He won the Rookie of the Year title after a fierce battle rarely seen in recent years.

November 26th, Chiba Lotte Marines Misho Nishikawa The player won Pacific League Rookie of the Year award. In 2025, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Kota Tatsu pitcher, Tohoku Rakuten Rui Muneyama Player, Saitama Seibu Seiya Watanabe Many qualified athletes performed well, but he won the title after beating out fierce competition.

This time, we will introduce Nishikawa's characteristics as a player and his batting style based on various indicators recorded in 2025. In addition, by checking Nishikawa's monthly performance, we will look back on his rookie year as he gradually adapted to the professional stage.

His aggressive and bold batting style produced hit at a high pace.

The various indicators recorded by Nishikawa in 2025 are as follows.

Nishikawa has consistently demonstrated an aggressive batting style, with only 16 walks in 444 at-Walk, a batting average of .281, and an on-base percentage of .318. His IsoD (IsoD), which shows the difference between batting average and on-base percentage, is also a fairly modest .037, and his inherent aggressiveness is clearly reflected in the numbers.

In addition, his BB/K ratio, an indicator of hitter 's batting eye that shows the number of Walk divided by the number of struck out, was also low at .188. This is one area where he is expected to improve in the future, as it ranks 21st out of 22 players in Pacific League who have reached the required number of at-bats, and is at a low level in the league as a whole.

On the other hand, interesting results were found for BABIP, an indicator that shows the percentage of Home Run balls in play that result in hit, excluding home runs. It is believed to be heavily influenced by luck, and the general standard is .300, but Nishikawa's BABIP in 2025 was .343, which is significantly higher than the standard, suggesting that he may have been blessed with luck. However, BABIP for fielder is also an indicator that players with speed or good quality hits tend to record high numbers, so the average value may vary depending on the player.

Players who are known for their aggressive hitting naturally have a higher chance of hitting the ball forward and putting it in play. In other words, it seems likely that Nishikawa's batting style, combined with his high BABIP, led to his strong performance this season. For this reason, how Nishikawa's BABIP develops from next season onward will be an important point in predicting his future performance.

He recorded the most doble in the league and showed his aggressiveness in aiming for the next base.

Nishikawa was highly regarded for his power hitting during his college days, but this season he only managed three Home Run, which was not a massive Home Run production in the pro league. On the other hand, in his first year as a pro, he hit a league-high 27 doble, closer out many other good hitter. He showed his aggressiveness in aiming for the next base and created numerous scoring opportunities.

His slugging percentage of .381 was 12th out of 22 players who reached the required number of at-bats in Pacific League, his OPS of .699 was 13th, and his "ISO," which excludes the influence of single hit from slugging percentage, was 13th at .101. These results also show that he ranked right in the middle of the pack among players who reached the required number of at-standings in terms of indicators of slugging power and productivity.

Will he be able to improve his on-base percentage and extra-base hits from next season onwards, and become even more productive as hitter? Looking at his monthly performance, which will be introduced in the next section, it seems highly likely that he will do so.

Although he struggled in the early stages, he made great strides after adapting to the professional stage in June.

Nishikawa's monthly performance in 2025 is as follows:

Nishikawa recorded a high batting average of .410 in the exhibition games, earning himself a spot in the opening starting starting line-up despite being a rookie. However, in the opening three games, he only had a batting average of .231, followed by two consecutive months of low batting averages of .125 in April and .129 in May. He had to return to the minor leagues once each in April and May to adjust, and struggled in the early stages of the season, facing the professional hurdles for the first time.

However, in 20 games in the minor leagues, he posted impressive numbers with a batting average of .422, an on-base percentage of .461, a slugging percentage of .602, and an OPS of 1.063, and after being promoted for the second time in June, he flourished on the major leagues, batting .441 for the month and displaying an OPS of 1.107, demonstrating his ability to compete on the major league stage.

In July, he maintained a consistent batting average of .303 and an OPS of .753, and in August he recorded a batting average of .344 and an OPS of .834, marking three consecutive months of batting averages over 30%. His OPS, which had been one of his issues, also recorded over .750 for three consecutive months, showing a significant improvement in terms of productivity, which is also noteworthy.

Although his performance dropped slightly in September with a batting average of .259 and an OPS of .660, he showed signs of growth in terms of long hits, hitting Home Run in two consecutive games on the 9th and 11th of the same month. In the final two games of the season, he slowed down with just one hit in six At Bat, but he reached the required number of at-bats in the final game of the season and finished his rookie year with a batting average of .281, sixth in the league.

A talented player who showed great performances on both offense and defense. Will he be able to continue to perform well for a long time to come?

Nishikawa's success was not limited to his batting, as he also recorded nine assists, the most in the league for outfielder. His record of leading the league in both offensive and defensive categories, including doble and assists, in his first year as a pro is truly an achievement beyond that of a rookie.

Since Chiba Lotte Marines adopted its current team name, five players have won the Rookie of the Year award while with the team, including Nishikawa. The other players who have won the award include pitcher Makoto Kosaka, Yasutomo pitcher, Naoya Masuda, and Ayumu Ishikawa pitcher all of whom played professionally for over 10 years and enjoyed long careers at the forefront of the league.

Will Nishikawa be able to continue to play professionally for a long time like his four predecessors and become a pillar of The Marines? This talented player has shown great ability on both offense and defense since his first year, and his future success will surely be attracting even more attention.

Written by Ryota Mochizuki