By Kazuki Nakata

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' 2nd year started in 2005. They participated in the playoffs at the end of last year where they were beaten by the Seibu Lions. Consequently, they ended the year in 3rd place. However, the Fighters got precious experience. The Fighters used the Tokyo Dome in collaboration with the Yomiuri Giants until in 2003. The fans of the Giants were always larger in number than fans of the Fighters.

The Fighters were relatively unpopular among the 12 professional baseball teams and the home stadium was moved to the Sapporo Dome last year. With the acquisition of Shinjo they suddenly became one of the popular pennant chasers.

Most Hokkaido residents were fans of the Giants before the Fighters came to Hokkaido, but they changed into fans of the Fighters. A survey showed the number of Fighters' fans exceeded Giants' fans overwhelmingly after the Fighters move to Sapporo. About 12 million spectators went to Sapporo Dome last year and they brought in revenues of about 15.8 billion yen to Hokkaido last year. Suddenly the Fighters became an indispensable part of the life of Hokkaido.

The Fighters have many unique players such as Shinjo, who is good at running, defense and batting. Ogasawara, who is called "Guts," is in the running for best hitter every year, but he is in a slump this year. Let's look at the background information of nine other leading players.

(1) Second baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto, Uniform number 10:

He is expected to be the next generation's team leader. He is not good at fielding, but is very good at batting. Last year he became the king of strike outs in the Fighters. He still has challenges ahead of him.

(2) Catcher Shinji Takahashi, Uniform number 30:

He was injured in an accident this year, so he probably won't have a chance to play games for a while. However, he broke the Fighter's record of single-season home runs by a catcher, hitting 26 last year. He is expected to be a good hitter and catcher.

(3) First baseman Fernando Seguignol, Uniform number 5:

He fought for the single-season home run record in the Pacific League along with Nobuhiko Matsunaka of the Soft Bank Hawks. He finally tied Matsunaka in home runs for the title last year. In Japan, there is a south Korean boom, and the Fighters' fans nicknamed him "Segi Sama" because of this boom. （One of the most popular Korean actors, Bae Yong jun, is called "Yong Sama" in Japan.）

(4) Short stop Makoto Kaneko, Uniform number 8:

Although his batting was a little weak, he has established a good reputation for his defense and he was chosen as the all Japan representive of the Olympic Games with Ogasawara last year.

(5) First baseman Tomoyuki Oda, Uniform number 51:

He is the player to observe most. He was called "Ichiro in Hamamatsu" when he was a high school student in Shizuoka because of the pendulum batting style like Ichiro, and he has a wonderful batting sense. Even now, his batting sense has not declined and he had an average of over 30 percent last year. Nevertheless, the number of his turns to at bat were below average. He can expect to be active in the future.

(6) Outfielder Tomochika Tsuboi, Uniform number 7:

He was traded from the Hanshin Tigers in 2002 and has an excellent batting sense, so he is called the "hit manufacture machine." He was in the running for lead hitter with Ogasawara in 2003. He will advance to a higher level as a baseball player.

(7) Outfielder Atsunori Inaba, Uniform Number 58:

He played an active part with the Yakult Swallows last year. He wanted to go to the major leagues, but no offer came. However, he was traded to the Fighters. His best characteristic is always making good plays. He sprints to position, and slides head-first even when he hits a grounder. People like to watch him even if they aren't Fighters fans.

(8) Outfielder Hichori Morimoto, Uniform Number 46:

These days he is becoming famous as the good pupil who adores Shinjo. He always cheers up the Fighters with his striking skinhead and cheerful character. He has a good swing and batting power, and he is fleet-footed. Considering these abilities, he will lead the next-new generation of the Fighters.

(9) Pitcher Darvish Yu, Uniform Number 11:

He attained a no-hitter pitching in his high school days when pitching at Koshien. He is a preeminent talent. He cheerfully became a good member of the Fighters. He is a rookie who graduated from high school in march, and attained a win in his first professional appearance of the season on June 15. It was a splendid achievement and the first time for a rookie after Daisuke Matsuzaka did the same in 1999. It was expected that the Fighters' pitching strength would be insufficient this year, so he became the anchor of the pitching squad.

From this year there have been inter-league games between teams in the Pacific and Central leagues from May 6 to June 18. The Fighters ended up in 10th place in these games. However, their batting power covers their week point, which is pitching. They will surely be able to advanced to the play-offs. More than that, the Fighters will do their best this year to get victories with this powerful batting lineup. Please go to the stadium and feel the pleasure of watching Fighters' baseball games and cheer them on to victory.