Hanshin pitcher Akihiro Aoyagi expressed his determination, ``This is a competitive year, aiming for a career high.'' He is spending this camp hoping to make a comeback as an ace.
Pitcher Aoyagi achieved the most wins with 13 wins for the second year in a row.
Last season, he served as the starting pitcher for the first time, and was expected to play an active role as an ace, but due to poor performance, he was dropped to the second team, and only won eight games. Did.
This season, I am prepared to be in the position of ``competing for a spot in the opening rotation.''
Analyzing that the cause of last season's slump was that his body wasn't moving as well as he wanted, he worked with young players at camp, arriving at the stadium around 8:30 a.m. and doing thorough stretches and warm-ups. I spend time ``preparing to throw.''
Additionally, he has been in the bullpen for six of the past seven days.
On the 7th, he threw 95 pitches to put stress on his body, and on the 8th, he threw 51 pitches while checking his form, with the theme of ``What kind of ball can I throw when I'm tired?''
Pitcher Aoyagi describes this season as "the year of my baseball career."
The return of his ace will bring them closer to becoming the first team in history to win back-to-back championships.
Pitcher Aoyagi said, ``I've been pitching in good form, and I'm heading into camp in good shape.This is a competitive year.I get angry when people say, ``The year before yesterday was the best,'' so I I want to work hard and aim for my career high.''