Mitsuru Manaka, who appeared on "Professional baseball News 2026" broadcast on Fuji TV ONE on the 16th, mentioned Kensuke Kondo of Softbank Hawks, a member of the Japanese WBC team.

Manaka said, "He's truly the most consistent player. He doesn't have ups and downs, and he's a batter who can hit consistently. He played in 75 games last year, but I want him to work hard for the whole year. He's a key player in the WBC as well. There are a lot of other players outfield, so I think manager Ibata will be looking forward to seeing how he uses him."

Kondo contributed to Samurai Japan's victory as the second hitter in the previous WBC tournament. It will be exciting to see what batting order he will be assigned to in this tournament, and what kind of results he will achieve in the regular season with Softbank Hawks after the WBC is over.

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"