We were not able to participate in the post season, but I believe we have the team strength to be able to participate in the post season. I think we are better than last year. There are still many areas that we should improve, so I hope we can work on those points.

Lotte's Neftalí Soto summarized this season in this way.

In his third season since joining Lotte, Soto has been appointed as the team captain—the first foreign player to hold the position since Julio Franco in 1998. He expressed his commitment, stating, 'This team has many young players as well as veterans, so I believe that if we all unite as one, and do so as quickly as possible, we can move toward winning. I want to play that role.'

In preparation for this season, he swung the bat extensively during the off-season, stating, 'I started batting earlier than usual.' While he arrived in Japan on February 20th last year and joined the Itoman spring camp on February 22nd, this season he arrived on January 29th and participated from the first day of the Miyakonojo spring camp.

I believe the fans want us to win, so we will all do everything we can to strive for victory. We want to have a season that brings joy to our fans throughout the year.

In the opening game against the Seibu Lions on March 27, he was in the starting line-up as the 'number 6 first baseman' and achieved multiple hits. In the next game against the Seibu Lions on the 28th, during his second at-bat in the 6th inning with no outs and a runner on first while leading 4-0, he said, 'Since the count was 3-2, I was waiting for a ball in the zone. I wasn't specifically aiming for a breaking ball, but I was able to react well and catch it.' He hit the 7th pitch, a change-up thrown by Yamato Fuji on a 3-ball 2-strike count, for his first 2-run home run of the season to left field. In the game against Nippon-Ham on April 1, during his second at-bat in the 4th inning with two outs and runners on first and second while the score was 0-0, he said, 'I thought it was a very important situation, and since two runners were on base, I went out there wanting to deal some damage to the opponent somehow. A fastball came on a 3-2 count, so I was able to hit it back solidly.' He launched his second home run, a 3-run shot to the left field stands, off the 7th pitch, a fastball thrown by Koki Kitayama on a 3-ball 2-strike count.

In the game against the Orix Buffaloes on May 17, he said, 'I couldn't score even one run in my previous at-bat with a chance, so I'm glad that my effort to get the team closer to victory in this at-bat resulted in this.' In his third at-bat with two outs and runners on first and third in the 6th inning trailing 0-1, he hit a go-ahead 3-run home run, his third of the season, to left field off the first pitch, a 133 km/h cutter thrown by Ryuhei Sotani. Then, in the game against Hiroshima on May 26, with the score tied 1-1 in the 8th inning with two outs and runners on first and second, he appeared as a pinch hitter for Akira Yagi. After the second pitch from a 1-ball count became a wild pitch, moving the runners to second and third, he swung at a 157 km/h fastball thrown by Hahn on a 2-ball 2-strike count. His clutch hitting shone through as he hit a 2-run timely doble to right field that fell between first baseman Montero, second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi, and right fielder Norihiko Nahara.

Since entering June, he has been producing Home Runs in large numbers. In the three-game series against his former team, The BayStars, starting June 12, he went on a rampage with 4 hits in 8 At Bats, 3 Home Runs, and 3 RBI. In the first game, during his second at-bat in the 4th inning with one out and no runner while trailing 1-2, he said, 'I was thinking of being aggressive toward the zone. My batting has been in good form lately, so I was able to hit with a good feeling. Of course, I know The BayStars players, but rather than it being because it's a game against The BayStars, I just think about doing my job the same way as when I face other teams.' He then hit a 152 km/h fastball thrown by Taisei Irie on the first pitch into the left-center lagoon seats. With this Home Run, he achieved a Home Run against all 12 NPB teams.

In the second game against DeNA on June 13th, he achieved 1,000 career NPB appearances. In the game on June 14th, during his first at-bat in the second inning with no outs and no runners while the score was 0-0, he said, 'Since he is a good pitcher, I intended to be aggressive if a sweet pitch came. I was able to judge the balls well, and I'm glad I could hit it in good form for a home run.' He hit a Home Run into the left-center stands off the sixth pitch, a 156 km/h fastball thrown by Shuto Ogata on a 2-ball, 2-strike count. Then, in his fourth at-bat in the seventh inning with one out and no runners while leading 5-2, he hit his second home run of the day to the left of the center-field screen off the fifth pitch, a 149 km/h fastball thrown by Hiromu Ise on a 2-ball, 2-strike count.

Hitting coach Kenta Kurihara analyzed Soto's hitting, saying, "Soto has always had a knack for hitting home run and extra-base hits, a kind of intuition. He hit two home runs in the game against DeNA, and when he does that, it shows he's got that feel, so I think he's been able to continue doing that." As he did, Soto hit nine Home Run in June and July, and by the end of July, Home Run total was the same as last year's 13.

However, as opportunities for young and mid-career players like Koki Yamaguchi, Kota Inoue, and Kyuto Ueda increased, he spent more time on the bench from the latter half of August onward. One wonders if the success of these younger players served as a source of motivation for him.

"There were many positive aspects. I think players like Yamaguchi, Nishikawa, Yokoyama, and Shota Suzuki all had very wonderful seasons. Although we were unable to participate in the post season, there were positive points, so I want to view that in an optimistic way." (Soto)

The team paid off a deficit that reached as high as nine games in June to move two games above .500, but they began suffering more losses than wins from July onwards, ultimately finishing fifth in the league.

It is a difficult thing, but I feel that if I had hit more, I could have contributed more to the team's victory. Of course, I gave it my absolute all, so to be honest, I just feel like I wish I could have hit a little bit more.

Since joining Lotte, Soto has spoken about the team's win many times. As captain this season, one wonders if there was a difficulty in having to think not only about individual performance but also about the team.

"While difficult things are indeed difficult, baseball is baseball, so as for what I could do, it was a season where I focused on my own performance while also supporting the younger players and working together with them."

In his third season since transferring, he appeared in 115 games, recording 17 Home Runs and 47 RBIs. Entrusted with the role of team captain as a foreign player, he continued to lead the way until the very end among The Marines, who have many young players.

(Neftalí Soto's interpreter = Chiba Lotte Marines' Hideyuki Akutsu)

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita