◆ Baseball Musings 2026 - Part 18

Pacific League pennant race is in chaos.

As of May 3rd, the gap between first-place Orix Buffaloes and last-place Rakuten Eagles and Lotte is 4.5 games. Furthermore, from third-place Seibu Lions to last place, four teams are battling it out within just one game, making for a very close race. (Numbers are as of May 3rd, the same applies below.)

Before the season began, Softbank Hawks and Nippon-Ham were considered the two strongest teams.

However, when the season actually began, Softbank Hawks 's MVP from last year, pitcher Liván Moinelo, was delayed due to the WBC, and closer pitcher Kazuki Sugiyama fractured his left hand in frustration with his own poor pitch, revealing a crack in their otherwise solid pitcher.

On the other hand Nippon-Ham 's ace pitcher, Hiromi Ito, has also not been in good form since returning from the WBC, and pitcher Kohei Arihara, who returned from Softbank Hawks, had a terrible April with a 1-4 record and has been ordered to retrain in the minor leagues.

Even the leading Orix Buffaloes can't afford to be complacent, as they're without their ace pitcher Hiroya Miyagi, who is out with a left elbow injury and will likely be sidelined for an extended period.

While every team has had its share of miscalculations, there have also been some pleasant surprises. A prime example is Taiga Hirasawa of Seibu Lions, who is the subject of this article.

As of the 3rd, his batting average is .373, and his batting average with runners in scoring position is .462. Furthermore, his OPS, which is the sum of his on-base percentage and slugging percentage, is an outstanding .947.

He transferred from Lotte in the 2024 offseason draft for active players.

During his time at Sendai Ikuei High School, he excelled at Koshien and was drafted first overall, but his progress stalled, and he was at a turning point in his playing career. Hoping for a fresh start, his first year with Seibu Lions was hampered by a lower back injury, and he only managed a miserable 1 hit in 17 At Bat hit in the first team.

He faced this season with his back against the wall, and started in the minor leagues. But even then, he didn't give up and continued to swing his bat.

After finally being promoted to the first team a week later than planned on April 4th, he gradually started to produce results and get more playing time. Now, he's on the verge of becoming a regular starter as a clutch hitter in the sixth spot in the batting order.

In the game against Nippon-Ham on April 29th, he hit his first game-winning RBI since joining the team, contributing to the team's rise to the top of the league. Looking at just the last six games against Nippon-Ham and Lotte, At Bat 8 hits in 22 hit for a batting average of .364, so his momentum hasn't slowed down.

While working to improve his injury-prone physique, he has also been diligently working on mastering a sharp, compact batting technique. To "reduce the number of fly balls and ground balls," he focuses on hitting sharp line drives by making full use of the bat head.

This season, Seibu Lions have made bold moves to revitalize the team and strengthen their roster.

The team acquired Masayuki Kuwahara from DeNA and Kazunari Ishii from Nippon-Ham as free agents, and also welcomed Taiwanese prodigy An-Ko Lin. In the draft, players like Taiga Kojima and Hakua Iwaki who were expected to be immediate contributors, joined the team, intensifying the competition for regular positions. It is Hirasawa who has prevailed in this competition and earned the trust of the coaching staff.

The active player draft was first held in 2022. It was intended to revitalize the sport by targeting mid-career and lower-ranked players who had not had many opportunities to play.

Leading examples of success are Seiya Hosokawa, who grew from a reserve for DeNA to become Chunichi the unbeatable No. 4, and Kotaro Otake, Softbank Hawks who spent a long time in the second team, pitcher is now protecting the rotation for Hanshin Tigers. Mizutani Shun of Nippon-Ham is also an example of a player who moved from Softbank Hawks to the second team and achieved good results, although he is currently on the second team due to a breakdown.

In the most recent active draft, Kota Inoue player who entered Lotte from Hanshin Tigers this season hit his first transfer No. 1 in the Rakuten Eagles game on the 29th of last month. Inoue is also in his 7th year, having been a promising prospect as a cannonballer since his days at Rushoshaisha High School. Many players blossom when the environment changes.

Hirasawa also faces a major challenge in securing a regular starting position. He has primarily played first base since the season began, but the team's main Tyler Nevin, is returning from injury. Third base was recently filled by Seiya Watanabe, who was converted from outfield. Second base and shortstop are occupied by defense masters Sosuke Genda and Natsuo Takizawa. In short, for Hirasawa to hold onto his current position, he needs to hit, hit, and hit some more.

It's been over half a month since manager Fumiya Nishiguchi's joke to Hirasawa, "I wonder how long this will last?", became a reality. Now, Hirasawa has become a key player for a team that is aiming for an even higher position than the A-class.

The "epic drama" of his 11th year as a professional is now reaching its climax.

Text by Kazuo Arakawa