Lotte's autumn training was held at Zozo Marine Stadium on the 20th.

Tsuyoshi Yamasaki played for the Rakuten Eagles until last season, but perhaps due to the impact of undergoing surgery on his left knee, he had no appearances in either the first or second team last season and joined Lotte as a developmental player after the season ended. After being registered as a roster player on June 5th, he made his first appearance since transferring by coming on as a substitute for defense in the 7th inning of a game against The Giants on the same day. In a game against DeNA on June 13th, during his first at-bat with two outs and no runner in the 3rd inning while trailing 0-10, he recorded his first hit since transferring by hitting a center fielder-bound single off the 5th pitch, a fastball thrown by Kentaro Shinogi after a 2-ball, 2-strike count. Following the All-Star break, his opportunities to be in the starting line-up at short stop increased, and he finished with a .214 batting average, 1 Home Run, and 7 RBI across 61 games.

Yamasaki summarized his first season since transferring by saying, "It started with an injury, but in a word, it was good," and reflected, "Thinking back to this time last year, I didn't think I would be able to make such a full comeback."

On the offensive side, in the game against the Softbank Hawks on August 12th, during his second at-bat in the 5th inning with no outs and a runner on first while trailing 2-6, he hit his first Home Run since transferring by driving a 135 km/h fork thrown by Naoyuki Uwasawa on the first pitch into the right-field Lucky Zone. Additionally, in the game against the Rakuten Eagles on September 8th, during his second at-bat in the 5th inning with two outs and no runners while tied 1-1, he hit a great triple into right-center field off a 134 km/h slider thrown by Kenta Maeda on the fourth pitch after a 2-ball 1-strike count.

He humbly said, "To be honest, that was just a stroke of luck," and added with determination, "I believe I can still get much better, so I want to put in the work and swing the bat thoroughly during this autumn camp."

This autumn, he set a goal of increasing his workload, stating, "The main thing is that I haven't been doing nearly enough volume, so I need to focus on doing a lot of work and doing it with intensity. It's simply because I haven't been doing it."

Looking ahead to next season, he expressed his determination, saying, "I want to build up my body so that I can start next year's season in good health and do my best for the team."

Shuta Takano: "My strength is that I can play as both a reliever and a starter."

Shuta Takano, who had a breakout year last season by gradually moving up the ranks from long relief to eventually handling the 8th inning of winning games, worked extensively as both a reliever and a starter this season, appearing in 32 games and pitching 66 innings with a record of 4 wins, 4 losses, 4 holds, and an ERA of 2.86.

Regarding the next season, Takano explained, "When I looked back with the coach, there were times when my low fork was anticipated, leading to my high fork or fastball being hit. By consistently throwing fastballs low and forcing the batter to look down, the low fork becomes effective again. I also think a slider that disappears at the feet of right-handed hitters would work well. While practicing the accuracy of my low pitches, I want to be able to throw breaking balls throughout the entire year, as they were good at the end of this season. I want to put in the volume of pitches necessary to reach a level of reliability where I can choose them even in more difficult situations."

In the past few years, he often practiced the two seam fastball for the new season, but he said, 'Polishing the pitches I already have is my top priority, and the precision of my fastball, fork, and slider is still not enough. While polishing them, I am not the type to hit the four corners of the strike zone, but I hope to be able to divide it into four quadrants. Practicing that is the most important thing, so the two seam fastball is not really on my mind.'

This season, he showed his presence as a starter in the final stages of the schedule. I wonder if he has a desire to compete as either a starter or a reliever next season.

It hasn't been clearly stated which role I'll take, so I can't say for sure, but my strength lies in being able to handle both relief and starting positions. I believe the most ideal mindset for me is to be ready to respond regardless of which one I'm asked to do. Since it hasn't been decided yet, rather than shifting my focus to one or the other, I intend to prepare for both so that I can handle either situation.

I will prepare myself so that I am ready whether I am told to be a starter or a reliever.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita