Lotte's autumn practice was held at Zozo Marine Stadium on the 27th.

When watching Kyota Fujiwara's batting practice during autumn training, he hits many balls to the pull side, but occasionally he hits toward left-center field. I wonder what kind of theme he has in mind while batting.

I am hitting with a focus on pulling the ball with good form, aiming for a swing that allows me to pull it effectively during games.

On this day, during the early stages, he was hitting balls thrown by the left-handed batting pitcher toward the center fielder and the opposite field, but one wonders if he actually wanted to pull the ball instead.

That's right, yes. It's just that the direction I was pulling in was the opposite of where I should have been going.

During an interview on October 12th, he mentioned, 'I have been practicing using my body more dynamically and creating separation.' At that time, he was lifting his right leg high while hitting, but recently he has rarely been doing so. Perhaps this is because he has become able to create that separation while hitting without even having to think about it.

I feel like I'm hitting well right now, so I think I'm batting with a pretty good form.

Looking at his batting form, it appears he is holding both elbows higher than during the season, but when confirmed with the player himself, he said, 'I'm not really conscious of that.'

"I've changed things up quite a bit this year during the autumn training period, so it feels really good. For now, I just feel like I want to get into a real game as soon as possible," he said, expressing his confidence.

Additionally, in an interview on October 12, he said, 'Both good and bad points came out, so I want to work on developing the good points.' When asked specifically about what he wants to improve, he revealed, 'Since I am a left-handed pitcher and a left-handed hitter, I believe my weapon is being able to use my left axis, left hand, and left foot better than a right-handed pitcher who is a left-handed hitter. I think I wouldn't be able to hit if I lost that, so I am currently focusing very hard on becoming even more skilled at using my left axis.'

◆ Shunsuke Nakamori: "I want to prepare so that I can deliver a good performance."

Shunsuke Nakamori, who was selected for the Japan national team for the 'Luxas Asia Professional baseball Championship 2026', spends more time playing catch during autumn practice than he did during the season.

Regarding the reason, he explained, "It's about the connection of the body, so to speak, so that I can convey 100% of my power at the point of release. Working backward from that, I am re-examining my form to embody my ideal form and what I have in mind. It feels like I am practicing through training and calisthenics."

Regarding the upcoming Asia Professional baseball Championship, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "I want to prepare so that I can perform as well as I do during the regular season."

Regarding his off-season training after the tournament, he said, "I plan to continue training consistently and prepare so that I can practice to my full capacity in January."

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita