It was a strong hit to left-center, just like the previous one. Since my pulled hits still tend to have a diving spin, I want to focus on making clean contact so the ball doesn't dive.

Lotte's Yu Tatematsu continues to practice his hitting this autumn with a focus on driving the ball hard toward left-center field.

In July of last season, during their rookie year, they underwent arthroscopic labral repair surgery on both hip joints at a hospital in Tokyo.

Regarding his batting after hip surgery, Tatematsu expressed a certain level of confidence during an interview on July 4th, stating, 'The way I move has gradually improved, and compared to March and April, I feel like the parts that weren't clicking are starting to fall into place.' Following that, in a game against the Seibu Lions on August 14th, during his first at-bat in the 3rd inning with no runners out and trailing 0-1, he hit a 129km slider thrown by Taishi Mameda on a 1-ball 1-strike count into right field for his first professional hit. In the farm league, he recorded a monthly batting average of .429 in August, and his batting average, which was .113 at the end of April, ultimately finished at .272.

Regarding the parts that weren't clicking—even back when I was playing in the industrial leagues, I was good at hitting to left-center field. So, rather than aiming for a home run, I feel like I've regained the sensation of letting the ball travel deep and driving it.

In the Yakult second-team game on August 2nd, during his third at-bat in the 5th inning with no runner out and the score 5-1, he hit a doble to left-center on the third pitch, a 128 km/h cutter thrown by Reiji Ozawa after a 1-ball 1-strike count. Also impressive was his triple to left-center in the game against Oisix on September 27th, during his fourth at-bat in the 8th inning with one out, no runner, and the score 3-3, hitting the 8th pitch, a fastball thrown by Naoya Ishikawa after a 3-ball 2-strike count.

It was painful to internally rotate my left hip joint. When I focused on opening my stance and aiming for the opposite direction, it felt just right. I've started to get the feeling that the parts that weren't clicking are now falling into place.

In terms of defense, despite being registered as an infielder, he played as a first baseman, catcher, and left fielder, and even during the season, he spoke about the difficulty of outfield defense. He provided a self-analysis, saying, 'The outfield is difficult. I practiced in the Phoenix League, and I think I was able to play defense more calmly than I did during the season.'

Looking toward the decisive third year, he expressed his determination, saying, 'I want to be able to fully fulfill the opportunities I am given.'

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita