◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 4-0 Lotte (23rd, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo explained the reason for shuffling outfielder' positions in the second inning.

starting line-up for that day was left fielder Yoshida, center fielder Yazawa, and right fielder Nomura. In the first inning, against Lotte's Ogawa and Tomosugi, the first two hitters, center fielder Yazawa played in a forward defense to narrow the hit zone in front of him. However, in the top of the second inning, manager Shinjo came out of the dugout and switched positions, with Yazawa in right field, Yoshida in center field, and Nomura in left field.

In response, manager Shinjo explained, "Ogawa was in good form, so I brought Yazawa forward as much as possible, and then replaced him when Ogawa and Tomosugi finished their at-bats. When Ogawa was the leadoff batter, I was thinking of putting Yazawa back in center fielder."

In fact, Ogawa's hit in the first inning was handled without difficulty by Yazawa, who stepped back slightly. The manager's prediction proved to be correct.