◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 1-7 Softbank Hawks (18th, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham incorporated an unusual practice menu into their pre-game training.

Before starting free batting, pitcher who had prepared for catch balls and other pitches gathered at infield. Except for starter Ito, veteran Miyanishi and foreign player Rao also participated, and with runner attached, they formed a pitch-in-chi coordination focused on bunt play.

Manager Shinjo explained, "There are a lot of batters who hit hard bunting balls, so the moment I throw the ball, I get off mound and try to throw out second baseman at second base. Surprisingly, even if it looks like the batter might be safe, there are many cases where it turns out to be an out when I throw the ball. I just wanted him to understand that feeling, so I asked him to give it a try."

The incident stemmed from the game Orix Buffaloes on the 14th (at Kyocera Dome). In the 8th inning with the score tied and no outs, a runner on first base, Wakatsuki easily executed sacrifice bunt bunt, prompting Wakatsuki to question the decision. He commented, "In that situation, Wakatsuki almost certainly bunted. As soon as the ball was thrown, he would have rushed off mound to try and get the runner out at second baseman. If he thought he wouldn't make it in time, he would have switched to trying to first baseman out at first base. After all, second baseman and first baseman are completely different positions."

The person who remained in his memory was Akira Kanemura, with whom he once played at Nippon-Ham. "Kanemura was incredibly skilled, and I saw him get off the field at second baseman as soon as the ball was thrown and throw out the runner many times. I wondered if other pitcher, even pitcher from other teams, don't do that," he said.