Kōta Tatsu (達孝太), a 22-year-old pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, is aiming to make a major leap next season. He has boldly dyed his hair a platinum shade close to white and begun rebuilding his pitching motion from scratch. After completing fall training camp, he regards the changes as the starting point for a new self this autumn.
Kōta Tatsu (達孝太) changed his hair color from blonde to a platinum shade close to white. The bleaching process took about 5 hours, followed by 2 applications of color. The change has been well received by those around him, but he is reportedly planning to return to black hair.
In terms of pitching, he chose to rebuild from zero after the end of this season. He had temporarily stopped practicing and, after pitching continuously for 1 year, became aware of habits that had emerged. Rather than completely returning to his previous form, he is considering what to add and subtract from a blank slate.
He also has his own approach to preparation. Before fall training camp, he prioritized recovery from fatigue by refraining from physical activity for about 1 week. This demonstrated his approach of getting his body into condition before beginning a new undertaking and avoiding difficult tasks.
Following camp, he indicated that he intends to bring a new self into his pitching, as he has with his hair color, and use it to drive his development in his sixth year.