Nippon-Ham pitcher Taisei Yanagawa (23) revealed on the 14th that he will begin living alone for the first time in his life in Sapporo starting this off-season. He is scheduled to move out of the 'Yusho Dormitory' in Kamagaya, Chiba, where he spent five years, in the coming days. Visualizing his new life, he said, 'I quite like being alone. I'm thinking of getting a proper mattress and things like that.'

He mentioned cooking for himself as something he wants to challenge, saying, 'I've almost never done it, but I'm interested. It would be great if I could learn how.' His family runs a yakiniku restaurant called 'Yakiniku no Eki Motoyama' in Hiji Town, Oita. Although he helped with tasks like serving since childhood, he has almost no cooking experience. 'Making various things is difficult, so meat-based rice bowls would be good,' he said, planning to gradually hone his skills starting with rice bowl dishes where he can eat the rice and side dishes together. At Es Con Field, a stadium gourmet dish called 'Volume-Packed! Yakiniku Staff Meal Bowl' using his family's secret sauce is being sold. 'It would be quite useful if I had it,' he said, expressing a wish for his family to send him some of the sauce.

On this day, he participated in developmental training at the minor league facility in Kamagaya, Chiba. During the off-season, he plans to join the independent training camp in Miyakojima with Naoyuki Uwasawa of the Softbank Hawks and others, as he does every year. He stated, 'My top priority is increasing my velocity. I definitely want to hit 160 km/h, and I want my average speed to reach 154 km/h.' He aims to further power up from this season's maximum of 158 km/h and average speed in the 152 km/h range. The closer for Shinjo's Fighters, who appeared in a career-high 53 games this season, recording 4 wins, 1 loss, 30 saves, and a 1.56 ERA, looks to grow significantly in both his personal life and in baseball.

Taisei Yanagawa. Born August 21, 2003, in Oita Prefecture. 23 years old. Started playing baseball with the Kawasaki Giants in his second year at Kawasaki Elementary School, and belonged to the Hiji Boys in junior high school. At Kyushu Kokusai University High School (Fukuoka), he joined the bench in the fall of his first year and wore number 1 in the fall of his second year. Joined Nippon-Ham as the 3rd pick in the 2021 developmental draft. Registered as a regular player in May 2024. 191 cm, 96 kg. Right-handed pitcher and right-handed batter.