Lotte's autumn training was held at Zozo Marine Stadium on the 15th.

Koshiro Sakamoto pitched in 29 games this season, recording 2 wins, 1 loss, 1 hold, and an ERA of 3.86. At this time last year, he was training in pursuit of "stability," and this year he remains unchanged, stating, "I want to continue striving for stability."

Since the summer of this season, he has started throwing the two seam fastball that he had been practicing. Has that made it easier for him to use the slider on the outside corner against left-handed hitters?

I think when I am the pitcher, the focus tends to be on the outside, so just by having balls like the slider or the fastball coming into that mix, the batter has to account for them as well. In that regard, I think it became easier to throw the slider at the end.

While the ratio of two seam fastball increased after the summer, the pitch ratio of splitter decreased. Perhaps it is related to the fact that he was acting as a closer with his slider, cutter, two seam fastball, and fastball.

I thought the two seam fastball would be quite useful since it breaks and sinks against right-handed batters, so I really wanted to master it. I was working on it with the hope of being able to make it my own during actual game situations.

He intends to continue refining his two seam fastball from this autumn onwards. 'The feel of my two seam fastball is very good, so I want to master it. If I can master it, I think the range of my pitches will change next season, and I will be able to pitch more easily. I plan to pursue that goal,' he said with determination.

Along with the splitter as a breaking ball, he was throwing a change-up during spring training, but it seems he hardly threw it during the regular season. One wonders if he will be refining his breaking balls, including the change-up, during this off-season.

It would be very convenient to have a breaking ball that drops, and it would also be a useful pitch against right-handed batters. Regarding that, I intend to continue working on both the two seam fastball and the dropping ball.

Aito practices with a black and white bat

On the 13th, the final day of the first training block, Aito used a long natural wood torpedo bat during batting practice and only switched to a black-and-white bat for long tee drills. However, on this day, the first day of the second block, he used the black-and-white bat for all batting practice sessions, starting from the long tee drills.

He told me, "The shape is different, so it felt like I was just trying out (Shiraki's) torpedo bat for a bit." Regarding the feel of the torpedo bat, he revealed, "It's not my usual shape and it's heavy, so it's hard to get a good sense of it, but it might be good once it's adjusted to my own weight and length."

Aito has been focusing on long-distance hitting for the past few years, and he will continue to refine and polish this approach through this autumn and beyond.

Regarding his goal to hit more extra-base hits, he said, "I want to work on perfectly mastering things like my foot positioning in the stance and the swing path of the bat." During batting practice, he has been hitting from a bunt-and-slash stance and using a no-step stride. "These are methods I've been doing for a long time that feel right to me. I think it's important to keep doing them without changing that approach."

One of the things he has been working on continuously alongside long-distance hitting is weight training. Nearly two years have passed since he resumed this training in the fall of 2024. One wonders if there are aspects of this that are translating into his performance on the field.

"I think the ball is traveling further now. There haven't been any negative side effects, like gaining muscle and becoming slower, so I think it's a good trend," he said. During the season, he maintained his weight between 90 and 92 kilograms.

Heading into next year, I will continue to train as I move toward the goals I have set for myself.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita