Ritsumeikan University pitcher Gaku Arima (22), who was selected as the second-round draft pick by the Softbank Hawks, received a formal visit at his school in Kyoto City on the 26th. He is, of course, watching the Japan Series on television. Since Haru Matsumoto, who is starting Game 3, and Yu Maeda, who is expected to start Game 4, are both fellow left-handers, he declared that he is doing mental training by 'imagining myself pitching in those situations.'

A genuine power pitcher with a maximum speed of 151 km/h, he set a new tournament record by recording 10 consecutive batters struck out at last autumn's Meiji Jingu Tournament. Chief Amateur Scout Fukuyama referred to both left-handers standing in the championship battle, saying, 'I want him to compete with Yu Maeda and Haru Matsumoto to build a left-handed pitcher kingdom.' Arima also immediately became conscious of the two, stating, 'Until now, I was just watching, but now I want to watch with excitement from a different perspective.' DeNA's Azuma, who is pitching against Haru Matsumoto, is also a senior from Aichi Kogyo University Meiden High School and Ritsumeikan University, and Arima revealed that he received a congratulatory message from him on the day of the draft.

The gifts from the team were signed balls from Team Chairman Oh, Manager Kokubo, and CBO Jojima. Holding the three luxurious balls, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, 'The competition is truly intense. Precisely because it is that kind of team, I believe there are many opportunities to grow.' (Osamu Ando)