On the 11th, Lotte's Ryusei Ogawa, who won his first Mitsui Golden Glove Award in the Pacific League's second baseman category, worked up a sweat during individual special defensive and batting practice after the team's general training session, as he was in the middle of the Miyakonojo autumn camp.

I've been doing a lot of special defense training to focus on using my feet again, and then moving on to batting. Since I can work on batting in my own time, the current schedule is centered around special defense training. I'm focusing on defense there and then putting in the work for batting during my personal time.

He has been doing extra defensive and batting practice since the spring camp, and today was no different. One wonders if there is a difference in how he pushes himself between the spring and autumn seasons.

In the spring, games start to be included, so I have to keep actual gameplay in mind. However, in the autumn, there are no games, so I think it is a time when I can try various things. I will make bold changes where necessary, and if they work well, I will continue with them. Since there is time until spring camp and actual games, I feel I can work while experimenting with different approaches. I am working while being conscious of many things in both defense and batting.

During an interview at the Zozo Marine Stadium autumn practice in October, he said, 'At camp, we can handle a high volume of work and have plenty of time to push ourselves. Since there are no games in the fall, it is a period where we can push ourselves while trying various things.' He added, 'Regarding defense, I am focusing on working from the ground up by using my feet. For batting, while keeping the good aspects from this season, I believe staying as I am is not enough. I am trying different things aiming for a swing that can hit harder and a swing that increases my contact rate,' as he seeks to improve his skills through a high volume of practice.

Regarding his batting, he changed to a style of lifting his leg based on advice from coach Tsuyoshi Nishioka (currently a Nippon-Ham coach) during last year's Miyakonojo autumn camp, but one wonders if there will be any changes in his batting during this year's Miyakonojo autumn camp.

I haven't changed the way I lift my leg or my timing that much, but right now I'm making a conscious effort to focus on my swing and ensuring that I use my legs properly to follow through until the very end.

Regarding exit velocity, he mentioned during the autumn practice at Zozo Marine Stadium that he wants to increase it. 'If I can use my entire body to make solid contact, I can hit with more strength and power. I believe that exit velocity will naturally increase that way, so right now I am focusing on swinging as hard as I can while using my whole body to the fullest.'

After special defense training, Ogawa continued to silently swing his bat at the Pie no Mi Dome. It was just after 5:00 PM, while he was conducting special batting practice there, that the good news of his first Golden Glove Award arrived. 'It is an award I wanted to win as a man of defense, or rather, I thought it was an award given in recognition of one's defense. I am happy that my defense was evaluated this way, but I must continue this for many years to come. I won't be satisfied with winning it just once; I want to work hard so that I can win it every year from now on.'

The Golden Glove Award was a goal he had set for many years, and it is a medal he has finally earned. To continue winning the award from next year onward, Ogawa is refining his defense again this autumn. Furthermore, in terms of batting, he is putting in extensive practice to achieve even better results than this season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita