"After speaking with Taneichi, I got a better feeling than I've ever had before."

On the 2nd, Lotte's Riku Kikuchi entered bullpen for the first time at the Miyakonojo spring training camp and immediately threw fork that he learned from Atsuki Taneichi.

Speaking of Kikuchi, he was taught how to grip fork by former manager Yoshii Masato, and in the latter half of 2012 he used that fork as a weapon to increase his opportunities to pitch in the first team. Last season was expected to be a big leap forward, but he was unable to establish himself as a regular in the first team. "Until now, I felt like my grip was affected by my condition on that day, and there were many difficult aspects, but fork that I heard from Taneichi isn't like that at all, and it seems like there will be less of a difference between days. In my case, I tend to lose the feeling with fork, but I feel like I'll lose that feeling less often," he said, gaining confidence.

Regarding fork he threw in bullpen that day, he reflected, "There were good times and bad times. Of course, I've only been working on it for about a week, and I think I kind of understand that the mistakes I made were due to the way things were at the time. I made some good mistakes, and of course I also threw some good balls, so it feels a little different from before."

As for fork, we'll have to wait and see how it performs when he faces hitter in the future.

"That's right. I think that even when I'm playing worse than expected, the batter may respond well, and vice versa. It really depends on the batter."

Like Kikuchi, Akira Yagi, who uses fork as his weapon, also threw a forkball in bullpen, saying, "Some of the balls were floating, but some were low, so I'd like to continue to improve fork from here."

After finishing the pitch practice at bullpen, there is also a scene where he discusses with Ko Matsukawa who received Yagi's ball. "Last year, I was doing throwing with vertical rotation, but today I knocked down too much and there were some balls that could be blown high, so I just exchanged confirmations to see how it was.

On fielder, Daito Yamamoto was in third base again, just like on the first day of camp. "If there's a place to play, I'm fine with playing anywhere, and if I can hit, I can play in outfield, but I want to be prepared to play anywhere."

Perhaps the team asked him to practice at third base in order to increase his playing time.

"The team has also asked me to play third base to broaden my range, so yes."

Raito Ikeda, who is right-handed hitter like Daito Yamamoto and plays first baseman, second baseman, and third base, said, "It's tough for me right now. My body. I'm swinging the bat in the same direction all the time, so my waist is tough." He has been swinging his bat thoroughly this spring as well.

He has often spoken about how tough the training was at last year's Miyakonojo spring camp, but when comparing this year's spring camp with last year's, he said, "(Last year's spring camp) was even tougher." However, there is a reason for that. "I was training one-on-one (last year). Nothing can surpass that," he reflected.

So, although this year's spring training will be tough, will they have developed a certain level of immunity and be able to relax?

"I'm not in a good mood, but compared to last spring, I feel like I can still do better," he said, very reassuring words as he swung his bat from morning until evening.

Akito Takabe, Ikeda's senior at Kokushikan University, also puts in an incredible amount of training. At last year's contract renewal meeting, he said, "What I learned in Miyakonojo (last year's fall training camp) is that I don't get tired," but does he really not get tired even after such rigorous training?

"Of course I'm tired, but it's okay to be tired at this time. I just want to be careful not to get injured. I want to push myself just enough."

During batting practice, it appears that the height of his left elbow has changed when he is ready to hit. Regarding this, he explained, "I've stopped feeling like I'm ready to hit, and rather than taking a rigid stance, I'm more playful and valuing the feeling of being in the right position at the time, so each one may be different, but it may have changed a little."

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita