Nippon-Ham announced on the 30th that they have reached an agreement with pitcher Nao Miyanishi (41) for next season's contract, and that he will also serve as a first-team pitching coach.

He held a press conference after practice on the first day of fall camp and expressed his gratitude for Manager Shinjo's proposal, saying, 'I wasn't shocked because the Boss had already asked me about a dual role last year. To be honest, as a person involved in baseball, I am very happy to receive such a high evaluation and be offered such an important and responsible position by the manager.'

Regarding the decision he made after agonizing for about a month, he explained the circumstances, saying, 'This year, I couldn't get called up to the first team at all until around summer, and even after I was promoted, I struggled to achieve my ideal form or produce results, including the minimum duties expected of a reliever. Just as I was preparing myself for retirement, the Boss asked me, "Why not do one more year? I want you to serve as a player-coach as well." To be honest, I had many things to worry about, but after considering how I could best contribute to the team in my current position, I decided to accept this offer.'

Moving forward, including during the fall camp, the plan is to hold individual meetings with each pitcher. Additionally, it has been decided that he will be in charge of the bench next season, handling pitching changes. He expressed his strong determination, saying, 'The boss has been telling me since during the season that he wants specialized knowledge regarding pitching changes. I feel the gratitude of being trusted, as well as the responsibility and pressure. Regardless of the circumstances, both players and coaches might wonder if I can really do it, but I believe I can, and I want to give my all to both roles in the sense of taking on a new challenge.'

In this 19th season, he achieved his 19th consecutive year of appearances since joining the team, recording an ERA of 4.70 over 8 games. He extended his career appearance count to 908, the fourth highest in history, following Iwase, Kaneda, and Yoneda. He is the first person to serve as a player-coach for the team since 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 is the first time in the team's history for someone to serve as a player-coach while being a pitcher. The legendary left-hander, who is beloved by the fans, will work at full capacity toward winning the league championship and becoming number one in Japan for the first time in 11 years.