On April 21, Ryota Igarashi and T-Okada appeared on the official YouTube channel of Pacific League TV program "Monday on Patere" to look back on the last week of Pacific League. This time, we will be sharing some "tidbits" that didn't make it into the broadcast.

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As of April 24, Orix is still in first place despite a slight decline in their performance. T-Okada commented on the show that "Yutaro Sugimoto, Yuma Tongu, and Ryo Ota are the big players," but among them, Ryo Ota The player has made his presence felt with overwhelming numbers in 22 games, with 38 At Bat 88 hit, 4 Home Run, 16 RBI, a batting average of .432, a batting average in scoring position of .524, and an OPS of 1.086 (as of the 24th). Furthermore, in the last six games, he has been getting better hit At Bat of 24 at bats, a batting average of .583, and T-Okada, who played with him until last season, analyzes that the reason for his good performance is his "tenacity when he is cornered."

"He's always had a bold swing, but this year, his tenacity after he's been particularly impressive when he's backed into a corner. Of course, he swings hard from the first pitch, but I think that his tenacity after he's backed into a corner definitely influences his high batting average. By being persistent, the opposing pitcher runs out of balls to throw, and he can turn even the slightest mistake into a hit. He's grown immensely in that area, and I think he feels that way too."

He also shared the most memorable story about Ota.

"His father is a batting pitcher for Orix, and ever since his first year as a pro, the father and son have been doing one-on-one training every day during the offseason."

They are not father and son hawks, but father and son "cows". T-Okada was very impressed by the sight of Ota training with his father, Akira Ota, who is a batting pitcher for Orix Buffaloes. T-Okada and other senior players who have watched Ota and his son up close sometimes thought, "Maybe it would be better for him to train independently with other players?" However, they speculate that the unwavering training with his father may have led to his "awakening" this season, and said with a happy look on their face that his junior is "a strong-willed kid" on his big success.

Interview and text by Mayuko Goto

LIVE broadcast program "Monday is also Pate-tele"
・Streaming date: Every Monday from 9pm (scheduled to be available until October during the season)
・Streaming destination: Pacific League TV official YouTube channel
・Cast: A pair of former professional baseball players will appear each week
(Ginji and Yuji Kaneko / GG Sato and guests / Ryota Igarashi and T-Okada / Motonobu Tanishige and Tomoya Satozaki)

Next week on the 28th (Monday), Motonobu Tanishige and Tomoya Satozaki are scheduled to appear. Don't miss it!