"It's perfect."

In a March 24 Zozo Marine Stadium post-practice interview, Lotte Shuta Takano responded to a question about his preparations for the season opener, and true to his word, he went exactly one inning runs without a win closer in the opening game on March 27 Seibu Lions.

After starting Kaito Mori (Meiji University), who closer the runs fifth inning, Takano advanced to mound in the sixth inning with a 2-0 lead, and with his signature Shinya Hasegawa fork, he swung struck out to get the leadoff to miss, and then grounded out the Manaya Nishikawa in fork to first. New foreign player Canario also struck struck out with a 2-ball, 2-strike fork ball.

In his first appearance of the season, he threw 11 pitches over one inning, allowing no hit, strike out two, and runs, delivering a perfect relief performance that prevented Seibu Lions from gaining momentum.

◆ He's been just as successful this season!

Last season, Takano gradually rose through the ranks, starting as a long reliever in behind-the-table games, and eventually taking on the role of pitcher in the 8th inning of winning games. He appeared in 37 games, recording 5 wins, 3 losses, 15 hold, and ERA of 1.84, making it a breakout year for him.

This season, where further progress is expected, he pitched 8 games and 9 innings in February practice games and exhibition games, surpassing inning in 11 strike out and runs in all his appearances. Especially in his final preseason appearance on the 22nd, against Chunichi, he pitched one inning and recorded all three outs at struck out. While Kaito Muramatsu was aware of fork, he made a three-ball, 2-strike throw from a 146 km/h fastball and cut it into a struck out.

Takano said, "Last August, when I was losing pitcher for the second year in a row, I continued to make things worse by throwing too many pitches because fork they didn't fit, and then getting blindsided by them. I realized very keenly there where fork, where there is a straight line, and where breaking ball can be utilized in making people aware of straight pitches. （It's no good to be all over the place (fork), and Muramatsu's at-bat was also where I wanted to select a straight ball while making the most of (fork)," he said, adding that last season's bitter experience made the importance of "fastball" even stronger.

Last season, he mainly shut down hitter with fastball and fork, but this offseason he has been refining his third pitch, including slider and curveball. He has been throwing slider in exhibition games, so perhaps he sees potential in using them as both count pitch and a finishing pitch.

"There's something I shared with what I said earlier: my characteristic is a straight, fork pitch. If I throw a lot of that, I think I get hit somewhere or end up with a painful pitch. I want to use slider to increase the opponent's options or not narrow them down. If my sense of style improves, I think I can use slider as my finishing pitch instead of throwing fork. I haven't tried the curveball lately, but if it becomes like that, I think it could create a more comfortable pitch in tough situations, so it's a pitch I want to develop to grow my hand."

Last season, he made an impact as a long reliever from the start of the season, but on April 3rd, in a game Orix Buffaloes, he pitched 3 2/3 innings, hit 4 hits, strike out 5, and closer up no runs, before being removed from the first-team roster the following day, April 4th. "If I don't perform well on the first-team stage, I feel bad for the scouts who brought me into professional baseball, and I think it's meaningless if I don't perform well there since they called me up. I don't make money in the minor leagues, so I want to stick with the first team." He has a strong desire to pitch in the first team for the entire year this season. And last season, he also learned the joy of pitching in winning games. "At the beginning of last year, I started with losses, but gradually I was able to pitch in winning situations, so this year I want to pitch in good situations from the start, and I want to fight through the entire year." He will overcome the "sophomore slump" and support bullpen for the entire year.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita