Lotte's Kyota Fujiwara hit his first home Home Run of the season in an external game during an exhibition game against Rakuten Eagles on the 21st.

Fujiwara, starting line-up as the sixth batter and right fielder, hit a single to right hit in his first at-bat. In his third at-bat in the seventh inning with the score at 2-3 and two outs and no runner on base, he hit the second pitch thrown by Ryuta Konno after one strike, a 134 km/h cutter on the inside corner, into the front row of the right-field stands.

◆ A batting style that aims for long hits

Fujiwara, who reached the required number of at-bats for the first time last season in his seventh year as a professional, finished with a batting average of .271, Home Run, and 24 RBI Since the fall practice held at Zozo Marine Stadium after the end of last season, he has been aiming for a batting style that aims for long hits, saying, "I've been trying to swing in a way that makes long hits the basis."

During the autumn practice at Zozo Marine Stadium, several angled hits flew into the right field stands. When asked what he focuses on when trying to hit for extra bases, he explained, "To hit for extra bases, you have to put your contact point in front of you, so I do that, but not too far forward. I try to pull the ball with a bat trajectory that's designed to hit in the opposite direction, without letting it get pushed forward. I'm not trying to pull the ball by opening my right shoulder, but rather focusing on hitting with my own swing."

During the Miyakonojo autumn camp, he said he felt he had made progress, stating, "Saburo-san kept telling me to learn the angle for hitting pull home run, so to some extent, I've been able to hit them with more accuracy (into the stands) compared to during the season." He added enthusiastically, "I'll continue practicing in January in warmer weather, so I'd like to work on it again."

In January, he participated in voluntary training with Masataka Yoshida (Red Sox) and others. "I was swinging the bat, but I wasn't swinging it very much, so I wasn't swinging it enough to make a big impression from the first day (of camp)," he revealed. "I was training mainly on the body, with an 8:2 ratio, so I was focusing on the body," he said, revealing a clear reason for not swinging the "bat."

Perhaps the reason he spent January focusing mainly on physical fitness was because he was conscious of building a foundation for fighting throughout the year.

"That's right. I'll just build on that foundation and then add speed and do the things I've always done. Now that the scale has gotten bigger, I think good results will come naturally, and today (February 1st) my core felt strong when I was swinging, so I feel really good about it."

He focused on physical fitness during his voluntary training in January, and swung a lot during the Miyakonojo camp in February, which gave him a good impression, saying, "I feel like I'm less shaky and my core is very solid, so I think my core is really well-developed."

What caught my attention was that, while he had spoken last fall about wanting to increase his number of long hits, at his contract renewal meeting in December of the same year he listed his goals of being the batting hitter and having the most hit. Has he changed his mind and decided to stop aiming for long hits?

"I want to hit double digits, and if I can hit that many, I think I can naturally hit double digits, so I'd like to aim for the batting hitter and the most hit title. Also, OPS. I'd like to keep those things in mind."

Watching his batting practice at Miyakonojo Spring Training Camp in February, I noticed that his step width had become smaller. When I asked Fujiwara if the position of his right foot had changed after swinging the bat, he replied firmly, "I think that's the case." He also told me, "I'm trying to keep my foot steady and not move my head."

During spring training in Miyakonojo, he hit many balls to the opposite center fielder against right-handed batting pitcher, and against left-handed pitcher, he said, "This year I've decided to clearly pull the ball to right-center field against left-handed pitcher, so I think I'll continue to pull it during the season as well," indicating that he hit many balls to the pull.

When asked why he decided to try to pull the ball against left-handed pitcher, Fujiwara said, "It's simply because it's the easiest to hit. Left-handed pitchers mainly throw slider on the inside and outside, so if I focus on that, I can only bat like that, and if I focus on the opposite direction, I'll get stuck on the inside shots, so that's what I'm thinking."

Since practice games began on February 14th, Fujiwara was hitless in the first two games, but has had multiple hit in two consecutive games, in a practice game against Hiroshima on the 18th and an exhibition game against Rakuten Eagles on the 21st. "I'm not yet a regular, so I need to make an impression, but I want to give 120% at the start of the season. I think that's what I'll do."

Looking ahead to this season, he stated his determination, saying, "Until now, I've only been able to make small progress, so this year I want to really double my progress, and that's my goal. I'm motivated to lead the 2000 generation, so I'll do my best." He will show that he will become a real regular.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita