It hasn't changed, and it won't change. I'll go with that.

Lotte's Raito Ikeda is batting with a crouched stance and a sliding or near-no-step form at the Miyakonojo autumn camp, just as he did during the autumn practice held at Zozo Marine Stadium. He stated, 'I want to work on catching the ball with the best possible probability. Since I want to be able to find my timing with high probability, I plan to start by minimizing my movements and then try various things like lifting my leg from there.'

He is batting with a long black and white bat, but he says, "Nothing has changed so far."

During the autumn practice held at Zozo Marine Stadium, he said, "As I mentioned last year, I want to start building a 'core' from this autumn."

When asked again about his "core" during the fall camp, he stated firmly, "In terms of batting, it's about continuing what I've been doing since the fall throughout the off-season, and making that the core of my approach during the season as well."

The direction of aiming for line drive hits and a doble remains unchanged, and he is able to approach his practice with a clear direction for the upcoming off-season.

◆ Batting with runners in scoring position

This year, he appeared in a career-high 86 games, but his number of plate appearances decreased from 249 the previous year to 94. He will be looking to secure more plate appearances next year.

My batting in clutch situations was terrible this year, so I know I won't get into games unless I can deliver in those moments. First of all, even when there are no runners on base, I believe that if I increase my contact rate, I'll be able to approach batting differently in clutch situations as well. I want to keep that in mind as I work on my game.

His batting average with runners in scoring position this season was .038. I wonder if the way opponents pitched to him in those situations changed compared to last season.

I think my feelings are changing. Since I felt like I had to hit it, I want to keep my movements as small as possible and try to stay consistent without changing myself.

On the other hand, he had been producing results in his first at-bat when entering the game midway as a pinch hitter, pinch runner, or for defense. In the game against the Rakuten Eagles on April 28th, where he recorded his first hit of the season, he entered the game for defense as a first baseman and hit a single to center fielder in his first at-bat. Also, in the game against the Orix Buffaloes on May 17th, where he was in the starting line-up as the 'number 6 first baseman', he hit a single to left field in his first at-bat, which triggered a three-hit game. In the game against Hiroshima on May 28th, where he recorded his first RBI of the season, he hit a timely triple to right field as a pinch hitter. Furthermore, in the game against Nippon-Ham on September 28th, which was his final hit of the season, he also hit a doble as a pinch hitter.

One wonders if the mindset changes between the first at-bat after coming off the bench and a high-pressure situation with runners in scoring position.

It changes, doesn't it? When I go in midway through a game, I rarely let a pitch go by; if it comes into my zone, I swing. I'm able to go after those and get on top of the ball, but when a scoring chance comes up, I tend to try and watch the ball too much, which I think prevents me from doing my own style of hitting. I need to work on that starting from batting practice. Right now, the team is practicing with specific game scenarios in mind, so I want to value those moments.

The battle for next season has already begun. "I will try to finalize what I am doing now as much as possible so that I can hit the ground running on February 1st." His clutch hitting in a single at-bat coming off the bench was outstanding. If he can hit with runners in scoring position, his opportunities to step up to the plate will increase as they did last season, and his appearances in the starting line-up should also increase further.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita