"I'm truly happy because I achieved this number while wearing this Chiba Lotte Marines uniform."

Lotte's Naoya Masuda achieved 250 career saves in NPB during the game Seibu Lions on the 4th, fulfilling one of the requirements for induction into the Meikyukai (Japan Professional Baseball Hall of Fame). He is the first pitcher born in the Heisei era to be inducted into the Meikyukai.

As the bottom of the 8th inning ended and Masuda's name was called for the 9th inning with a 2-run lead, the stands at Zozo Marine Stadium erupted in applause, cheering him on in time with his entrance music. It's a familiar sight at Zozo Marine Stadium. Cheered on by the fans, Masuda took the mound in the 9th inning with the score 5-3. He got the first batter, Seiya Watanabe, to ground out to the pitcher with a 150 km/ fastball after a 2-ball, 2-strike count, then got Shuta Tonosaki to fly out to left field with a 150 km/h fastball on the first pitch, and finally got pinch hitter Junichiro Kishi to fly out to right field with a 151 km/h fastball the first pitch, achieving his 250th career save.

In his post-game hero interview, Masuda expressed his joy, saying, "I've been pitching for the fans, and I'm really happy that I was able to achieve this in front of so many fans. I also wanted to achieve this at ZOZO Marine Stadium, so I'm glad I was able to do it in front of everyone today."

◆ Making a major change to our approach

Masuda has spent his entire 15-year career with The Marines. He has twice led the league in saves and recorded 20 saves for six consecutive years from 2019. He has supported The Marines 'bullpen for a long time, from the era when the team struggled to win games to the early 2020s when they were consistently in the top ranks and the league championship was within reach.

In recent years, it had become commonplace for him to take mound in save situations, but last season, when he was just seven saves away from 250 career saves, he said, "As you can see from the numbers, I think it was the worst year of my career," and ended up with a career-worst 22 appearances, a disappointing year with a record of 1 win, 4 losses, 2 hold, 5 ERA of 4.35.

After the season ended, he participated in the autumn practice held at ZOZO Marine Stadium and the Miyakonojo autumn camp, saying, "I'm trying to change my Zozo Marine Stadium. I'm keeping the running the same, but I'm increasing my training a bit. I've had bad starts to the season for the past two years, so my shoulder and elbow are slow to recover. I'm starting catch practice earlier and taking it slow." He also made significant changes to his approach, such as incorporating weight training seriously. He kept moving his body without taking a break during the off-season.

Even after the season started, while in previous seasons Masuda would only do catch practice before games when there was a gap between his appearances, this season he has been doing catch practice before every game without fail. catch partner is Suzuki. Masuda revealed, "There's no particularly deep reason, but we do it together because we have a similar feel for the strength and weakness of catch practice." Suzuki told us, "At first, it was just a feeling that I should do it with Masuda-san, but now we're both conscious of what we do together, and since he's very experienced, I'm learning a lot from him."

Suzuki said, “When I watch Masuda’s catch ball, I ask myself what he’s focusing on today, think it through on my own, come up with my own answers, and learn a lot from the experience.” It’s become a valuable learning experience for him.

◆ Pitching in a behind-the-table situation from the start of the season

Masuda has served as The Marines 'closer for many years, but this season he has often been mound in situations where the score is significantly lopsided, such as pitching in the 9th inning of games where the team has a large lead from the start of the season.

"It doesn't matter where you pitch, so someone has to pitch there, and I don't think the game is over just because we're losing. If closer them scoreless there, we'll have a chance to win. There has to be someone to take on that role. I hope we can somehow get results there."

For over 10 years, this man had held a demanding position directly linked to the team's win, and now, watching him silently and steadily closer the opponent in situations with large score differences for the sake of the team, he exuded a different kind of coolness than when he was the team's star goalkeeper.

"No, no, I think everyone is pitching in various places, so I try to do my best to show them my back as much as possible."

In an interview on May 3rd, Masuda said, "I'll do my best so that I can show you (my pitching in a winning game) again," and he continued to produce results in the places he was given. On July 10th, in a game Orix Buffaloes, he took the mound in the 9th inning with one out and a runner on first base, with the score 8-6, for the first time this season in a save situation, and pitched 0.5 innings without allowing runs, closer his first save of the season. This was his 249th career save, and on July 25th, in a game Orix Buffaloes he took the mound in the 6th inning (3-3) with the score tied for the first time this season, pitching one scoreless runs. On July 26th, in a game Orix Buffaloes, he took the mound after starter Jackson in the 8th inning with one out and runners on first and second base, with the score 3-1, and pitched 0.5 innings without allowing runs, closer his "results" by taking the mound in tied and winning games. And on August 4th, in a game Seibu Lions, he recorded his 250th career save.

Rikuto Yokoyama, who currently serves closer, spoke about Masuda's greatness in an interview on April 16, 2024, immediately after recording his first save at Zozo Marine Stadium in a game Orix Buffaloes on April 7, 2024. He said, "He has played in a position where there is pressure to pitch and the outcome of the team's games depends on it for many years, and he has recorded over 200 saves. I think he has incredible mental strength."

For over 10 years, Masuda has accumulated saves on mound in extremely difficult situations that directly impact the team's wins and losses. He has achieved 250 career saves and is just 5 games away from reaching 800 career appearances. He has achieved many personal records with The Marines, but there is one thing he has yet to accomplish: winning the league championship.

In October 2019, when he decided to stay with the team instead of exercising his domestic free agency rights acquired that year, he declared emphatically, "I want to win the championship with Lotte." Seven years have passed since then, but even now, he says, "Winning the league championship is more important than individual statistics. I want to stay because I want to win the championship with The Marines. That feeling hasn't changed." He has achieved 250 career saves. Next time, we hope to see him shed tears of joy when the team wins the league championship.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita