Lotte's Ryusei Terachi got hit as a pinch hitter in the game against Orix Buffaloes on the 11th.
hit came up to bat as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning with two outs and no runner on base, with the score 0-6, and hit cutter, the seventh pitch thrown by Takashima Yasuto with a 3-ball, 2-strike, to center fielder field for a single. In his second at-bat in the 9th inning with one out and no runner on base, with the score 2-8, he swung at fastball thrown by Irie Kaito with a 1-ball, 1-strike, and although he flied out to left field, the ball carried and was a close call, just barely clearing the left field fence.
◆ A look back at Teraji up to this point
Last season, his second year out of high school, Terachi played in 116 games, batting .256 Home Run and 33 RBI, and also reached the required number of plate appearances. He recorded 106 hit the most by any second-year high school graduate in the team's history since the 21st century. This season, even greater success with the bat was expected, and during spring training in Miyakonojo, he focused on starting his swing earlier during batting practice. defense, he aimed to become the starting catcher, but after a practice game against Hanwha of South Korea on February 22nd, he began to play more at third base.
His batting average in the preseason was .208, but he said as the season began, "I sometimes can't get hits in clutch situations, but I want to do my best to fulfill the role and job I've been given and be the number one person who can help the team win."
Since the season began, he has said regarding left-handed pitcher, "I don't particularly have a strong advantage against them, but I do feel that I can approach pitcher more easily," and he briefly posted an astonishing batting average of .462.
Not only did he get hits against left-handed pitcher, but he also recorded hit in five consecutive games from Orix Buffaloes game on April 7th to Seibu Lions game on April 11th, and his batting average rose to .333 after Seibu Lions game on April 11th. It seemed that he would lead the batting lineup along with Kyota Fujiwara and Misho Nishikawa, but after going 0-At Bat hit 5 against Nippon-Ham on April 15th, his batting average gradually declined.
Nevertheless, in the game Rakuten Eagles on April 18, in the first inning with no outs and runners on first and second base, Urena threw a 138 km/h slider with a 2-ball, 2-strike. Although he was caught out on a fly ball to center fielder center field, he often made solid contact that resulted in outs. "I didn't feel it was bad from my own perspective, and I think being able to make solid contact even when I was behind in the count is something that should be properly commended," he recalls.
In the game Rakuten Eagles on April 28, in his third at-bat in the 6th inning with no outs and no runner on base and the score 1-0, he said, "I feel like I've been getting a few more hits to the left side compared to last year, but I haven't been getting many extra-base hits. Getting one home run will give me confidence." Home Run then hit an outside fastball thrown by Kosei Shoji to the opposite field for a home strike.
In an interview on April 29, he said, "For better or worse, I don't feel like I'm in terrible shape, and I don't feel particularly bad, so I hope to gradually improve from here." It seemed like he would improve, but after finishing April with a batting average of .232, he struggled in May with a batting average of .095. His performance did not improve even after the interleague games began, and he was removed from the first-team roster on June 10.
During pre-game practice for the game against Oisix on June 16th, he was seen diligently practicing batting one-on-one with minor league manager Kazuya Fukuura.
Perhaps the instruction he received from minor league manager Fukuura focused on the coordination between his lower and upper body.
"That was part of it, and my upper body technique wasn't too bad, but I couldn't use my lower body. So I started by focusing on strengthening my lower body."
In the bottom of the 8th inning of the same day, with the score 2-8 and no outs and no runner on base, Reo Hosoya came up to bat for the fourth time. On the 7th pitch of the at-bat, with a 3-ball, 2-strike, he hit a 146 km/ fastball on the outside corner for doble that hit the left-center wall fence. The ball soared high into the air.
In the game against Hayate on June 19th, in his first at-bat in the first inning with two outs and no runner on base, Yuki Nomura threw a 140 km/h fastball with two strike, and he connected with it to right field. The ball stayed in the air for a long time and soared high, resulting in Home Run to right field.
After being promoted back to the first team on June 30, he recorded hit in three consecutive games starting with Rakuten Eagles game on the same day. He hadn't recorded hit since Softbank Hawks game on July 3, but in batting practice before the game on the 10th, he hit a sharp line drive to left-center field and another that went straight to the left of the center field scoreboard off a left-handed batting pitcher.
"I used to lean too far forward when I went to hit the ball, so now I feel like I'm leaning back a bit more, or something like that, and that seems to be just right."
He explained that he had been conscious of starting his swing since the spring training camp in Miyakonojo, but now he thinks "the most important thing is timing, so I won't change that. I think the start of my swing was good in today's (July 10th, the day of the interview) batting practice, so I'll continue to work on that. I also want to correct how I use my body."
"Sometimes the content is good, sometimes it's bad, but compared to my batting before the slump, the good situations are gradually increasing. I hope I can continue that," he said, looking ahead.
This season, he was expected to make a big leap forward, but he didn't achieve the results he hoped for in the first half. However, what matters is how he finishes the season. Considering Terachi's batting skills, there is a possibility that he will recover once something triggers it. "My own performance is important, but I think the team's win is the most important thing, so I will not forget that. And I would like to perform in a way that my own performance can follow suit." He will make this the best summer for both the team and himself.
Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita
