"There was a period when I was in a slump, and it was difficult to get back to my original form. It was my first time experiencing that, so I practiced while thinking about what to do when I was in a slump. On the positive side, I had time to think about my batting, and I think that will definitely help in the second half of the season and next year."

Lotte's Ryo Sugiyama reflected on his first professional season, which was a period of trial and error, as follows.

It was a promising start. In the Seibu Lions second team game on March 21, with two outs and no runner in the third inning with a 1-1 scoreline, Taiga Ueda hit his first professional hit doble on the second pitch of the 115 km/h curveball thrown from the first pitch by first base line. On May 8, in the The Giants second team game held in Zozo Marine Stadium, with two outs and a runner on second in the third inning with a 6-0 lead, he hit the third pitch in-fastball from Keisuke Izumi with one ball and 1 strike, Zozo Marine Stadium his first hit on a doble hit by a right field wall.

In the The Giants farm team game on May 10, in his first at-bat with two outs in the 9th inning with a score of 4-4 and two bases loaded outs, Baldonado skillfully hit the second pitch thrown from the first ball, a 151 km/h fastball to hit a timely walk-off infield hit to short stop.

"It's difficult to hit good pitcher against pitcher of my caliber. What's important is how well I can hit against good pitcher. I want to improve my swing speed and swing power."

In early spring, he had many hit to the opposite field, particularly to center fielder. "Sometimes I consciously try to hit it there, but other times I just try to hit it there without thinking. I adjust my approach depending on the pitch location, but ideally I'd like to aim for right field or center fielder, and if the timing is off, I'd like to be able to hit it to left field."

In an interview on May 26, he expressed his determination, saying, "I lack stamina, so I want to work on building up my physical strength, increasing my swing speed, and developing the physical strength to compete throughout the year."

However, after hitting a hit in the minor league game against the Chunichi on the same day, he went without a hit until the game against the Hayate on July 10. In June, he appeared in six games, recording 18 At Bat 0 hit and a .000 batting average, and struggled. While grappling with his first slump at the plate, he swung the bat while thinking about how to break out of this situation.

After getting hit in the game against Hayate on July 10th, he achieved his second multi-hit game of his professional career in the game against the Giants' The Giants league team on July 20th, which was his last appearance of the first half of the season. He said, "I changed the way I was timing my swings a little, and I think that worked out well." He had a great month in July, with a batting average of .500 (5 At Bat 10 hit). In his first appearance after the All-Star break on August 1st against Yakult Swallows' minor league team, he also managed a bunt hit, and he is currently on a four-game hit in every game he has at bat.

Regarding his swing speed, he said, "It's increased by about 10 kilometers per hour," and added with conviction, "I've also gained about 4 kilograms in weight during this period, and my muscle mass has increased. My physical development is going extremely well."

◆ Weapon's foot

Sugiyama's weapon is his speed. He has recorded 14 stolen base stolen base so far, including 9 by the end of April.

In an interview on March 19, he said, "I'm trying to run as much as I can," but in an interview on May 26, he said, "Even now, when I'm pinch-running, I try to steal within two or three pitches," indicating his intention to aggressively stolen base from early in count.

He revealed that while the quickness level differs between professionals and amateurs, "we check pitcher 's habits before the game, and we also check with base running coach."

Regarding his "start," which he said was "the most important thing, so if I can get a good start, I think I can be safe. I just want to keep refining my start," he said in an interview on May 26th, "It feels good, but I haven't had many opportunities to stolen base bases recently, so I've been going with this good feeling, but I won't know until I run a lot, so I'm currently in a trial-and-error phase." And now he is still focused on his "start," saying, "I want to continue to be conscious of my start and focus only on that."

In June, he didn't get any hits, and consequently, he had zero stolen base. In July, he only had two stolen base. "I'd like to get at least 20," he said, setting a goal.

Currently, he's building up his physique while gaining practical experience in the minor leagues. "My goals remain the same: to get at least one hit a day and to run hard. Those were my goals before the season started, so I want to make sure I do that properly throughout the year." He's determined to achieve his goals.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita