On August 3rd, Joichiro Fujiwara, a member of the group "Naniwa Danshi" and the "Public Relations Manager" of Orix Buffaloes The Buffaloes, attended the first game of "Bs Summer Battle 2026 supported by SAMTY" held at Tokyo Dome. He threw out the first pitch before the game.

The legendary former players gathered for the event: infield defense and base running coach Ryoichi Adachi played the role of catcher, team ambassador T-岡田 played the role of hitter, and Yoshio Itoi played the role of home-base umpire. Fujiwara threw the ball straight to Coach Adachi, smiling happily, and received a big round of applause from the stands.

This season, Fujiwara also pitched the ceremonial first pitch in the opening game held in Kyocera Dome Osaka. For this ceremonial first pitch, he said, "I asked the players what kind of pitching style they should do," he said. His pitch said, "I was aiming for a pitch speed of 100 km/h, but it seems I didn't get much of it. I bounce just a little more and hit a few more balls, so I scored 72.8 points. I'll set it at 72.8 points with Naniwa," he added.

Regarding standing at the mound of the Tokyo Dome for the first time, he said, "This year marks the 5th anniversary of Naniwa Danshi's debut, and for the first time, we performed solo live with Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome Osaka. That year, I think it was probably the first time an idol was able to throw the ceremonial first pitch with Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome Osaka. I'm really happy to have new memories in the place where we held the live show," and added, "Especially today, wearing the deep navy jersey from the summer campaign, I was able to throw the ceremonial first pitch with the warm cheers of Orix Buffaloes fans, and I was truly delighted to throw the ceremonial first pitch together with Mr. T, Coach Adachi, and Mr. Itoi."