CHAPTER 355: CHAPTER 7: TARGET—ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!

When Shohei Ohtani’s name appeared on the electronic screen at the draft meeting, everyone in Japan following the meeting was shocked by the choice made by Kuriyama Hideki.

It should be noted that ever since he announced his intention to develop in the United States, Shohei Ohtani’s attitude has been quite firm. Not only did he refuse all subsequent interviews from reporters, but he also stayed true to his words and did not communicate or exchange views with any Japanese baseball team even once.

In such a strong-willed situation from the player, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters still chose to forcibly make a selection, just like last year when they chose Sugano Tomoyuki. This truly surprised many.

Of course, such a commotion only lasted for a short moment; it was expected to ferment only after the draft meeting was entirely over. At least for now, many people’s attention was still on those players with multiple nominations.

According to regulations, the negotiation rights for players who receive nominations from two or more teams will be decided by lottery: Where players Eastman Kyojin, Fujinami Jintaro, and Mori Yudai will go depends on which manager has better luck.

However, before this segment started, the journalists on-site first approached the area where the SoftBank team executives were located to interview President Wang Zhenzhi.

"President Wang, congratulations on securing the negotiation rights of Lin Guanglai. I have to say, this result truly exceeded many people’s expectations — May I ask, was this choice planned from the very beginning?"

Hearing this question from the on-site reporter, the smile on Wang Zhenzhi’s face was almost unstoppable as he replied:

"It’s been a long time since my heart raced like this. Before the Ham Team’s final selection came out, my old heart was really pounding, afraid that the player Lin would be snatched away by them. Our SoftBank team’s goal hasn’t changed from the beginning, which is to aim for Lin Guanglai. We know what Lin wants, and Lin also understands the sincerity we can offer. It’s safe to say the biggest goal of today has been successfully achieved, and I’m really happy!"

As he said this, Wang Zhenzhi paused, then addressed the camera solemnly:

"I know Lin is definitely watching the live broadcast on-site. As the president of the SoftBank team, I want to tell you that everyone in the team values you greatly. We will support your Dual Swordsmanship decision tirelessly — From now on, let’s work together for the common goal, the championship banner!"

Hearing this sentence, at the Waseda Jitsugyo branch venue, Lin Guanglai also saluted this senior of the school’s baseball club and a Nippon Professional Baseball legend from a distance.

Lin Guanglai was very satisfied with this draft result: The title of multiple nominations, before the implementation of the new rules in 2006, could still be used as a bargaining chip to improve each team’s offer and earn additional under-the-table payments; but under the current circumstances where the maximum limits for signing bonuses and salaries are set, apart from satisfying vanity, multiple nominations have no other use — After all, even if 12 teams simultaneously choose to nominate you, in the end, you still can only go to one, can’t you?

Ever since the SoftBank Group took over in 2005, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have become an unstoppable emerging force in Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is well-funded and never stingy with expenses; as long as you play well, your annual salary can quickly soar. In terms of both hardware configuration and cultural soft power, the team is considered top-notch across Japan.

Plus, with Manager Akiyama’s emphasis on him and the care of President Wang Zhenzhi, who once graduated from Waseda Industries and holds great prestige internally, Lin Guanglai’s career with SoftBank was destined to face fewer problems from the start.

As the draft result settled, with Lin Guanglai joining the SoftBank Hawks, reporters on-site could no longer contain their curiosity and urgently asked their questions, with the sounds of shutters and flashes going off in succession.

"Lin, congratulations on joining the SoftBank Hawks — What are your expectations for living in Fukuoka and playing as a professional baseball player at the Yahoo Dome?"

Lin Guanglai responded with a happy smile: "I can’t wait to start playing. The SoftBank team has many top-notch players, and after joining, I will often seek advice from esteemed players like Shetsu Shou and Nakagawa Seiichi!"

"I’m also grateful to President Wang and Manager Akiyama for their support. I will also use practical actions to carry out my proclamation of Dual Swordsmanship!"

"The goal for my rookie season is to secure my position as part of the team in the first division and fight for the Rookie of the Year title and the goal of becoming Japan’s Number One!!!"

"Whoa—!!!" Hearing Lin Guanglai’s final rookie season goal proclamation, even the well-experienced reporters in the audience couldn’t help but express their amazement: For a high school graduate, simply making it into the first division roster in their rookie season is impressive enough, but Lin Guanglai is even thinking about securing his position while striving for the Rookie of the Year award. It’s indeed very ambitious — Of course, the reporters didn’t take it seriously, thinking of it as the conceit of a young person who hasn’t yet been tested by professional baseball.

After the reporters asked all they wanted to, the baseball team members in the audience immediately rushed up, led by Ogata Kazuyoshi, who was holding a SoftBank team hat and jersey, which he directly put on Lin Guanglai.

After wearing the cap and jersey, under the requests of the reporters and filming crew, Lin Guanglai stood in front of the camera, posing in various ways as required by the shoot.

While Lin Guanglai was busy dealing with the media and celebrating his selection, on the other hand, at the main venue, the three players who received multiple nominations in the first round had also found their destinations.

In the battle for negotiation rights for Eastman Kyojin, the Yokohama BayStars were superior, which greatly motivated the team; However, from the footage, the player himself didn’t seem very excited.

Upon closer thought, although Kanagawa is a big city, the Yokohama BayStars’ long-standing bottom-ranking performance is evidently not an ideal choice for a pitcher who has tasted the victory at Koshien;

Moreover, Yokohama’s home field, the Yokohama Stadium, is not particularly friendly to pitchers: The distances of 94 meters to the foul poles and 118 meters to dead center mean that many fly balls that wouldn’t clear the fences in other ballparks would probably turn into home runs here, making it a "hitter’s paradise, pitcher’s nightmare."

Mori Yudai, who was nominated by both Hiroshima and Rakuten, after the competition, joined the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles; And the biggest winner of this draft meeting, Fujinami Jintaro, who had received nominations from four teams, was ultimately absorbed into the Hanshin Tigers — For Fujinami Jintaro, who was born and raised in Osaka, this couldn’t be a more perfect result.

Unlike the cheers from the other teams, Kuriyama Hideki’s expression remained serious even after selecting Shohei Ohtani, this top talent: because he knew, they still had a lot of work to do.