On the 31st, Nippon-Ham announced the appointment of Tsuyoshi Nishioka (42), the former first-team chief batting coach and base running coach for Lotte, as the first-team general fielder coach. His number has been set as 78.

He joined the Es Con autumn camp on this day and provided energetic coaching, including conducting infield drills from both the left and right batting boxes. He held a press conference after practice and expressed his determination, saying, 'I want to do my best for the players of The Fighters. I definitely want to win the championship.'

Regarding the circumstances of his appointment, he revealed that he had received an offer from Manager Shinjo for some time, explaining, 'My baseball life involved joining the Hanshin Tigers when I returned from the Major Leagues. The reason for that is because they were the first club to reach out to me. I have decided in my baseball life to go to the place that reaches out to me first.' Last season, he served as a coach for one year with his former team, Chiba Lotte Marines. He said, 'Actually, last year, the Chiba Lotte Marines asked me to wear their uniform around October 6th. Then, by chance, I contacted the Boss the next day. The Boss told me, "After all, you were taken care of by Chiba Lotte Marines, and you are who you are today because you were active with Chiba Lotte Marines, so go wear the Chiba Lotte Marines uniform. But you haven't received an offer for the year after next yet, right?" At that time, the conversation ended there,' but it resulted in him responding to Manager Shinjo's long-standing and passionate offer.

Manager Shinjo explained, "The final decision was made during the last game. I intentionally called him over to the front of the dugout. At that moment, I told him to come join us." He spoke directly with him during the final game against Lotte at ZOZO Marine Stadium on October 1st and successfully brought him onto his team.

Starting from the fall camp, he will be entrusted with the role of instructing all fielders as the general fielder coach. 'My workload has increased significantly. Since I'm juggling four roles—hitting, base running, defense, and even serving as a mental coach—I wonder if one body will be enough. However, I believe my job is to raise the motivation of various players,' he said, indicating his plan to also focus on the mental aspect, which he personally considers important.

Manager Shinjo, who was also present, expressed his expectations, saying, 'I want him to develop players who make me want to use them consistently. At least 500 plate appearances. During the season, I want him to decide on the starting line-up members for about 30 to 40 games, and I'm even thinking of letting him manage. If that happens, there will be no first base coach. I'm thinking about standing as the first base coach myself.'