"I want to continue to make an impression with my batting."

Lotte's Koshiro Wada, who had vowed to make his presence felt with his batting during the Miyakonojo spring training camp, immediately made an impression with his bat.

In the practice game against Yakult on the 15th, where he came on as a substitute from center fielder 's defense, the first at change-up-bat without two outs in the 7th inning of 0-1 was 0-1 with two outs and struck out runner, but in the 9th inning of 2-1, with one out and one out, the second at-bat at third base, stolen base of runner Atsuki Tomosugi on first base. Kota Shoji swung the third pitch fastball thrown from 1 ball and 1 strike, and hit a two-run timely hit that broke between first and second base.

Wada also drew Walk in a practice game against DeNA on the 14th, coming in as defense in center fielder field, making it two games in a row in which he reached base.

◆ Last season was a disappointing year

Wada achieved double-digit stolen base for five consecutive years from 2020 to 2024, when he was registered as a professional player. However, last season, after being registered as a professional player, he played in only 17 games, batted .125, and had zero stolen base.

While he continued to hit the ball in the opposite direction from center fielder and with the inside of the bat, last season he experimented with a variety of styles, including the walking batting style, the buster walking batting style, hitting with the bat lying flat, and even a torpedo bat.

Even so, he was able to get many at-bats in the farm team last season, and he said, "My physical condition and condition are different every day, so I think it was good that I was able to take that into consideration when I went up to bat." He had a career-high 272 at-bats in both the first and second teams since turning pro.

When asked if he had gained the stamina to be able to play in starting line-up for a whole year, he looked ahead and said, "I think it was a good experience to be able to continue playing in games, so I would like to use last year's experience to do my best."

This offseason, he also focused on batting, saying, "I put more effort into batting every year, so it's still the same batting."

During the Miyakonojo spring training camp, he held the bat with a short grip, saying, "When I thought about increasing my contact rate, it felt like that's what happened." This spring, he remained unwavering, saying, "My theme has remained the same, and I'm focusing on hitting strong balls in the opposite direction," as he silently batted in the opposite direction from center fielder during batting practice.

Speaking of Wada, in 2021, despite only having 24 at-bats, he stole 24 stolen base, mostly as a pinch runner, and won the title of stolen base base leader.However, after the All-Star break in 2023, when he changed his style to a more compact swing, he had a batting average of .362, 3 Home Run, 8 RBI, and 10 stolen base, and he was close to being a regular player.

"I think everyone is aiming to become a regular player, so I'll do my best to aim for that position." He has no intention of playing as a "pinch runner," and his goal is to become a regular player.

"I spent a long time in the minor leagues last year, so I'd like to work hard to stay in the major leagues for a full year." By continuing to hit, the path will open up.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita