Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 477 - 89: Mr. 100 Million Yen

When Lin Guanglai walked out of the main building accompanied by Nomura Katsuhiko and staff from the SoftBank Team, the reporters who had long been gathered outside surged like a tide.

The whole scene was like a replay of less than an hour ago: the number of microphones and recording pens was so many that it was like stepping into a jungle, and the glaring flashlights made it almost hard for him to open his eyes.

In the eyes of the reporters, Lin Guanglai wore a relaxed smile, chatting and laughing with his agent and team staff—outwardly, it seemed the two sides must have already reached an agreement on the salary issue.

"Lin, Agent—what’s the result of your negotiations with the SoftBank Team?" A reporter who managed to get in front of Lin Guanglai before anyone else asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.

Looking at the predatory reporters in front of him, the constantly flashing camera lenses, a small thrill rose in Lin Guanglai’s heart: so he stood there with a smile, watching the people in front of him, but his mouth didn’t move at all from beginning to end.

What he was thinking about, however, was the scene in the conference room not long ago... 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The contract minister gently pushed a draft titled "Proposed Salary" in front of Lin Guanglai, thoughtfully marking the number of Lin Guanglai’s annual salary in bold.

Almost the instant he saw the "100 million yen" figure, Lin Guanglai exchanged a glance with Nomura Katsuhiko beside him—the amount obviously reached the ideal figure they had discussed beforehand.

The fact that the SoftBank Team could offer such a price to Lin Guanglai was enough to prove how highly they regarded the player and his future, after all, offering a billion yen contract to a second-year professional baseball player in tradition-heavy Japan takes considerable courage.

But on the other hand, since the SoftBank Team could initially offer a contract worth 100 million yen, it proves that their valuation ceiling for Lin Guanglai is definitely more than that.

As an agent, Nomura Katsuhiko did not intend to let Lin Guanglai readily accept this contract renewal—unless one side declares the negotiation broken, he has to fight for more for his client!

"Thank the team for its recognition, the price is really quite fair—but..."

Nomura Katsuhiko pushed the first draft back to the center of the table, then spoke in a calm yet assertive tone:

"I think this figure might not fully reflect the true value Lin brings to the team."

After saying this, Nomura Katsuhiko took out the negotiation materials from his briefcase that he had prepared long ago; after being fully prepared, he launched his first offensive:

"The most important factor in determining the salary level is certainly the player’s performance on the field and the contributions made to the team, which I think we both understand."

"And Lin’s performance last season was obvious to the eyes: as a pitcher, whether in wins, strikeouts, these traditional basics, or advanced data such as WAR, WHIP, and FIP, he was among the top three in the league, sometimes even leading; as a hitter, almost all his stats were in the league’s top twenty."

"Not to mention, he was recognized by many fans and professionals as ’Mr. Clutch,’ having saved the team multiple times this season during crucial moments or kept the team’s advantage—a point surely no one has forgotten from the series against Rakuten not long ago."

"As a unique Dual Swordsmanship player, Lin’s salary should also reflect the excellent contributions he makes to the team on both offense and defense, and these values are clearly not something 100 million yen could buy."

Faced with Nomura Katsuhiko’s series of offenses, the two ministers from the team were clearly struggling to cope and could only stammer, "That’s true, but agent, considering the team’s budget situation, this price is indeed very high..."

Just as the words of the contract minister fell, Nomura Katsuhiko took out a brand-new report and handed it to the opposite party—this recorded the statistics of Lin Guanglai-related merchandise sales for the 2013 season from a third-party institution.

"Apart from contributions on the field, Lin’s help to the team in the commercial area is also considerable—this season, his jersey sales are the highest in the team, and other merchandise including towels and support T-shirts are often sold out long-term, most of which are from female audiences who weren’t very interested in baseball before, effectively opening up a new commercial space for the team."

"Of the top ten highest-rated Pacific League games this season, four were closely related to Lin. The post-game news for these matches remained hot for a long time, attracting significant exposure and discussion for the team."

"All these statistics show that Lin is not only an excellent baseball player; he also carries immense commercial value ready to be tapped."

"Moreover..." Nomura Katsuhiko paused slightly and then, in a lower tone, revealed a piece of news to the two in front of him, "Before the renewal negotiation, we have already reached a comprehensive sponsorship deal with Mizuno; I can’t disclose the exact amount, but it definitely won’t be less than this number right now."

What followed was another round of tug-of-war: the two ministers sent by the team kept emphasizing the team’s budget and balance of positions; nevertheless, as Lin’s agent, Nomura Katsuhiko appeared to have a firm hold on the situation, showing no signs of conceding in critical areas.