On the 9th, Nippon-Ham Fighters catcher Ariel Martínez was recognized as having hit a signature home run and received 11,100 yen from manager Shinjo's pocket money.

Martinez claims that during pre-game practice on the 8th, he hit the left field sign for the "Hit the SHINJO Board and Get 1.11 million yen Prize" that will continue this season. Since the manager had publicly stated that "If you hit it in practice, you get 11,100 yen," he was requesting a video review.

According to Martinez, the cash was handed to him by hitting coach Yagi before practice that day. "I don't know if they reviewed it on video, but I received the prize money, so I think it's recognition," he said with a smile. "It's not that I'm not happy, but it's just practice. If I hit it in a game, the amount would be completely different even if I hit the same spot, so I'll do my best to hit it in a game."

Although it was practice, he said in Japanese, "I did it," and smiled broadly at the fact that he was the first on the team. He said he would use the prize money to "give gifts to the Chunichi Dragons (his former team and opponent)."