Sweet-swinging, hard-throwing Shohei Otani became the second player to sign a ¥100 million contract ahead of his third season out of high school with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
The 20-year-old Otani led the third-place Fighters with an 11-4 record, 179 strikeouts and a 2.61 ERA — all team-highs — over 155⅓ innings.
Between starts, the left-handed-hitting Otani batted .274 with 10 homers, 32 runs and 31 RBIs in 212 at-bats as the club's designated hitter.
"I'm about 50 percent (satisfied)," Otani said. "I didn't even meet the goals I set for myself and on top of that, the team didn't win the pennant. I didn't put up numbers I could be satisfied with.
"Winning the pennant is my No. 1 target. I want to work hard so I can contribute to the team both ways (pitching and batting)."
Otani was persuaded to sign with Nippon Ham as the Fighters' first-round draft pick in 2012 after declaring his desire was to play for a team from the major leagues. His new contract more than triples his salary from last season, estimated at ¥30 million.
The only other player to earn ¥100 million in his third season out of high school is former Seibu Lions and Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who has just signed with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Otani said he is keen to go up against the former Red Sox right-hander.
"You could say it's a goal, but part of me also looks up to him," Otani said. "If I have the opportunity, I'll really savor it. (More than pitching against him) I want to hit against him."
Otani's fastball hit 162 km per hour on Oct. 5 against the Pacific League rival Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, setting the mark for the fastest pitch recorded by a Japanese player.
