The Softbank Hawks ・ Ryoya Kurihara infielder participating in the Miyazaki camp decided to try catcher again on the 16th, for the first time since 21 years, and worked a full menu including special defense. Ozeki's bullpen pitch was also masked in hitting practice.

During training camp, manager Kokubo called him to his room, and after a lengthy discussion, he decided to explore the possibility of trying again. After finishing practice, Kurihara honestly revealed his feelings, saying, "Rather than whether I could do it or not, I wanted to try, and whether I had any regrets as catcher, and whether I had fully competed as catcher (until I was satisfied). I wasn't saying I wanted to compete, but I did say that it wasn't zero. He asked me, 'If there's a possibility, can you do it?' and I replied, 'Yes, I want to do my best.'"

It's been three games since the 2021 season. Regarding his gap, he said, "My sense of catcher? Not just a little, but none at all. Seriously none. I was really scared when I stood up as a batter (wearing the mask during Ozeki's batting practice)." He didn't have his own catcher equipment, and borrowed Unno's mitt.

He underwent hip surgery last offseason and suffered a serious injury in 2022 when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, so he cannot push himself too hard physically. "I'll focus on the basics, but I'm not sure if I can do too much, and I'm not sure about my knees or hips, so I'd like to do it with a certain level of quality," he said, aiming to improve his level by focusing on quality over quantity. His next catcher practice will be a cool session starting on the 19th.