(栗原40号) The story behind this trend in Social Media today
01-10-2026
The phrase “栗原40号” refers to Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks infielder Ryoya Kurihara reaching 40 home runs for the 2026 season.On October 1, in the Hawks’ game against the Rakuten Eagles at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi, Kurihara hit a solo home run in the first inning. It came right after teammate Kensuke Kondo’s 31st home run of the year (a two-run shot). Facing Eagles starter Ryota Takinaka, Kurihara drove a slider on a 2–1 count to the right-field pole for the milestone blast. It was his first home run in four games after he had reached 39 with back-to-back homers against Seibu on September 22 and 23.The mark is the first 40-homer season for the Hawks franchise in 21 years. The last players to do it were Nobuhiko Matsunaka (46) and Julio Zuleta (43) in 2005. Club history counts Kurihara as the sixth different player, and the 14th overall instance, of a 40-homer season. After the league title had already been clinched, Kurihara had said he was consciously chasing the number. After the homer he said he had made his own swing cleanly and was glad to hit a target he had set for himself. The blast also strengthened his lead in the race for the Pacific League home-run and RBI titles.