Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 473 - 87: Sky-High Contract (Part 2)

Hearing such a question, Itabashi Kenji was first taken aback, then he burst into a hearty laugh. He waved in the direction where Lin Guanglai was seated and replied:

"Hahaha, Lin, you can rest assured about this—our Mizuno, being a leading company in Japan’s sports industry, can still afford this amount of money. Even if in the future, due to various reasons, you can’t perform as expected, we would never have any disputes with you over this contract..."

"However," Itabashi Kenji’s tone remained harmonious, even turning to tease Lin Guanglai, "a rookie season pitcher achieving the rare quadruple crown, a batter with a nearly .300 average hitting 20 homers, saying you might not perform in the future, Lin, you yourself wouldn’t believe that, right?"

"I think I’ve mentioned before, our Mizuno’s principle is win-win cooperation with our clients—we are willing to offer substantial signing bonuses to strong players like you because we firmly believe you will bring greater benefits to Mizuno in the future."

"Just like with Ichiro?" Lin Guanglai asked.

"Yes!" Itabashi Kenji replied decisively, "Just like with Ichiro—we signed a contract with him long ago during the Orix BlueWave period. Mizuno witnessed the entire journey of Ichiro from ’Japan’s Ichiro’ to ’World’s Hit King’; and to this day, his exclusive sub-brand A51 series remains one of the most popular choices in Mizuno’s baseball product line."

"Lin, we choose to sign with you precisely because we value your strength, your talent, your character—we believe that after Ichiro’s era, the next age of baseball in Japan and even Asia will be the ’Era of Lin,’ which is why we are willing to spend such a significant cost to sign with you."

"Just like our brand slogan, such contracts are only for the best players because we ’Never Stop!’"

"Is such a reason sufficient, Lin?"

Itabashi Kenji smiled at Lin Guanglai.

Lin Guanglai returned with a big smile in the direction of Itabashi Kenji and said the words Itabashi Kenji had been longing to hear for days: "Of course, Mr. Itabashi. I think Mizuno can send legal department personnel to handle the specific terms of the contract with Mr. Tuan."

After saying this, Lin Guanglai stood up from his seat and extended his hand in Itabashi Kenji’s direction: "For the next three years, Mr. Itabashi, I hope we have a pleasant cooperation."

If it weren’t for the seriousness of the occasion, Itabashi Kenji might have jumped up; forcibly suppressing the joy bubbling inside, he gripped Lin Guanglai’s extended hand with his own right hand.

"Of course, enjoy our cooperation, Lin."

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"Alright, is everyone here? Then we can sit down and discuss the specifics of this off-season operations."

In the meeting room of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks team headquarters, Goto Youkou, the new president of the Softbank Team, general manager (GM) Mikasa Sugihiko, Manager Akiyama Koji of the first team, and key figures from the personnel department, contract department, and scouting department all gathered here.

With the season’s end, players could choose to rest or reunite with family, but for the club management, their work had just begun.

"First, before the meeting starts, let me pass on Mr. Sun Zhengyi’s words to you all..." Goto Youkou sat in the central seat, picked up the materials placed beside him, and slowly began to speak, "Although the team did not win any honors last 2013 season, considering the objective challenges, Mr. Sun is fairly satisfied with the performance this season. - Manager Akiyama and the first-team coaches and players, you have worked hard."

Akiyama Koji, sitting upright, quickly nodded toward Goto Youkou, showing his respect for the top boss.

"Regarding the goals and corresponding budget for the 2014 season..." Goto Youkou continued, "In the 2014 season, Mr. Sun hopes our SoftBank Hawks can still compete for the championship honors - whether it’s the Pacific League’s winning or Japan’s Number One, we must try to win them all!"

"Of course, this goal certainly requires collective effort from the coaches and players to achieve; therefore, Mr. Sun’s salary budget for the 2014 season is..."

As Goto Youkou said this, Akiyama Koji’s ears perked up immediately.

Where did the SoftBank Team fall short this season? Anyone with a discerning eye can see there were two main issues:

One was the significant deficiency in the pitching lineup—besides Lin Guanglai and Shetsu Shou, they couldn’t find a third capable mid-generation player for key moments of high-stakes matches; the bullpen pitchers were mostly young players whose performance fluctuated greatly, lacking stability.

The other was the complete misfire of the foreign sluggers in the lineup; Lahai’er and Pena, signed last summer for over 300 million, failed to meet expectations—Lahai’er, with 16 homers, could be used begrudgingly, but Pena, with a .233 batting average and just 1 homer in a season, was purely a scammer, being deregisgtered from the first team mid-season.

And filling these two positions from the free market is destined to require a significant expenditure of money.