Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes pitcher Kaede Yokoyama (28) has vowed to strengthen his hometown's "Kokugakuin University Hotline." On the 9th, a day off from the Miyazaki training camp, he held a talk show in the city with catcher Sho Fukunaga (26), who was two years younger than him at university and a fellow draftee in 2021. "It's really encouraging to have a junior colleague who can train me hard," he said with a smile, and set out the goals the two hope to achieve together in 2026.

At the same talk show in 2012, they promised to exchange gifts when they both performed well. Although he was released from the roster during the offseason that year, he returned to the regular team in 2013 from a development contract and enjoyed a breakthrough year with 2 wins, 0 losses, 4 hold, and ERA of 1.10 in 14 games, including his first professional win.

As promised, he exchanged sneakers as a gift with Fukunaga, who hit his first professional home run that same year. "It was a good experience, so I want to use it as motivation," he said, in his fifth year as a professional, aiming for further growth. "I want to work together as a battery and produce results that will leave a mark in the numbers, such as hold and saves," he said, "upgrading" his goal.

Fukunaga, who said he had a "strategy meeting" with Kaede Yokoyama at a restaurant near the university at the end of 2013 to discuss their goals for this season, echoed the sentiment, saying, "I'd like to pitch at a good time and Kaede to pitch too. It would be best if I could catcher the game Kaede is pitching in and Kaede could win." He also secretly declared that in the team's popular "Original Member Voting" project, where female fans choose their favorite player, they would each cast one vote for each other. When the two work together and achieve their lofty goals, they plan to "upgrade" their presents as well.