◆Exhibition game: Nippon-Ham 1-1 Yakult (20th, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo revealed the reason why he gifted a mask to Yakult Swallows manager Ikeyama. Before the game, Ikeyama was wearing a red mask with Shinjo's logo on it, while Shinjo was wearing a black mask and they were seen chatting.

Like Manager Shinjo, Manager Ikeyama had seen an article about Manager Ikeyama starting to wear a mask during games, and the manager explained, "It was in the article, and it looked a little big. Also, it was getting stuck in his mouth every time he breathed (laughs). I gave it to him to show him that it would be easier to breathe in."

Regarding Manager Ikeyama wearing the "Shinjo version" during games, he said, "I'd be happy if he wore it in private. As a manager, you have many opportunities to talk to people, so I thought it would be bad if he caught a germ and passed it on to the players."