On the 5th, Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes infielder Kotaro Kobayashi (23) was inspired by his mentor's "number one command." His former manager, Toshiharu Mochizuki (60), from his time at Suruga Sogo High School (Shizuoka), visited the team's Miyazaki training camp for the first time in seven years. "I imagine it gets harder as you get older... (laughs). But I'm really grateful that you came, even in the face of all that," he said, expressing his joy at the reunion and accepting the manager's words.

"There is still a lot to be gained. I want him to become a player that everyone will think of when talking about Japan's short stop." When he narrowly missed out on his goal of playing in the WBC, Coach Mochizuki gave him such encouragement, and if he had to describe him in one word, it would be "the person who guided me to the path of becoming a professional." "I never really thought for a second that I would become a professional," he said, confiding in him that in his second year of high school, "I would be happy if I could just work in the corporate world."

"You have a lot of potential to grow. If you're going to do it, aim high." The words he received back at that time were the catalyst, and now he's in a position to support the team as the starting short stop. "I want to show the manager a better performance." At his wedding in January, his mentor gave a speech in which he set the goals of ".300, 30 home runs, no errors." In 2013, he hit .260, 9 Home Run, and 7 errors. He boldly took on the challenge, and now that he's cleared it, a vista yet unseen will unfold before him. (Nambu Shunta)