So, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters got a nice Christmas present with the decision by 18-year-old fire-balling right-handed pitcher Shohei Otani to play for the defending Pacific League championship club rather than head straight for a career in the major leagues. From this point of view, the boy did the right thing, and he will not be sorry.

Notice I said "the boy" who may have thought he is more mature than he actually is, and his subsequent drafting by the Fighters, advice from his coaches, family members and other mentors-and a sweet deal offer from Nippon Ham-caused him to change his mind.

That ¥100 million signing bonus will not be hard to take, and the team symbolically offered him the uniform No. 11 last worn in Hokkaido by Yu Darvish, another high school phenom who performed well in Sapporo for seven years before moving on to the MLB and the Texas Rangers.