Softbank Hawks Hawks infielder Kenta Imamiya has secured the starting short stop for the 14th consecutive season, a professional baseball record, after winning a high-level competition against Isami Nomura. The team held a full practice at their home stadium, Mizuho PayPay Stadium. Manager Kokubo avoided making a definitive statement, saying, "Please look forward to opening day. Only one person can play short stop," but he highly praised the 34-year-old's increasingly refined batting, saying, "Imamura's batting has been consistently good since the end of spring training. It's becoming simpler."

Imamiya short stop in 15 exhibition games, 10 at shortstop, 4 at second base, and 1 as a substitute. He started starting line-up in all of the last three exhibition games (the three-game series against Hiroshima from the 20th to the 22nd). His batting average in the exhibition games was .316, significantly higher than Nomura's .262, who is known for his hitting ability. Speaking to reporters after practice, Imamiya reflected, "My rivals can hit for power, they can run, and they have strong arms. To win, you can't just rely on defense, so I simply thought I had to hit. Playing second base increased my number of at-bats, which was good."

His 13 consecutive seasons as the opening starting line-up at short stop until last season tied the professional baseball record held by legendary short stop Yoshio Yoshida, Takuro Ishii, Takashi Toritani, and Hayato Sakamoto.