up that many RBI, and there were many times in the farm league where the team lost because I couldn't drive runs in when needed. I think this year's farm league was a time when I truly felt the difficulty of being the cleanup hitter.'

It is impressive that he fought through his first professional season without any major injuries. He spoke with determination, saying, 'I think it was good that I was able to finish without injury, but I also faced the high level of play and the sense of speed. I was able to confront my defense and batting, so I want to work hard to play in the first-team games next season as well. I hope to keep working on those aspects.'

In his fifth professional plate appearance, he lit up the 'H' on the scoreboard for the first time, marking the start of his professional career. It is exciting to see what kind of growth curve this power hitter will follow, as he is expected to become a central hitter for The Marines in the future.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita