Nippon-Ham Fighters traded to Hanshin Tigers, Torai Fushimi thanks fans with a choked-up voice... "I want Kota Tatsu to win the Sawamura Award..." Fan Appreciation Event | Pacific League

[Nippon-Ham] Torai Fushimi, who was traded to Hanshin Tigers, choked up as he thanked the fans… He told Kota Tatsu to “win the Sawamura Award”… Fan appreciation event

Sports Hochi

2025.11.23(日) 05:45

阪神へのトレードが決まった日本ハムの伏見寅威はファンに手を振って別れを惜しんだ（カメラ・池内　雅彦）

Nippon-Ham held “F FES 2025” at ESCON on the 22nd. catcher Torai Fushimi (35), who has been traded to Hanshin Tigers, appeared at a talk show with pitcher Kota Tatsu Tatsuta (21). He was sometimes at a loss for words when greeting fans.

At the end, he was overwhelmed with emotion. The approximately 30-minute talk show took place in the third floor seats on the right side of Ace Combat Stadium. When asked to give a message to the gathered fans, Fushimi’s voice choked up.

“Thank you so much for coming in such large numbers. Thank you for your support this year. Some of you may not know this (laughs), but starting next year I will be playing for Hanshin Tigers. It’s a really good memory. Thank you so much.”

Until then, he had been talking about everything from deep baseball topics to how he spends his days off, entertaining the gathered fans with light-hearted conversation. This season, Tatsuya has been a starter every game since his debut, setting a new professional baseball record with seven consecutive wins. Fushimi, who was his battery partner in all seven wins, laughed and said, “I want my name included too.” This season, he and Ito won the Best Battery Award. “We had nothing to do with the title, so I was happy when we were selected,” he said happily.

“I want him to become a player who can compete on the world stage. He will surpass people like Darvish and Ohtani,” he said, praising the right-handed pitcher, who is 14 years younger than him. Finally, he sent a message saying, “He has grown so much, so I’m not worried. I hope you win the Sawamura Award.”

Tatsuya said, “I’m grateful to Toratake because I don’t think I would have been able to achieve the results I did without him.” There is a possibility that they will face each other in the interleague games, and he said, “When that happens, I’d like to pitch a straight ball right down the middle and get him to hit home run.” The ace candidate laughed and Fushimi responded, “Come on, give it your all,” delighting the fans.

At the opening of the event, he wrote a handwritten message on the large screen saying, “Thank you for the past three years★.” He appealed to the fans, saying, “I’m changing leagues, so I hope you’ll support me honestly.” It’s been three years since he joined Nippon-Ham as a free agent. While being grateful for the time he spent in his hometown, he departs for a new home, his third team.

(Yamaguchi Yasushi)