"My third year is a crucial year. I believed that if I did what I needed to do, opportunities would come. I'm happy to be able to stand on the same stage as Higa-san (Mikio Higa, first-team pitcher coach) and Miyagi-san (Daiya Miyagi, pitcher)." On the afternoon of May 5th, about an hour and a half after it was decided that he would be registered as a regular player, pitcher Riku Miyaguni expressed his joy in a quiet tone in the underground parking lot of Kyocera Dome Osaka, his home stadium.

Miyakuni hails from Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture. He began playing baseball seriously at the "Ginowan Ponies," where the team's ace, Miyagi, also trained. At Toho High School (Aichi), he started in two games at the Spring Koshien in his third year, and was drafted in the third round of the 2023 developmental draft. In his first year, he appeared in six games in Western League, mainly as reliever, with a record of 0 wins and 1 loss and an ERA of 7.59. In his second year, while also gaining experience as a relief pitcher, he maintained a spot in the reliever for the entire year, achieving a stable record of 6 wins and 3 losses with ERA of 2.33 in 18 games.

This season, which is the final year of his developmental player contract, he served as the opening day pitcher in the game against Softbank Hawks on March 14th (at Sugimoto Shoji Bs Maishima), and has appeared in 7 games so far, with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss and ERA of 2.63, making him the strongest candidate for a spot on the main roster.

During his development period, Miyakuni's emotional support came from two great pitcher who were also from Okinawa.

"I thought I had absolutely no ability to pitch at the top level (first team)," Miyakuni recalls of his first fall season. It was then that he received the wake-up call from Coach Higa, who was still an active player at the time and was retiring at the end of that year. It was the final home game on September 24, 2024. Miyakuni was watching the retirement games of T-岡田 and Adachi Ryoichi from the corridor beside the dugout with other young players when Coach Higa, who had appeared behind him without him noticing, put his hand on his back and whispered in his ear, "You're going to pitch here too."

Coach Higa is a legend who faced hitter with a dynamic pitching form from the right side and set a record of 34 consecutive runs appearances as reliever in 2014. "When he said that, I realized that I really had to pitch in the majors (first team)," said Miyakuni. He hadn't vaguely intended to aim for a spot on the main roster, but at the same time as feeling happy that a senior from his hometown had such high expectations of him, it was a moment when his goal of pitching on the first-team mound became clear. He also felt a desire to live up to the expectations of his senior, who treated him kindly and said, "If there's anything, just come and talk to me anytime."

Miyagi is like an older brother to him, a player he looks up to. Even before joining the team, he said his goal was to "be in the starting rotation with Miyagi-san." Since they came from the same little league baseball team, Miyagi gave him a suit for his coming-of-age ceremony this year, and they are close enough to talk to each other informally. Even so, he rarely asks Miyagi questions about baseball. The difference between him and Miyagi, who earned his first win in the first team in his first year, and won the Rookie of the Year award in his second year with a 13-4 record, leading the team as the ace, is obvious, and he wants to ask technical questions once he feels he has reached the level of a first-team player.

He said he had a vague feeling that there was a possibility of being added to the main roster. Three days after Sho Gibo, also from Okinawa, was re-registered as a main roster player, he started on the mound for two inning. There was a team situation where many pitcher who were scheduled to pitch had to take the mound because a practice game had been rained out, but since he had been able to maintain his place in the rotation and be entrusted with long inning up to that point, he thought, "Maybe there's a chance (to be added to the main roster)."

On May 4th, I received a call from the team instructing me to "join the first team's practice," and after practice, I signed a contract as a registered player. When I went to greet the coaches in the coach's office, Coach Higa raised his right hand in a triumphant gesture and said, "Alright, do your best!"

The day before, I only told Miyagi, "I'll be joining the first team practice." He must have been so eager to hear the good news from his beloved junior. Miyagi contacted me right when practice was over, asking, "How did it go? What's number?" I replied, "I haven't signed a contract yet," and needless to say, I told him first, before my relatives and others, once I had signed. "I'm so happy for you. I'll be watching you, so do your best." I felt the deep affection of a senior player packed into those short, simple words.

She has a composure that is unusual for a 20-year-old. Even with just an hour until her start on mound, she said, "I'm not nervous," and responded to reporters' questions normally. Gibo said, "She has the composure of a 24 or 25-year-old," and Miyagi added, "She's a little too calm, a bit too mature. I'm not saying she needs to be bubbly, but it would be nice if she were a little younger (laughs)."

pitch is also natural. I refer to Mr. Miyagi's pitch website, but whether I can throw or not (like Mr. Miyagi) is my own problem. Even in a game, I always try to throw the same way I always do, so it's not because I'm out of shape today, but because I'm trying to do what I can do.

Higa-san is now my pitcher coach. （I would like to have Mr. Miyagi for the first game and me for the second game in two or three years (with some results). （Mr. Oshiro (Koji Oshiro) and Mr. Gibo (from Okinawa) will protect me. As a starter who can make a game, I hope I can show what it means to have pitched for so long inning (in the second team). His first start for the first team will soon come, and it will be a stage for him to return the favor to his seniors.

Interview and text by Masaki Kitano