Thank you for choosing me for two consecutive months.

Lotte's Koki Yamaguchi received the September/October 'SKY PerfecTV! walk-off Award' on the 21st. Yamaguchi has won the award for two consecutive months, following his win in August.

In the game against the Softbank Hawks on October 3rd, which was Yuki Karakawa's retirement game, Yamaguchi stepped up for his fourth at-bat in the bottom of the 9th inning with the score tied 1-1 and no runners on. Reflecting on the moment, he said, 'I had hit into a double play, another double play, and then struck out looking, so I was coming off a terrible rhythm, but I made adjustments during the at-bat and it led to a good result.' He then launched a walk-off home run into the center-field bleachers on the first pitch he saw, a 155 km/h fastball thrown by Yuki Matsumoto.

Yamaguchi looked back, saying, "The moment I hit it, I knew it was gone, and it was one of my top one or two hits of the year." After the game, he mentioned that he had the walk-off home run ball signed, saying, "I took the home run ball and had him sign it, but I ended up keeping it myself even though I probably should have given it to Karakawa (laughs)."

"I never imagined something like that would happen during a retirement match, and I'm glad we were able to send them off in such a great way. I was very excited myself," he said with joy.

He has received the SKY PerfecTV! walk-off Award twice and has high expectations for the annual grand prize. He made a request, saying, 'To be honest, the moment I hit it, I thought I might have won it. I don't think there are many dramatic home run like that, and I believe the fans will vote for me.'