On the 8th, Lotte's Miyakonojo spring training camp was closed to the public for team practice at Pie no Mi Dome.

It was a sunny day, but with a strong cold wind blowing and the temperature at 3 degrees Celsius, fielder' batting practice, individual batting practice, catcher practice, and some individual practice for infielder were held at the Pie No Mi Dome.

With the rise of young players such as last season's Rookie of the Year, Misho Nishikawa Kyota Fujiwara, Ryusei Terachi and Terachi Takanari, who reached the required number of at-bats for the first time last season, and Daito Yamamoto, who hit 11 Home Run last season, the team's top Japanese hitter, the team still needs experienced players in their 30s.

Shogo Nakamura is one of them. Nakamura has played in every game for four consecutive years since 2018, was named to the Best Nine in 2021, and is a talented player who has won the Golden Glove Award three times (2018, 2021, and 2023) as a second second baseman. Last season, due to poor batting performance and back surgery, he only played in 20 games.

He underwent back surgery in September last year, and at a press conference after his contract renewal on December 16th, he said, "Right now, I'm able to move without any restrictions, and I need to increase my output even more." Looking back on his January training, he said, "I continued to work out the same menu as usual, and I think I was able to move better than usual thanks to the surgery." In terms of batting, he has been focusing on using his lower body to transfer power.

At a press conference after his contract renewal in December last year, he said, "As Saburo said, if I can hit, I can play in the game, so of course I need to improve my batting and defense, but I also want to make sure I make a strong impression with my batting from the training camp and exhibition games."

One of Nakamura's strengths in batting is his ability to force pitcher to throw a lot of pitches and persevere in drawing Walk, as seen in his 70 Walk in 2022, which was third in the league, and his 76 Walk in 2021, which was sixth in the league. Is this also one aspect of his batting that he would like to highlight?

"I think I can contribute in many areas other than just hitting. I can create chances, and I hope to be conscious of doing something extra beyond just hitting."

He has demonstrated his "one-step-ahead base running" skills Walk, not only by drawing runner but also by second baseman and grounding out to second base when needed, or by touching up from second to third on center fielder to center field. Once the season begins, there will surely be opportunities to utilize these strengths. To demonstrate his strengths, he wants to make his presence felt in practice and exhibition games.

◆ Kikuchi learned fork from Taneichi...

Riku Kikuchi, who pitched in the live BP the previous day, worked hard at practicing catch and other exercises at Pie no Mi Dome after the team practice.

Speaking of Kikuchi, in an interview on February 2, he said, "I asked Mr. Taneichi about it, and I'm getting a slightly better feeling than I've had before. Until now, there have been many difficult sensations that seem to depend on the condition of the day, but the fork I heard from Mr. Taneichi is not like that, and it seems to reduce the difference from day to day too much. Atsuki Taneichi fork In my case, I tend to lose my sense of fork, but I have a feeling that I will lose that sense less often," he said.

At the live BP on the 7th, he actually threw fork to hitter and felt a certain sense of accomplishment, saying, "It's floating more than before, and it's less of a puffy fork, so I guess it's not bad."

◆ Terachi: "I'm able to throw consistently."

During catcher practice at the Pie no Mi Dome, Ryusei Terachi demonstrated his ability to strike throw to second base multiple times. His throwing has improved significantly.

He himself was pleased with the results, saying, "The way I make mistakes has changed since last year, and my power output has improved so much, so I think I've been able to make consistent throws during this camp."

While searching for various stances that will lead to better throwing, such as turning halfway to catch, he said, "I'm moving in the right direction. When I move towards the ball and my left knee or center of gravity shifts to the left, my body moves outward and I can't transmit the power in the right direction to second baseman. I'm trying to be more patient with those parts so I can throw." He has begun to see some form of his own style.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita