The final day of the second course of spring training. Shuto Ogata pitcher threw in bullpen. Last season, he pitched in a career-high 38 games as reliever, but this season he will try his hand at starting. It will be interesting to see if he can make it into the opening rotation.
Kensuke Kondo, who joined the team today, is working hard on batting practice. Last season, he played less due to injury, but he has been selected to represent Japan for the second consecutive tournament, the 2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC™, to be held in March. He hopes to show off his batting prowess this season as well.
Ryuta Hirose and Tomoya Inoue worked on a unique batting practice with skill coach Takeshi Akashi. By setting strike zone narrower than usual, they seem to be conscious of paying more attention to detail. A variety of ingenious practices are being incorporated into the training camp.
Rookie Takahiro Suzuki, the fifth pick in the developmental draft, showed a sharp swing when he stepped up to the plate, hitting some balls that looked like they would be hits. At his introductory press conference, Suzuki declared, "I'm a player who can hit, run, and field, and I'm going to achieve the Triple Crown." We can expect great things from him in the future.
![[Camp Video] First-time WBC selection Yuki Matsumoto enters bullpen [Fukuoka Softbank, February 7th]](https://media.insight.pacificleague.com/webp/3mNsRwHNrBFUCaQEPIRm8cMA29gYuuTGz9KbkM2E.webp)
![Kensuke Kondo, Sosuke Genda and other former World No. 1s reunite to introduce the Japan National Team for the 2026 WBC [fielder Edition]](https://media.insight.pacificleague.com/webp/Jevducel7F0BvNCtvjJrm3qshNHpGmwD0TuRFse2.webp)
![[Camp Video] Taiga Kamichatani takes on the gaze quiz [Fukuoka Softbank, February 6th]](https://media.insight.pacificleague.com/webp/rsptrcYKVNF16SirixK3eQ27aS6cjbwLDCUgQUKm.webp)
