Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo held a pre-season press conference on the 26th, together with Softbank Hawks Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo.

When asked about his thoughts on the opening day pitcher, he said, "Since yesterday, Ito has been complaining of a toothache, so I think we'll go with Hosono." For a moment, the room fell silent, and when manager Kokubo looked surprised, he laughed and said, "I think we'll go with pitcher Ito."

Manager Shinjo, who is conscious of manager Kokubo, who is the same age as him, revealed, "If it wasn't Manager Kokubo, it wouldn't be interesting at all. To be honest. He's the same age as me, and when I was playing, I was a little jealous of the beautiful parabolic home run runs he hit (laughs)."

When manager Kokubo told manager Shinjo, "You should go onto ground with the mindset that you won't be surprised by anything," Shinjo replied cheerfully, "The fact that you think that way means we've already won."