The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, winners of a second consecutive Pacific League title this season, secured the negotiating rights to Gifu Commercial and Business High School right-hander Jumpei Takahashi, the most sought-after player in Nippon Professional Baseball's amateur draft on Thursday.
Three clubs wanted Takahashi in the first round — Softbank, the PL's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the Central League's Chunichi Dragons — in which the rights to a player selected by multiple teams are assigned by lot.
"I am more nervous standing here than on the mound," joked Hawks manager and former pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo, when asked how he felt after getting the 18-year-old Takahashi, whose fastball clocks more than 150 kph.