[Nippon-Ham] Shun Mizutani goal for the league restart on the 27th is "I want to achieve my career high and win the championship" | Pacific League

練習で笑顔を見せる水谷（カメラ・川上　晴輝）

Nippon-Ham On the 25th, Shun Mizutani outfielder (24) of the “KOBAYASHI” team looked back on the Exchange Games, in which they narrowly missed out on winning the championship, and set his sights on winning the championship and setting a career high for the league tournament, which starts on the 27th. Last season’s MVP was promoted to the team for the first time on March 3 and led the team with a .300 batting average, the third highest on the team, in 16 games, 3 Home Run and 5 RBI. He himself is a big fan of sumo, and after the May tournament, he revealed that he was inspired by the success of his classmate Ohnosato, who was promoted to yokozuna in the fastest time in history, and vowed to make further progress.

＊＊＊＊

Although we fell just short of winning the interleague games, the team atmosphere is bright. Personally, there are days when I can’t play in games, and it’s frustrating, but I think the current The Fighters are a strong team that can win no matter who plays.

My batting sense is not bad. Every day, I write down my thoughts in a notebook, reviewing my at-bats that day, the characteristics of pitcher, and other data, and organize my thoughts. I feel like each day is a good step forward.

Before the exchange matches, I was inspired by the sumo world. I support Oonosato, who was promoted to Yokozuna in the fastest time in history in the May tournament, as we are in the same year. I started to like sumo after reading the sumo manga “Bachi Bachi” which happened to come up on an ad on my smartphone about three years ago. While TV often focuses on the top division, I was drawn to the drama unique to the sumo world, where wrestlers start as newcomers and are promoted with the support of various people such as backstage staff, hairdressers, and supporters. Now, I want to pay attention not only to the top division but also to the makushita division wrestlers who are not yet famous.

This is my second year with The Fighters. Manager Shinjo sends me messages such as “Good luck defense” through social media. I think it’s rare to receive a direct message from the manager, but I don’t feel any discomfort and he treats me with a good sense of distance. I think the reason we have a good atmosphere as a team is because the seniors, such as Toratake (Fushimi) and Taku (Nakajima), don’t give off the vibe of being a senior.

The season is still to come. I had a tough start with an injury at the opening, but I was able to improve my condition from the interleague games last year and fight all year. I want to be confident that I was able to achieve results last year, but I want to keep my original intentions in mind. I want to work hard every day so that I can achieve my career high and win the championship, and be able to say with pride that it was a good year when the season ends.

(Shun Mizutani)

◆ Mizutani Shun Born March 9, 2001 in Aichi Prefecture. 24 years old. Hit a total of 21 Home Run in high school at Shimane Iwami Chisuikan but never played Koshien. Joined Softbank as the 5th pick in the 2018 draft. Did not play in the first team in 5 years. Transferred to Nippon-Ham in the 2023 active player draft. Last season, in the interleague games, he had a batting average of .438, the highest ever, and won hitter title and MVP award, and in 97 games he had a batting average of .287 and 9 Home Run, and was selected for the Samurai Japan team for the first time in March 2013. 193 cm, 100 kg. Right-handed batter and thrower. Annual salary 27 million yen (estimated).