◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles Orix Buffaloes (12th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

A thoughtful gift gave Ken Maeda a strong push forward. On the eve of his first appearance back in NPB on March 31st, a video arrived in his smartphone's group chat. It was from Ryuji Nakatani, his childhood friend with whom he had been battery mates from elementary school through high school.

The video contained an original "motivational video" edited by Nakatani, who had accompanied Kenta during his off-season training. It wasn't a compilation of glorious plays. Instead, it was filled with everyday humor unrelated to baseball, the kind that only close friends would understand. "When I made one last year, Kenta was laughing so hard his stomach hurt. I gathered material during his off-season training and made it to encourage him, to say, 'Go and do your best with this.' He was absolutely thrilled this time too," said Nakatani. It took some time from the start of the season until his first win, but he went on a three-game winning streak from June onwards. This memorable win also became a victory to express his gratitude to his friends. (Kota Miyauchi)