Yosuke Hiraishi and Tomotaka Sakaguchi, who appeared on 'Pro baseball News 2026' broadcast on Fuji TV ONE on the 2nd, mentioned Lotte's Yuki Karakawa, who will retire from active duty at the end of this season.

Mr. Hiraishi evaluated him, saying, "The feel of his change-up was good, and then there's the cutter. He was a pitcher who threw a truly incredible cutter; he worked as both a starter and a reliever, and he was a really good pitcher."

Mr. Sakaguchi spoke about his greatness, saying, 'I've faced him many times, and his pitches look faster than the actual velocity. His arm comes through late, his fastball rises, and as Mr. Hiraishi mentioned, his cutter is very difficult to deal with, plus he has a unique change-up. When he goes through the rotation once, his speed also picks up. I thought he was a pitcher with a beautiful throwing form.'

Motonobu Tanishige, who served as the program MC, said, "He always throws with the same expression. He throws in a detached manner every time. He was a good pitcher."

Karakawa joined Lotte as a first-round pick in the 2007 high school draft and played for Lotte for 19 years. In the latter half of his career, he used his "cutter" as a weapon to break the bats of powerful hitters.

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"