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On the 29th, DeNA pitcher Yasuaki Yamazaki entered contract renewal negotiations at the team’s office in Yokohama City, signing a six-year contract that is the longest in team history. The annual salary for the next season, the first year, will be 300 million yen, which is an increase of 20 million yen from this season (estimated amount). How did the team change the mind of the keeper who said before the opener that he had decided to challenge the majors after the season ended?
At the fan appreciation event held at Yokohama Stadium on the 26th of this month, Yamazaki tearfully announced in front of the fans that he would be “staying next season”, but revealed, “To be honest, I was n worry until the day before.” Until the very last minute, he repeatedly asked himself, “Is this really the right challenge for my dream?”
“My dream has changed (from taking the major league championships) to winning the Japanese professional baseball championship,” he said. This seems to be the biggest reason to keep.
DeNA got off to a slow start this season after suffering three straight losses in the season opener, and as of July 3, was 17.5 games behind leader Yakult, the most of the season. However, in August, they posted a league-high monthly winning rate of .750 (18 wins and 6 losses). For four days from August 21st, the difference was approaching four games. In the end, I was pushed away and finished in 2nd place, 8 games behind, but it was a season that I realized I could aim for the championship depending on the development.
“This season was really fun for a year. That’s one of the reasons why I stayed. Every day was exciting,” Yamazaki remembers. This result is also the result of constantly reinforcing the strength of the team, improving the manager and coaches, and the effort to motivate spectators to support the players.
