It was learned on the 29th that Nippon-Ham pitcher Nao Miyanishi (41) will concurrently serve as a first-team pitching coach starting next season. He held discussions with the club at Es Con Field on this day and officially accepted the role. He will begin coaching at the Es Con Field autumn camp starting on the 30th.

In his 19th season this year, he achieved his 19th consecutive year of appearances since joining the team, recording an ERA of 4.70 in 8 games. He extended his career appearances to 908, the fourth-highest in history, following Iwase, Kaneda, and Yoneda. Even after being removed from the roster on September 23, he continued to travel with the first team and contributed to the team by offering advice to the pitcher staff. Miyanishi spoke to Sports Hochi and revealed his honest feelings, saying, 'To be honest, I had decided to retire, but the Boss asked me if I would do one more year as both a player and a coach. I spent a month thinking about how I could contribute to The Fighters and made my decision.'

The last person to serve as a player-coach for the team was Shinya Tsuruoka, who served as the first-team battery coach from 2019 to 2021. In the past, individuals such as Atsunori Inaba and Satoshi Nakajima have served as player-coaches while being fielders, but this marks the first time in team history that someone will serve as a player-coach while being a pitcher. "I am grateful to the team for giving me the opportunity to aim for the championship once again in this new role," said Miyanishi. Next season will be his 20th year as a professional. The legendary left-hander will push forward for the sake of the team to achieve their first championship in 11 years.