◇The gourmet showdown between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham-Ham Yuya Gunji and Fukuoka Softbank Tatsuya Tatsuru Yanagimachi has begun.

Starting with the season opener on Friday, March 27th, a "Gourmet Production Showdown Project" will begin between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham-Ham Fighters player Yuya Gunji and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks player Tatsuru Yanagimachi, who was Gunji's teammate in college. Gunji's "'I'm so cool because I make crab!' Crab Cream Pasta" and Yanagimachi's "This is the Master's Way! A Luxurious Rice Bowl with Fragrant Broth" will be sold at their respective home stadiums. Despite belonging to rival teams, the two, who are close friends in their private lives, will take on each other in a serious competition with gourmet dishes that reflect their personal tastes.

▼Comments from Gunji regarding the competitive project▼
"Yanagimachi, I hear you've created a menu to compete with my gourmet offerings. It sounds delicious. But my dish isn't just a spur-of-the-moment idea. It's the ultimate dish, a fusion of the bounty of the northern land and my own dedication. It's not about trends or appearances. It has a 'perfection' that you can sense from the first bite. I'm looking forward to your dish. One last thing, please don't just read from cue cards. That's all."

◇Saitama Seibu Lions' Yamato Fuji has been registered as a professional player.

The Saitama Seibu Lions have signed a contract with pitcher Yamato Fuji as a regular player. number will be "67". He joined the team in 2024 as the first pick in the developmental draft from Omiya Higashi High School, and in his rookie year last season, he appeared in four games for the farm team. In the offseason, he participated in the Asian Winter Baseball League and spent the offseason training period with fellow left-handed pitcher Chihiro Sumida.

This season, he was selected for the first team during spring training and impressed with his pitching in the open games. He earned a spot on the main roster just before the season opener. His older brother is Hayato Fujii, the fifth-round draft pick rookie pitcher for Chiba Lotte Marines. A brotherly showdown is also something to look forward to.

◇ Chiba Lotte Marines 's 2026 season mound advertisement has been decided.

The mound ad for the 2026 season Zozo Marine Stadium has been decided by Sense Trust Inc. It was realized because the company's representative director, Yasuhito Imanaka, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the chief hitting coach and base running coach, had a connection as seniors and juniors in the baseball division of Osaka Toin High School. In addition, before the Saitama Seibu Lions match on Saturday, March 28th, Daisho Fukumori, an alumni of the Osaka Toin High School baseball division and battling rare cancer, is scheduled to take the mound on the ceremonial pitch.

In addition, in conjunction with this ceremonial pitch, we are looking for support for Mr. Fukumori on Sense Trust's official Instagram count. We are also planning to give away "Chiba Lotte Marines player autographed goods" by lottery from those who post support comments.

▼Tsuyoshi Nishioka, First Team Chief Hitting Coach and base running Coach Comment▼
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Sense Trust Co., Ltd. for their warm support as a sponsor of Chiba Lotte Marines. I remember well that President Imanaka had a relationship with President Imanaka as a senior and junior in the senior league in junior high school and as an alumni of the Osaka Toin baseball Club, and he took baseball seriously from that time. I also know that you have been working on baseball with the goal of "becoming Tsuyoshi Nishioka" since you were a junior high school student, and I still feel very honored to have that feeling.

It is a great stimulus for me to continue to take on challenges in the world of management, grow the company greatly, and support the baseball world as a sponsor of a professional baseball team, not on the baseball path, and I sincerely respect it. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to President Imanaka and all the employees of Sense Trust for their support of Chiba Lotte Marines. We will continue to do our best to live up to your support and respond with results and attitude at ground. Once again, I would like to express my deep gratitude for your warm support."

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