Nippon-Ham pitcher Kota Tatsu (21) sounded the alarm on the 19th about the declining number of baseball players in Japan and envisioned charitable activities reminiscent of Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers). Following the Samurai Japan team's defeat in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic, he said he felt a sense of crisis, saying, "The gap between Japan and the rest of the world has widened a bit," and added, "We need to build parks where children can play with balls as soon as possible." He has long spoken of his dream of building a "Tatsu Park" where children can easily experience baseball, and this statement has made him even more determined.

He also considered donating gloves to elementary schools in Hokkaido, but said, "Even if I gave away three gloves at 10,000 yen each, it would still be a huge amount of money, so I think it's a bit impossible for me right now (laughs)." His senior teammate, Ohtani, donated a total of approximately 600,000 gloves to all 20,000 elementary schools in Japan in 2023, and he said he was thinking about what he could do to help, prioritizing the development of baseball above all else.

His goal is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "I think America can't afford to lose either, so I want to pitch against a serious American team," he said, expressing his strong desire to be selected for the national team. On this day, he was making his final adjustments at Escon, wearing a T-shirt with a "tea-making pose" design that he received from Kitayama. He is scheduled to start in the game against Yakult on the 20th (at Escon), and said, "I want to throw my fastball well." He will be ramping up his pitching in preparation for the third game of the season, which is tentatively scheduled for the 29th. (Haruki Kawakami)