◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026 Rakuten Eagles 0-2 Hiroshima (13th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Rakuten Eagles ・ On the 13th, the Fumiya Kurokawa infielder (25) invited a total of 30 children battling pediatric cancer and their families to the game against Hiroshima through the Gold Ribbon Network, a public interest foundation.

For Kurokawa, this activity was a promise he had held since childhood. Theきっかけ (trigger) was when his sixth-grade elementary school teacher lost her child to childhood cancer. "I realized the importance of life, and that there are children who want to live but cannot. I felt grateful that we were able to baseball without any hardships, and I wondered if there was anything I could do to help, so I started this activity," he explains.

He has previously donated knit caps to children with cancer. This is the first time he has invited them to a game. He is steadily expanding the scope of his activities. "Since I was in elementary and junior high school, it has been my dream to do this kind of work when I become a professional baseball player. I'm slowly making it a reality." He is also planning to visit hospitals in the future. "There are still many things I haven't done yet, so I hope to do those kinds of activities as well," he says, looking ahead.

On this day, after practice, he interacted with the children who came to the stadium during a Q&A session. When he surprised them with signed baseballs, smiles bloomed everywhere. The children also gave him letters and portraits. "They gave me all sorts of letters and things. I'll do my best to show them my skills." The sincere feelings he received from those small hands gave the 25-year-old a boost.

He believes that seeing him give it his all on the field at ground will serve as a beacon of hope. “All we can do is keep working hard together by playing with a positive attitude at baseball. I’ll do my best to show that kind of spirit.” As he gazed at the portrait he had been given, his eyes reflected a gentle yet strong determination.