◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026: DeNA Rakuten Eagles (June 2nd, Yokohama)

Rakuten Eagles announced on the 2nd that infielder Daichi Suzuki (36) will be appointed as captain.

Dai Suzuki joined Rakuten Eagles in the offseason of 2019. He is the oldest fielder on the team and has a reputation for strong leadership. He enjoys the trust of the coaching staff and his teammates. The team had abolished the captain system since manager Hajime Miki took over in 2013, but they entrusted the important responsibility to the veteran at an unusual time, mid-season.

Dai Suzuki stated his intentions, saying, "The coach asked me to take on the role of captain. The team is going through a tough time, and nothing may change immediately after I become captain, but now that I've taken on the role, I don't think it's a position where we can give up yet. I want to stand firmly at the forefront so that the team can move forward. However, I don't think what I need to do will change, so I will do my best as a player, and even when I'm not playing in a match, I hope to be able to support the other players more effectively. Thank you for your support."

Manager Miki also places his trust in him. "Given the current state of the team, and considering his (Suzuki Dai's) character as a baseball player and his past experiences, I don't want him to bear too much of the burden, but I do want him to take a small lead among the players. Not just me, but everyone around me unanimously agreed that we should try to rebuild the team, or rather, rebuild it—that's not quite the right word—but in order to compete effectively, we decided to adopt this system (captain system), and that's how we ended up with it," he explained.

Currently, the team is languishing at the bottom of the standings, having suffered six consecutive losses since the start of the interleague games. They are determined to overcome this difficult situation by uniting under the leadership of their new captain.