Betraying my old team who sent me ML for only 9 million won...I came back to a different team after a year. Why?

Betraying my old team who sent me ML for only 9 million won...I came back to a different team after a year. Why?

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He turned a blind eye to his former team that allowed him to post in the Major League. Naoyuki Uwasawa, a 31-year-old Japanese pitcher with short experience in U.S. baseball, has returned to the Softbank Hawks rather than his former team the Nippon-Ham Fighters.안전놀이터

Softbank held a press conference for joining Uwasa at a hotel in downtown Fukuoka, Japan on the 26th. Uwasa, who appeared for the first time since the announcement of the contract with Softbank on the 18th, wore a uniform with No. 10 engraved on it. Japanese media estimate that it is a four-year total of 1 billion yen.

According to Japanese media including "Daily Sports," Usawa said, "I'm happy to join Softbank. My heart was moved by the club's passion. I want to show the results so that I can say that this decision was right," adding, "Of course, I had some worries, and it took me a long time to think, not an easy decision."

"I'm very grateful. The Fighters raised me to be a baseball player. Not only Hokkaido fans but also Kamagaya fans (where the second-tier baseball stadium is located) cheered for me in good times and bad times. I was able to challenge myself to the U.S. thanks to the Fighters," he said. "I tried hard to adapt to the U.S. baseball, but I suffered various trials and errors, and I agonized every day. There were few things that went well, but I learned a lot from my 24-hour career in the U.S. based on those experiences."

"Wusawa is an excellent pitcher who represents the Pacific League. As a member of our starting lineup, I believe he will contribute to winning the league title and winning the Japanese Series title next year. I had some regrets in the U.S., but I was confident that the experience would make me better, and we negotiated positively," Softbank General Manager Sugihiko Mikasa said. "He has a strong reputation as the Fighters, so I hope he will adapt to our team soon."

Uwasa was the star of Nippon Ham's franchise. Uwasa, who joined Nippon Ham as the sixth pick in the 2011 draft and trained himself in the second division, has played 173 games (1,118 ⅓ innings) for nine seasons (from 2014 to 2023) with 70 wins, 62 losses and 1 hold with an ERA of 3.19 strikeouts. Though not fast in ball speed, he has strength in various breaking balls including a fork ball, a knuckle curve, a cutter and a change-up.

After the end of last year's season, he got posting permission from the Nippon-Ham and flew to the U.S.A. To go to the Tampa Bay Rays, which is good at fostering pitchers, he resorted to signing contract with the Minor League. The down payment was only 25,000 dollars, and the team received 6,250 dollars, or 25 percent of the total, as posting fees. The amount is only 9 million won (approx. gave up his financial gains and cheered for the challenge with Wawa, paving the way for him.

The annual salary of the Minor League was 225,000 dollars, and it was a split contract that increased to 2.5 million dollars when promoted to the Major League. There was also a total of 1 million dollars in incentives, 100,000 dollars for every 10 innings from 70 innings to 160 innings. The maximum contract of 3.5 million dollars could have increased the posting fee that the Nippon Ham will receive to a maximum of 531,250.

In the exhibition game, Uwasa, who was hit hard with one loss and one hold with an ERA of 13.03 in four games (two starts and nine ⅔ innings), failed to make the roster of Tampa Bay. In this case, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox right before the opening game by writing a contract clause that allows him to transfer to another team, but only played in two relief games (one run in four innings) after the call-up in early May. After being transferred to the DFA in July, he was transferred to Triple-A Worcester under the Boston Red Sox, where he finished the season. His record at Triple-A was also bad in 20 games (six starts and 59 innings), with five wins and four losses and an ERA of 7.63.

Realizing the barrier of U.S. baseball, he decided to return to Japan, which was surprising because the team was a Softbank, not Nippon-Ham. Unlike Korea, players who were posted in Japan do not necessarily have to return to their original team. There were seven players in Japan including Uwasa, but it is the first time that they have played in the U.S. for just one year and returned to the team. After returning to Korea, he showed signs of returning to his hometown by exercising at Nippon-Ham's facilities, but suddenly chose Softbank. Nippon-Ham also offered an offer, but no specific conditions were revealed.

Naturally, the public sentiment toward Usawa has worsened. Major leaguer Darvish Yu (San Diego Padres), who hails from Nippon Ham, said, "It is an act that is not problematic due to posting rules. Contracts are a matter of individuals, and there is no fault with Usawa. There is no reason to be criticized," but his fan sentiment was not sufficient to appease him. His face was stiff throughout the press conference on the day, as if he was conscious of Nippon Ham. He smiled lightly only when Mikasa put his hat on him as a photo. We wonder how Usawa will perform next year after returning amid criticism.