Seibu Lions Lions outfielder Seiya Watanabe (23) vowed on the 2nd to become the main hitter this season, saying, "I want to be the cleanup hitter."

During the lunch batting practice, he showed off his natural power. Facing a batting pitcher, he hit 12 balls over the left field fence and even hit a direct hit on the protective netting at the back of the stands. "I've been working on improving my handling of inside pitches (during the offseason), so I've been able to make great progress in that area, and I'm glad I was able to show off my power as well," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Last season, as a rookie, he won a spot in the opening starting starting line-up as the fifth batter and left fielder, and appeared in 109 games, batting .259 with 12 Home Run and 43 RBI. This season he is scheduled to move to third base, but he has no worries, saying, "I'm pretty good at handling the ball, and I played that position in high school and college, so to be honest it doesn't feel new to me." He is aiming to be the main hitter. "I want to hit clean-up. There are a lot of really good players there, so I think hitting there will give me confidence." There is no "second-year jinx" for this man.