On the 27th, Lotte will face Seibu Lions in their opening game at their home stadium, Zozo Marine Stadium. In the five years since 2020, they have finished in the top three four times, and three of those times they were second place, so expectations for a league championship have been rising year by year. However, last season, despite winning all three games in the opening series against Softbank Hawks, they ended up in last place, 31.5 games behind the league champions, Softbank Hawks.

With new manager Saburo in charge, the players, who had worked on their mental and physical skills in the "hellish fall camp," grew stronger over the winter and worked hard to improve their techniques at the Miyakonojo spring camp. The team finished 12th in the open tournament with 4 wins, 11 losses, and 2 draws, and many pro baseball commentators standings predicted a B-class finish.

This team has a lot of ups and downs; just when they seem to be gaining momentum, they suddenly suffer a losing streak, and even when they're struggling to win, one win can often spark a winning streak. Looking at the results of the preseason games alone, a tough season is expected, but the team's offensive direction is clear, with "base running that aims one step ahead" and "offensive plays that utilize speed," and if they can improve their precision, they can unsettle opposing teams with their annoying offense. If they can add some power hitting to this, we can expect an increase in their scoring ability.

pitcher staff, including Naoya Masuda, Keisuke Sawada, Long, Atsuya Hirohata, Shuta Takano, and Rikuto Yokoyama Yokoyama, all finished the preseason with a 0.00 ERA, while Shota Suzuki and Koshiro Hiroike also showed stable pitch. Last season, they struggled to establish a consistent win formula, but considering their focus on playing baseball by minimizing runs allowed, having many relievers who start the season with a 0.00 ERA is very encouraging.

The starting rotation will include second-round draft pick Kaito Mori (Meiji University), who will be the first rookie in 76 years to start on opening pitcher, Haruya Tanaka, who aims for double-digit win and reaching the required innings pitched, and ace Kazuya Ojima, who innings pitched for five consecutive years, who is expected to start the opening three-game series against Seibu Lions. There will also be third-year high school graduate Yuto Kimura, veterans Shuta Ishikawa and Yuji Nishino, WBC Japan representative Atsuki Taneichi, and Jackson, who transferred from DeNA.

What concerns me is that when I look at the second game, only Tokito Kawamura, Yuki Karakawa, and Nishino are starting on the dominant roster, and other development pitcher are starting. This season has incorporated many six-game series since April, and there is some concern about the backup starter candidates.

◆ Towards winning the league championship

Under new manager Saburo, the team aims to win the league title with the best winning percentage for the first time since 1974. Team captain Soto vowed to the fans, "I think the fans want us to win, so we will all do our best and strive for win. We want to have a season that will make the fans happy."

Rikuto Yokoyama who took over as players' association chairman this season, said, "As a team, we always aim to win the league championship and become the best in Japan, so I hope we can play baseball at a high level. Personally, I was able to pitch in 50 games last year, so I don't want to be satisfied with just pitching in 50 games once. I want to become pitcher can consistently pitch in 50 or 60 games this year, next year, and the year after."

Hiromi Oka said, "I want to win, and I want this to be a season where we can all share the joy of winning the championship, that's all." Akito Takabe also expressed his desire to win the championship, saying, "Of course, I want to accumulate wins in order to win the championship, and for that to happen, it's important to think about what we need to do. I want to spend the whole year thinking carefully about what I need to do to win the championship."

Many predict that this season will be tough for a team primarily composed of young players, but the first team is a stage where only winning matters. We hope they can win as many games as possible this season and bring joy to The Marines fans.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita