Seibu Lions pitcher Rei Takahashi celebrated his 31st birthday on the 2nd and expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming season.

On this day, he participated in the fall camp being held at Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa City, Saitama. After practicing his pitch in the bullpen, he worked up a sweat doing hill sprints on the slope behind the left-field stands.

An underhand right-hander who joined the Seibu Lions as a developmental player after being released by The Giants in the 2025 off-season. This season, he appeared in 37 games (including 2 starts) in the farm league, recording 2 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 1.78, but he was unable to achieve his goal of being promoted to the active roster. Nevertheless, the reason he decided to continue his playing career for another year is because of his firm confidence. 'I thought I might be able to get promoted to the active roster (this year), but if I am given another year's opportunity, being able to play for The Lions is the happiest thing for me. Since I started starting games in the second half of this year, I have been able to throw balls that are quite satisfying and give me a good sense of confidence. I feel that if I can deliver the same performance next year, the results will follow accordingly.'

The theme for this autumn is 'increasing the velocity of my fastball and improving my recovery capacity rather than just building physical strength.' Even as he enters his 30s, he does not feel any significant changes, stating, 'I don't feel like my recovery capacity has declined that much. I'm doing a lot of training in my independent workouts, so I feel like I'll be fine as long as I get enough sleep.'

This off-season, the team faces the possibility of losing both right-handed pillars of their starting rotation, Taira and Takahashi Mitsunari. Even without putting it into strong words, his heart is burning with passion for this crucial year. 'I don't feel happy about them leaving, but if it means more opportunities, I have no choice but to seize them. I believe that if I can keep my head clear and pitch well in every single matchup, I can secure a spot in the rotation from the season opener.'

Although his birthday falls during the off-season every year, Rei Takahashi shyly expressed his gratitude, saying, 'I receive many presents and am thankful for the celebrations from so many fans.' Tonight, he plans to 'make it a day for self-reflection.' He will face himself once more and make a fresh start beginning with the second phase of the autumn training camp on the 4th. (Ayami Ohnaka)