Lotte's autumn training session was held at Zozo Marine Stadium on the 25th.

Practice was held amidst strong winds, with the anemometer at the center fielder position of Zozo Marine Stadium recording 17 meters per second. The pitchers performed catch on the ground, and the fielders also performed catch and defense practice on the ground. However, heavy rain suddenly began to fall, after which the fielders moved to the indoor practice facility for an intensive hitting session.

Although Misho Nishikawa did not achieve his goal of winning the leading hitter title in this, his second season, he did win the title for the most hit along with Ryoma Nishikawa (Orix Buffaloes). 'I felt growth, but at the same time, I found areas that still need work, so I think there are places where I can improve. I think it was a season where I felt those things,' he said, showing that he was not at all satisfied with his current situation.

He was selected for the Japan national team for the 'Raxus Asia Professional baseball Championship 2026' to be held in November. Nishikawa currently plays wearing the number '6', which Samurai Japan manager Tadahito Iguchi wore during his time as a player and manager for Lotte. 'I am very grateful, and I want to ask him many things and learn from him,' he said with sparkling eyes.

During this autumn practice, he has been hitting powerful drives even in batting practice, stating, 'Right now, I'm focusing on hitting the ball as hard and as far as I possibly can.'

Ryusei Ogawa: "If I can hit the ball hard"

Watching Ryusei Ogawa's batting practice this fall, there are many angled hits to right field in addition to line drives to the opposite field.

I think that rather than trying to swing hard to create an angle when going for a big hit or a line drive, if I can hit the ball so that it solidly finds the gaps, the ball will naturally end up having the right angle.

Even during the season, at the beginning of batting practice, he often hit line drives from the center fielder toward the opposite field, followed by many pulled hits. One wonders if his approach is the same as his batting practice during the season.

That's right. First of all, I've been working since the season began on hitting strong, low line drives, and if a pitch comes into a sweet spot, I try to hit it for extra bases if possible, so my mindset in that regard hasn't changed much.

In terms of the image, I wonder if they want to increase the number of doble and triple.

Rather than thinking about increasing the number of doble and triple, I want to strengthen the feel of my hitting that I have developed so far and hope they increase naturally. If the ball speed is even a little faster, there is a possibility it will break through where the outfield might have circled around to catch it, so I am conscious of that. Instead of aiming for doble and triple from the start, I am working with the image of hitting solid line drive while seeking ball speed and strength, hoping that extra-base hits will increase even slightly.

Additionally, during an interview on the first day of autumn practice, he explained the reason he had been using a non-torpedo bat at the very end of the season, saying, 'There were things I wanted to try, and since I had been using the torpedo bat for a long time and my form wasn't improving at the end, I felt like trying something different.' When asked again after practice on the 25th about what he specifically wanted to 'try,' he explained, 'With a torpedo bat, it's easy to handle and control because the tip is lighter and the center of gravity is lower, but that means you can't use centrifugal force to drive the ball. I'm experimenting to see if I can use the weight of the head to hit the ball harder without sacrificing bat control.'

Both Ogawa and Nishikawa have begun preparations to evolve even further for the next season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita