Overview
- Wheelchair tennis champion Tokito Oda threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Chunichi Dragons’ home opener in Nagoya, clocking 92 km/h and using the stage to promote his sport.
- Oda, who completed a career Golden Slam last year, said he is aiming for gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asia Para Games and wants more people to discover wheelchair tennis.
- Vantelin Dome Nagoya unveiled its terrace-style Home Run Wing after major renovations that moved the alleys up to 6 meters closer and lowered fence height from 4.8 to 3.6 meters.
- At Rakuten Mobile Park, a new home run zone pulled the gaps forward, and home runs by SoftBank’s Yuki Yanagita and Kensuke Kondoh landed there, prompting Rakuten catcher Hikaru Ota to say the team must rethink its approach.
- The upgrades, which also add new arena seats near the foul lines, aim to bring fans closer and raise scoring, aligning with the Dragons’ 90th anniversary push to make games more exciting.