Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 476 - 88: Salary Negotiation

Of course, the SoftBank Team is willing to break the norms for Lin Guanglai, but they also have to set a corresponding cap—a figure that reflects Lin Guanglai’s value, that the other party would willingly accept, yet won’t disrupt the team’s salary balance or the locker room stability.

These past few days, the entire staff of the front office have been unable to eat or sleep, discussing suitable offers day and night.

Now, that figure has been confirmed, and the draft contract has already reached the hands of the head of the department. They believe this will be a convincing number;

but before the player himself nods in agreement, nothing is settled, and inevitably, those in charge can’t help but feel a bit anxious.

If they can’t resolve the contract renewal issue with Lin before the new season’s spring training, and it affects both his and the team’s performance in the new season, their fate...

The head of the department didn’t dare to think further.

With 30 minutes left until the scheduled negotiation time between the club and the player, all employees of the front office were fully prepared, awaiting Lin Guanglai’s arrival as if the impending meeting wasn’t a business negotiation but a life-or-death battle.

PM, outside the main building of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Nomura Katsuhiko turned off the car engine, parked, and then glanced at Lin Guanglai sitting in the passenger seat beside him, nodding with satisfaction.

With the support of a professional team, Lin Guanglai was dressed in a neatly pressed dark suit today, and he had even slicked his hair back in a mature style, ready to embrace another critical moment in his professional playing career.

No matter how much one shouts phrases like "dreams," professional baseball is essentially no different from other jobs; it’s ultimately a means of livelihood, after all, it’s about money.

Although Nomura Katsuhiko, as the agent, will be fully involved in the upcoming negotiation, some things still need to be clearly stated to get the ideal figure—that’s why he was giving Lin Guanglai some final reminders before getting out of the car.

As a player, Lin doesn’t care about the amount of money and focuses all his energy on baseball, which is great; but as his agent, Nomura Katsuhiko still needs to fight for enough benefits for his client.

"Guanglai, once we go inside, leave everything to me—you only need to respond briefly when asked about your feelings on minor matters."

"I know you don’t care much about money, but the amount often directly expresses how much the club values you—remember the price we set, 100 million yen. You absolutely deserve this price, and a 6-7 fold increase won’t disrupt their wage balance."

"Even if they say they can’t offer that price, the most, the highest decrease we can accept is 5 million, 95 million is our bottom line! If it still falls below that number by the negotiation’s end, just walk away, and we’ll talk again in a few days—anyway, with your strength, the negotiation initiative is always in our hands."

Saying this, a hint of regret appeared on Nomura Katsuhiko’s face: "Honestly, it’s just that you’re too young, and your honors still need to accumulate, coupled with Tanaka’s outstanding performance this year—otherwise, just with the title of four-time pitching champion, I’d be very confident in negotiating a contract over 200 million for you..."

To this, Lin responded with a calm smile, saying to him: "Don’t worry, Nomura-san, I think the club will probably make a relatively reasonable offer—at least 100 million yen, I think I’m worth that."

After the two got out of the car, they walked from the parking lot towards the main building entrance. No sooner had Lin arrived in front of the main door when a large group of sports reporters who had been waiting at the entrance surrounded him, microphones and recording pens immediately extended in front of him.

In order to get the latest news on player contract renewals or rejections immediately, many media and newspapers have dispatched professional teams to station long-term at each club’s headquarters, aiming to get the latest first-hand news ahead of other competitors.

And as the most watched figure from the past season, Lin’s renewal situation has also drawn a lot of attention.

According to professional baseball commentators’ analysis, Lin’s first renewal contract is conservatively estimated to reach over 80 million, with a high possibility of getting a 100 million yen contract—should this prediction become reality, Lin would become the first player straight out of high school to receive a 100 million contract in his second career year in history.

"Good afternoon, Lin and Nomura! Are you here today for the contract talks?"

"What are your expectations for this year’s figure?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"With such outstanding performance last year, are you aiming for a significant salary increase? What’s the ideal number you’re looking at?"

In the face of the relentless reporters with endless questions, Lin slightly bowed, wearing a formulaic smile, and gave flawless answers to the questions:

"Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for your concern—today is just a preliminary communication with the club, and the specifics will only be clear after the talks. But no matter the outcome, I will give my all for the fans and the team, striving to perform better in the new season."

Repeating similar courtesies, Lin, with the assistance of the club’s staff, slowly passed through the throng of reporters and entered the building.

Behind him, the flashlights continued to flicker non-stop.

The front office meeting room wasn’t very large, with a long table in the middle. On one side of the table sat Lin and his agent Nomura Katsuhiko, and on the other side were the head of the front office and the contract department head.

Before the formal negotiations began, both sides exchanged brief pleasantries as customary.

The head of the front office picked up a stack of data placed beside him and slowly began, "Lin, you truly are a once-in-a-lifetime super talent. Thanks to you, our SoftBank was able to make it to the climax series last season and played that well against Rakuten—whether it was the three consecutive homers or the Maddux game, I watched them on TV, it was truly magnificent!"

"Based on your performance this season, I believe the upcoming annual awards meeting should also yield a bounty of honors!"

"Oh, it’s what I should do; rather, it’s because President Wang and Manager Akiyama gave me such an opportunity that I had last season’s performance, right?" In response to the compliments from his own staff, Lin nodded and smiled to thank the other party.

After the simple pleasantries, the contract negotiations officially began.

As the person responsible for drafting the contract, the contract department head habitually listed Lin’s data from last season:

As a pitcher, he had 16 wins, an 80% win rate, 220 strikeouts, and a 2.01 ERA; as a batter, he had a .298 batting average, 142 hits, and 20 home runs—from the stats, Lin is already among the best in Nippon Professional Baseball in every aspect.

"Judging by these stats, even giving you a contract over 200 million wouldn’t be too much..."

But halfway through this sentence, the head of the front office raised his head to observe Lin’s expression slightly, and seeing no changes, he continued,

"However, Lin, we also hope you understand that since this is just your first season, considering the internal salary structure, the club may find it difficult to offer a contract completely matching these stats..."

As soon as he finished this sentence, he quickly added, "But rest assured, Lin, the contract we are offering is definitely among the highest in the club—besides you, those who get this number are all over 30 and veteran players!"

While saying this, the head of the front office subtly signaled to his partner beside him.

"Based on your performance and the club’s current salary structure, the price we can offer is approximately this number..."

The contract department head gently pushed a contract draft in front of Lin and Nomura Katsuhiko.