Pacific League: Seibu Lions 4, Rakuten Eagles 1 (30th, Belluna Dome)

Seibu Lions outfielder Takumi Kuriyama finished a long day on the 30th that began with a retirement press conference starting at 9 AM. The game against the Rakuten Eagles starting at 5 PM was a 4-1 win. "I thought it would be long, but once it was over, it went by in a flash. I was able to have the best day. I want to look back on it slowly later," he said, filled with emotion.

"Mr. Leo," who played his entire 25-year career with Seibu Lions Lions, announced his retirement at the end of the 2014 season during contract negotiations last November. On this day, he held a retirement press conference in Tokyo from 9 a.m. and started as the "number 6 hitter and designated hitter" in his retirement game against Rakuten Eagles at his home stadium, Belluna Dome, from 5 p.m. In his fourth at-bat in the 8th inning with two outs, he hit a single to center field, his 2152nd hit hit.

Kuriyama joined the team from Ikuei High School in Hyogo as the fourth-round draft pick in 2001. He made his professional debut on September 24, 2004, in a game against Kintetsu (at Osaka Dome). In the 2016 off-season, he exercised his international free agency (FA) rights but remained with the team, and although he acquired international FA rights again in 2020, he chose to stay once more, stating, "I want to continue wearing this uniform from next year onwards and do my best to make the fans happy." On September 4, 2021, he achieved a career total of 2,000 hits, becoming the first homegrown player in the club's history to reach this milestone.