Lotte's Yoshihide Takahashi recorded his first professional strike out with the "fork" he has been honing.

Takahashi joined the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2013 as the second pick in the developmental draft. He made 16 appearances in the minor league games, boasting an outstanding ERA of 0.00, and earned a spot on the main roster on July 30th. Until May, his low struck out rate was one of his weaknesses, with 7 strike out in 10 innings pitched. However, from June onwards, he recorded 8 strike out 9 innings before being registered as a main roster player. BB also decreased BB 10 innings until May to 4 walks in 9 BB from June onwards before being registered as a main roster player. He has addressed his weaknesses while closer earned runs at zero.

Speaking of "challenges," fork balls were one of them. On April 28, in the Softbank Hawks second team game, the leadoff Itua Ikhine in the ninth inning with a 1-0 lead scored a swing struck out on 3 balls and 2 strike on the 6th pitch, a 134 km/h fork on the inside pitch, which was fantastic. "I've been practicing since I joined the team, but I couldn't land any hits during games, so I think the recent games were actually the best," he said happily.

Since then, he hasn't been able to throw fork that he's satisfied with. In an interview on June 23, he said, "I'm not able to handle fork at all, so I'm going to practice and try to get the hang of it." While he hasn't been able to throw fork he envisions, he has been working on it with a clear goal in mind, saying, "I'm not only focusing on fork, slider, and fastball, but I'm also consciously working on making sure I can throw properly even during catch practice."

On July 15, in the game against Oisix, he retired Daniel left-handed hitter with one out and a runner on first in the 8th inning of a 5-0 lead, swinging struck out from 2 strike to a low fork.

"I think it's gradually coming along the way I envisioned," he said, adding, "The pitch that got me struck out the other day was a bit of a ball, so my goal is to drop it a little further out of the strike zone to get a swing and a miss."

After registering as a registered player, he closer the first inning against the runs in the Chunichi minor league game on August 4, and was promoted to the first team for the first time on August 7. Then, in the Orix Buffaloes game (Zozo Marine Stadium) that day, he made his professional debut in the ninth inning with the score 2-6.

He gave the lead-Ryo Ota Walk with a fastball of 154 km/h from 3 balls 2 strike, but then doubled the Kotaro Kobayashi with a 1-ball, 2-strike fastball of 151 km/h. Finally, after 2 balls and 2 strike, he made Ryoto Kita a strike out fork of 140 km/h and dropped sharply from the strike zone to the ball zone on the fifth ball, earning his first professional swing struck out.

Takahashi himself was surprised by the pitch, saying, "It dropped more than I've ever thrown even in the minor leagues, so I think it was really good." Perhaps it was the ideal fork, as he was looking for a pitch that would drop from strike zone into the ball zone.

"I think it would be good if it dropped around yesterday (August 7th). I felt quite confident about it."

While he consciously honed fork through catch practice, did he ask other players for advice on grips or anything like that?

"I didn't ask about it that much, but in bullpen, I was sometimes able to throw fork like yesterday (August 7th), and sometimes not, so I'm glad I was able to throw it yesterday (August 7th)."

◆ fastball

fastball All 12 pitches he threw exceeded 150 km/h. Zozo Marine Stadium In his first appearance on June 23 in a second-team game (Chunichi), he threw 10 pitches (fastball), but only four exceeded 150 km/h, with his fastest clocking in at 151 km/h. When asked about why his velocity was higher in the game on the 7th (Orix Buffaloes), he muttered, “I didn’t really think I’d changed anything that much, but it just went up on its own, I guess.”

The increase in speed is also related to daily training. "I think that's part of it. Lately, I've been focusing on improving body coordination and increasing my speed."

Takahashi's main breaking ball ball is slider, but in his professional debut, he closer mainly on fastball and fork to get outs. "I was able to get swings and misses with fastball, so that's what gave me the most confidence," he said, feeling he had made progress.

Regarding slider, he showed confidence, saying, "I threw one in my first appearance, and I got a strikeout, so I feel good about it."

Takahashi expressed satisfaction with his time in the minor leagues, saying, "I think I was able to show what I've been working on." He also mentioned that Tokushima, the Shikoku ILplus team where Takahashi played until last season, has produced professional players through the draft almost every year, and he said, "Kudo-san (of Hanshin Tigers) contacted me when I was registered as a regular player, and he encouraged me to do my best, so I will do my best," expressing his gratitude for the contact from Yasunari Kudo, who currently serves as Hanshin Tigers Tigers' set-up man and closer, and pledging to fight together with him.

Looking back on the past year, he cited his breaking breaking ball as his biggest area of improvement, saying, "fastball is good, but my struck out are the most important." He added, "I think they're better than last year, so I want to get a lot of strikeouts." Having started his professional career, Takahashi declared, "I want to continue playing without changing my style." As he returned to the locker room, Takahashi looked more confident than usual.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita