On October 3, the retirement ceremony for pitcher Yuki Karakawa was held at Zozo Marine Stadium. In the ceremonial first pitch before the game, pitcher Karakawa's eldest son served as the pitcher and his second son as the catcher, and the retirement game began with the children's shout of "Daddy, do your best! Play ball!" Pitcher Karakawa competed against the lead-off batter, Tomoya Masaki, using only cutters for every pitch. After finishing him off by having him struck out, he entrusted the rest to his classmate, pitcher Naoya Masuda, and completed his final appearance of his active career.

At the retirement ceremony after the game, video messages were broadcast from Fukuoka Softbank's Akira Nakamura, Orix Buffaloes' pitcher Sho Iwasaki, The Giants' Yoshihiro Maru, Tokyo Yakult's second-team pitching coach Yoshinori, Sho Nakata, and Chunichi's pitcher Hideaki Wakui, after which pitcher Karakawa gave a speech. The full text of the speech follows below.

"On October 3, 2007, Manager Valentine led me to the Chiba Lotte Marines at the draft meeting. 19 years since then. I feel truly happy to be able to greet everyone like this today.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the team officials who organized such a wonderful ceremony, the manager, coaches, staff, players, and the many fans. Thank you very much.

I still clearly remember the day of my first appearance, the day I first started at Zozo Marine Stadium, the cheers of everyone when I stepped onto the mound at Zozo Marine Stadium, and the pounding of my own heart. As I gained experience, I also learned the fears of this world. There were many days when I was worried. There were also repeated injuries. Even so, I was supported by many people, walked step by step through the mud, and was able to come this far.

The connections with everyone who met and supported me through baseball from my student days until today have made me who I am now. My parents gave me the irreplaceable asset of baseball when I was young. Since then, they have always supported me as my greatest allies at all times. Thank you so much.

I think I also caused a lot of worry and hardship for my family. From now on, a new adventure begins for our home. Mizuki, Ayuki, Haruki, Azuki, Tsuki. I am sincerely happy to be able to walk through the days ahead together with all of you.

To all my teammates who fought alongside me, especially (Naoya) Masuda, I wanted to play together more. The time spent with everyone is a treasure. I will continue to support all of you.

And to all the fans, thank you for supporting me for a long time. On days when I was hit in a game, I felt frustrated, yet I cannot express how much of an encouragement it was to know there were still people supporting me. I was happy that you wore the number 19 jersey, and I have swung my arm until today with the desire to make those people happy.

I think there were many times when I could not achieve the results I wanted and caused you to feel painful or frustrated. From now on, I cannot respond to your support through my play. Nevertheless, I will walk firmly through my future life as a single human being and devote myself so that you can always be proud of me.

Lastly, I would like to conclude my retirement speech with gratitude to everyone here today and with wishes for the further leap forward of my beloved Chiba Lotte Marines. It was a happy 19 years. Thank you very much."

Afterward, Yoshihisa Naruse, bullpen catcher Hirokazu Misono, pitcher Naoya Masuda, and his family presented bouquets, and pitcher Karakawa did a lap around the stadium. Finally, he was tossed into the air five times near the mound and left the ground.