Seibu Lions Lions infielder Reon Murata (24) revealed his strong feelings about this season.

On the 18th, the final day of the fourth training session, after the team practice, he moved to the indoor practice field and began batting practice. After swinging the bat until he hit 20 home run-like hits against batting coach Tachibana, who served as Home Run pitcher, he continued to face the white ball until the evening, including silently hitting off a tee.

He went on to Kogakukan University from Oika and joined Seibu Lions as the sixth pick in the 2011 draft. At 197 cm tall and weighing 115 kg, he is infielder known for his powerful Home Run. In his rookie year, he was injured in his fourth game in a first-division match, but last season he played in 23 games and hit his first professional Home Run.

Toward the end of the last season, he changed his hitting form for the third year. "I simplified my form," he said. After the end of last season, I modified my form, thinking that this was the easiest way home run to hit the ball. He tried it out in the Miyazaki Phoenix League last fall and at camp, and found that "it works surprisingly well.

At the Milan-Cortina Olympics figure skating pairs competition held on the 16th, Murata was inspired when Riku Miura (24), who is the same age as her and was born in 2001, won Japan's first gold medal. Also, Okabayashi of the Chunichi Dragons, who attended the same elementary and junior high schools as Murata in her hometown of Mie and whom she considers a rival, was selected as a member of the "Lagzas Samurai Japan Series 2025 Japan vs. Korea" (Tokyo Dome) held last November, and represented Japan. "It won't be an easy road to overtake him," she says. Nevertheless, "for now, I want to perform well enough to keep up with Okabayashi," she says.

The first base position that Murata would normally play is now occupied by Nevin, whom manager Nishiguchi has declared to be the only regular. As a "long-ball hitter," he faces many rivals, including new foreign player Canario, An-Ko Lin, and Nakasaburo. However, he has no intention of losing, saying, "(This season) I want to increase my extra-base hits. I want to focus on hitting for power without being afraid of struck out. I think that's what I need to do to beat the foreign players." From a romantic slugger to a power hitter—the awakening of this man is eagerly awaited.