In professional baseball, both the Central and Pacific Leagues will open at the same time on the 29th, and the pennant race will begin.
The expressions of the six Central League teams the day before the opening day.
Hanshin manager Okada, who is aiming to become the first team in history to win back-to-back championships, expressed his enthusiasm, saying, ``We want to win the championship in the end, aiming for one goal: back-to-back wins.''
Hanshin
Last season, Hanshin won the league championship for the first time in 18 years and was crowned No. 1 in Japan for the first time in 38 years, and this season they aim to become the first team in history to win consecutive championships.
Hanshin will face the Giants, led by new manager Abe, in the opening game at Tokyo Dome.
Both managers held a press conference before the game, and Manager Okada expressed his feelings, saying, ``This is a match against the traditional giant Hanshin, so I want to play a good game and liven up the baseball world this past year.''
Regarding the Giants, Abe said, ``I think this year they will be our biggest rival.The thing I was most careful about was the new foreigners...'', referring to O'Door's departure announced on the 26th, Abe said. It made the director laugh.
Looking ahead to the season, he was enthusiastic and said, ``I want to aim for one goal, which is to win consecutive championships, and ultimately win the championship.''
The team was practicing on the field, and the fielders, including mainstay Yusuke Oyama and 20-year-old Ukyo Maekawa, who is expected to start in the opening game for the first time, were hitting sharp balls.
On the pitching staff, pitcher Akihiro Aoyagi, who will be the opening pitcher for the second consecutive year, actually threw a ball from the mound to get a feel for it.
Pitcher Aoyagi was enthusiastic, saying, ``I think anything is fine as long as the team can win, so I hope I can pitch in a way that helps the team win.''
Manager Okada has positioned this year as a ``critical moment for the Tigers to become a strong team,'' and it will be interesting to see if they can get a win in this ``traditional game'' and get off to a good start toward their first great accomplishment in team history.
Hiroshima
Hiroshima players practiced at Yokohama Stadium, where the opening game will be held, from around 4:30 p.m.
Pitcher Aren Kuri, who was appointed as the opening pitcher for the first time, looked relaxed as he prepared for his pitching by throwing powerful balls while playing catch and also throwing in curveballs.
Pitcher Guri said, ``I don't know what kind of emotions I'll have on opening day, but I want to turn that into a positive thing and get on the mound.I want to pitch to help the team win.''
The opening game will be the same as last season's Climax Series First Stage, and Coach Arai, who is in his second year in charge, said at a press conference, ``During the CS, we received strength from the cheers of the fans at our home games, but tomorrow we will be playing an away game. I think there will be cheers and cheers. I want the players to enjoy it while playing."
Regarding this season's team, ``I think there will be more games with young players than last year, but I'm seeing the young players working hard, and the mid-level and veteran players saying, ``We won't lose to the young players,'' and the competition within the team. "I want him to do that," he said, naming Ryuhei Matsuyama, who is in his 17th year as a professional and is expected to play an active role as a pinch hitter, as a key player.
DeNA
Last season's 3rd place DeNA will play 2nd place Hiroshima at their home stadium, Yokohama Stadium.
The previous day's practice began at noon on the 28th, and pitcher Katsuki Higashi, who will be the opening pitcher for the second time in two years, made light adjustments such as running and playing catch.
Although he was drafted number one as a rookie, he had the highest batting average for 12 teams in exhibition games, and is scheduled to play as the first right fielder in the opening game.He was making sharp hits during batting practice.
Watarai said, ``I'm happy to be able to play on the stage that I had set my sights on.As I'm the No. 1 batter, I think I can bring momentum to the team if I hit, so I want to make adjustments from the first strike.'' I was enthusiastic.
Manager Miura said, ``I hope that starting pitcher Higashi will pitch not only for the opening season, but also as a pillar of the rotation for the entire year.Since last year's disappointing loss to Hiroshima in the Climax Series, everyone has improved this season. I've been practicing with a strong desire to compete, so I want to continue to improve on what I've done so far during the season."
Giant
Under new manager Abe, the Giants, who aim to win the league for the first time in four years and become number one in Japan for the first time in 12 years, practiced for approximately two hours starting at 1:00 pm at their home base, Tokyo Dome, where the opening game against Hanshin will be held. I did.
During batting practice, Kazuma Okamoto, who serves as captain and No. 4 player, and Shunsuke Sasaki, a rookie who played in the opening team, hit balls sharply with powerful swings.
Pitcher Togo Togo, who will be pitching the opening season for the first time, worked up a sweat through a running menu and made long throws, then threw strong fastballs and breaking balls to prepare himself for pitching.
Pitcher Togo said enthusiastically, ``I think I'll be more nervous tomorrow, but since it's my first experience, I want to enjoy it.I want to get a good result against Hanshin in the first game and bring good vibes to the team.'' I was there.
Coach Abe said, ``I think this will be an important game that will predict this season, and both the players and I are excited, so I want to give it my all.I want to keep fighting all year long with the goal of winning and becoming number one in Japan.'' ”, he said about his aspirations.
Yakult
Yakult, who aimed for their third consecutive league title last year but finished in 5th place, practiced at Jingu Stadium before facing Chunichi, who finished last for the second consecutive year, in the opening game.
Munetaka Murakami, who hit 56 home runs the year before and became the youngest player in history to win the Triple Crown, but suffered from a slump last season, took batting practice while checking his swing. I was hitting a lot of hits that went over the fence.
After practice, Manager Takatsu held a press conference with Manager Tatsunami of Chunichi and announced that pitcher Saisneed, who is in his fourth year in Japan, will be the opening pitcher.
Manager Takatsu said, ``He is a reliable starting pitcher with a proven track record on our current team.The games he pitches often energize the entire team and get them excited, so I wanted to entrust him with the first game.'' I talked about why I chose him as the starting pitcher for the first time.
``I don't think you can win if you do the same thing every year, so I want to play a different type of baseball than before.Last year was very frustrating, so I will try again with the spirit of ``getting back'', which is also the team slogan. I want to be No. 1,'' he said, expressing his enthusiasm for winning the league for the first time in two years.
Chunichi
Chunichi coach Tatsunami, who is in his third year in charge and is aiming to make a comeback from last place for two consecutive years, held a press conference with Yakult coach Takatsu at Jingu Stadium before the team's general practice ahead of the opening game.
Coach Tatsunami expressed his enthusiasm, saying, ``The team has been in a slump for the past few years, but since last fall we've come this far in an effort to bounce back.We want to work hard as a team to win the championship.''
Regarding the appointment of pitcher Yuya Yanagi, who has been serving as the Players' Chairman for eight years, as the opening pitcher, he said, ``He came from the off-season with the aim of becoming the opening pitcher, and his pitching was good, so I entrusted him to pitcher Yuya Yanagi, who is also the Players' Chairman. I hope he can lead the team.'' He expressed his expectations.
Regarding playing the opening three games against Yakult, he said, ``They have a lot of home run hitters, including Murakami, and this is the team that makes me feel the most nervous watching from the bench.I want the pitchers to attack that lineup and not run away from it.'' We were talking.