Lotte's Yuki Karakawa took the mound for his final start in the game against the Softbank Hawks on the 3rd.

In the Seibu Lions minor league game on September 23rd, following the announcement of his retirement, Karakawa left the mound after getting Manaya Nishikawa to fly out to center on a cutter, the second pitch after a 1-strike count. During his appearance that day, his movement from lifting his leg to his stride appeared different than usual. When asked about it, Karakawa joked, 'I might have forgotten how to throw (laughs),' before revealing, 'My movement was stalling a bit, and seeing that, I didn't think it was a good flow, so I've been throwing more in the bullpen to fix it.'

"Right now, I'm thinking about being able to throw strikes and being able to throw fastballs. Anyway, it's all about the cutter," he said as he prepared for his retirement appearance.

Then came his retirement appearance. Karakawa, taking the mound for his 192nd career first-team start, missed with a 144 km/h cutter on the first pitch to the leadoff hitter Tomoya Masaki, but took a called strike with a 144 km/h cutter on the second pitch, and induced a swinging strike with an outside 144 km/h cutter on the third pitch to make it 1 ball and 2 strikes, before finally getting him struck out swinging with a 145 km/h cutter.

Karakawa left the game after getting Masaki out, and was replaced by Naoya Masuda, who is the same age. After heading to the mound in the relief car, Masuda hugged Karakawa upon arrival. Speaking of Karakawa and Masuda, they became a hot topic two years ago for their "win hug."

The "victory hug" first took place during the Rakuten Eagles game on July 27, 2024. Karakawa threw 90 pitches over 6 innings, allowing 3 hits, 4 strike outs, 1 BB, and 1 runs to earn his first win as a starter since the Orix Buffaloes game on July 5, 2018. Closer Masuda finished the game, leading to the victory hug. They also embraced in celebration after the win against the Orix Buffaloes on August 10, where he earned his second victory. When asked about it, Karakawa smiled and said, 'When I won in Sendai last time, Naoya (Masuda) told me my reaction was a bit lonely, so I tried to put more emotion into it.'

There were two "victory hugs" that year. In 2025, the plan was for starter Karakawa to pitch and closer Masuda to finish, leading to many more victory hugs. During an interview on January 23, 2025, Karakawa said, "It's a happy thing no matter how many times we do it, and since we did our independent training together, I want to do it as much as possible." Masuda also expressed his enthusiasm in an interview on January 27, 2025, saying, "It would be great if Yuki (Karakawa) could throw a complete game or a shutout game, but since we are both getting older, I don't think it will always go that way, so I want to be there to help him. I want to support him, and since I believe that leads to a team win, I want us to help each other with everything we've got."

However, last season there was not a single moment to share a hug for a win during a first-team regular season game, and such a scene did not occur this season either until the retirement game. Masuda said, "I think the best moment recently was when I was able to hand the winning ball to Yuki (Karakawa) as a closer. I hope I can pitch in games where Yuki pitches." Then, after Karakawa pitched his inning in the retirement game, Masuda took the mound and their long-awaited hug finally happened.

Karakawa and Masuda are part of the same '89 generation' and, along with Daichi Suzuki (who now wears the Rakuten Eagles uniform) and Seiya Inoue (who retired at the end of the '24 season), they led The Marines for many years.

In the 9th inning with the game tied 1-1, Koki Yamaguchi hit his 35th solo home run to the center field screen for a walk-off win. The hug between Karakawa and Masuda during the retirement ceremony was moving. Loved by his teammates and fans alike, number 19 quietly took off his uniform.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita