Nippon-Ham Fighters' Kotaro Kiyomiya is one hit away from his first hit, but "I won't be greedy." Manager Shinjo suggests he'll be the leadoff hitter in the season finale. | Pacific League

Nippon-Ham Kotaro Kiyomiya is one hit away from his first record for most hit, “I won’t be greedy,” suggests manager Shinjo to use him as the lead batter in the final game of the season.

Sports Hochi

2025.10.2(木) 06:35

Kotaro Kiyomiya

Nippon-Ham infielder Kotaro Kiyomiya (26) expressed his desire to win his first title on the 1st, the most hit title. With 141 hit this season, he is one hit behind the leader, Rakuten ‘s Murabayashi. “I won’t be greedy, but I want to get anything I can,” he said enthusiastically. While his rival has three games remaining and his team is at a disadvantage with only one game, Kiyomiya said, “I’m stepping up to the plate with good concentration,” and is aiming to turn the tables with a batting average of .474 in the last five games.

After the September 30th game against Softbank (Mizuho PayPay), Manager Shinjo expressed interest in the title race, saying, “Kiyomiya-kun hit and tied, right?” In reality, he was just one hit behind, and he planned to support his protégé, saying, “They’ve played more games, batting order? I’ll bat first again and see how many more hits they can get.”

On this day, he returned to Sapporo from Fukuoka by air. He will practice at ESCON on the 2nd and 3rd, and then take on the Lotte Marines (ZOZO) on the 4th, which will be the final game of the season. “How we spend this period is important,” said Kiyomiya Yuki. He is pinning his hopes on being in top condition. (Kawakami Haruki)