"I can't wait for the season to start."

Lotte's Shota Suzuki is eagerly awaiting the start of the season. In 2024, Suzuki trained with Yuki Matsui (Padres) during the offseason, learning everything about baseball, including how to use his body, his approach to baseball, and nutrition. He pitched in 51 games, including 2 wins, 2 losses, 27 hold, 5 closer, and ERA of 0.73, and held batters earned runs for 27 consecutive games from the start of the season. After the season ended, he had a breakout year, being selected to represent Japan in the 'Ragzas presents 3rd WBSC Premier12'.

Last season, he said, "The reason I couldn't last in the second half wasn't just because of the condition of my shoulder, but also because of my own lack of ability. There were still many areas where I was lacking, both technically and physically." After the All-Star break, he ended up not making a single appearance in the first team due to poor physical condition, and only made 29 appearances, making it a disappointing year for him.

For his offseason training leading up to the new season, he focused on "preparing to compete for a full year, and going back to basics to improve the accuracy and sharpness of fastball, as well as fork."

fork is a pitch he has been focusing on for the past few years. During spring training in Miyakonojo, he felt confident that "it's actually working surprisingly well this year!" and added, "I hope people will think of it as fork too. I'll be throwing slider as well," expressing his hope that fork will have a synergistic effect with slider.

He made his first bullpen appearance in camp on February 2, and pitched live BP on February 10. Ryusei Terachi He threw a total of 20 pitches against Ryusei Miyazaki and hit gave up two runs on two hits closer. He pitched his first game of the season in a practice game against Yakult on February 15, and has pitched in five open games so far ERA 1.80. In a 2-2 loss to Chunichi on February 21, he pitched the eighth inning and was in fine shape hitter giving up just nine hits on three batters closer.

Looking at pitch in external games, it seems that the strength of fastball has returned. In the Rakuten Eagles game on March 4th, he missed Daichi Suzuki from 1 ball and 2 strike without runner in the 7th inning of 2-3 and finished it with a struck out with an outside angle of 148 km fastball, and in the Hanshin Tigers game on March 17th, he missed the Torai Fushimi in the 8th inning of 2-2 from 2 strike struck out The 145 kg fastball he finished was wonderful.

Regarding fastball he said, "I think it's going well so far," indicating a positive feeling. In the game Hanshin Tigers on the 17th, he threw five fastball out of seven pitches, and in exhibition games, his pitch has been predominantly fastball based. "I do throw a lot fastball, but it depends on the day and the batter, so it was just a coincidence that I threw a lot fastball the other day, but I also throw breaking ball."

During spring training in Miyakonojo, Suzuki mentioned that fork was surprisingly effective, but he doesn't seem to throw it much in actual games. However, when asked about it, Suzuki himself said, "I do throw it. I think it's not bad. I think I'll continue to use it during the season."

Incidentally, he said that his signature slider was "just as usual," suggesting he's throwing pitches he's happy with.

In the exhibition games so far, fastball has been strong, making this season very exciting. Suzuki himself said, "I look forward to it every year," but added, "Last year I couldn't contribute to the team because of an injury, so I want to do my best this year," showing his determination.

Two years ago, he supported the team as a setup man. When asked about his desire to pitch in reliever games, he said, "It's very strong. Rather than a specific goal, I want to reaffirm that I am the most trusted pitcher."

He then declared with conviction, "I had a disappointing experience last year, so this season I want to pitch more than anyone else and contribute to the team's win." Last season was a disappointing one for both the team and Suzuki personally. This year, Suzuki intends to pitch more than anyone else on the team and contribute to the team's win.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita