Nippon-Ham announced on the 23rd that they will hold the "FIGHTERS LEGENDS GAME" at Escon on November 22nd. CBO (Chief Baseball Officer) Hideki Kuriyama, Makoto Kaneko, Shinya Tsuruoka, and Kensuke Tanaka held a press conference at Escon.

The team members from 2006 and 2016, both of which won the national championship, will face off. Trey Hillman will be the manager of the 2006 team, and Kuriyama will be the manager of the 2016 team. Tanaka, who contributed to both championships, will participate with the 2016 team.

Kaneko revealed his seriousness, saying, "I've come to realize that I have to take this seriously, so I'm going to raise the level of my preparation plan even further. I'm also involved with children's baseball, so I want to be able to embody what I'm telling them as an example, and I want to prepare without neglecting the basics, from running during offensive and defensive changes to covering each and every base."

Tanaka expressed his hopes, saying, "I'd like to meet up with the people who were involved back then, like a class reunion. I'd like ground maintenance staff, the coaches and runner coaches from back then to be there, and I'd like to see Itoi forget to sign autographs again (laughs)." Tsuruoka added, "If we offer it to Shinjo, he might come, from the 2006 class. Darvish has probably finished his rehabilitation by now (laughs)," expressing his hopes for a reunion of former players.

CBO Kuriyama said, "If it's allowed, I'd like to talk with the staff and coaches in the dugout and express my gratitude. I want to talk to a variety of people, and I know I'm saying some unnecessary things right now, so I think it will be difficult for the team to gather people, but I want to spend money and make sure we can all get together."

The members currently scheduled to participate are as follows (titles omitted):

▼2006 Team

Shinya Tsuruoka, Makoto Kaneko, Naoto Inada

▼2016 Team

Hirotoshi Masui, Hayato Aragaki, Kensuke Tanaka, Sho Nakata, Yuya Taniguchi