From our other sites
The story
On September 28, Rakuten announced it has notified pitcher Naoki Hiatari (21), now in his third year since joining straight out of high school, that it will not offer him a contract for next season. In August, it came to light that Hiatari had tried to borrow money from a minor, and he posted an apology on social media saying he “lacked financial discipline and awareness as a member of society.” Reactions on 5channel covered a wide range of angles: some pointed out the coincidence that his name contains the characters for “daily wage” (日当) and “night duty” (当直); others noted that a team like the Hiroshima Toyo Carp probably wouldn’t have made an issue of this, highlighting differences in team culture; and still others questioned a system that binds players to a team via reserve rights yet lets clubs cut them loose after just one year.
Delivered 9/28 (Mon) 22:41
Sponichi Annex
Rakuten announced on the 28th that it has notified pitcher Naoki Hiatari (21), now in his third year after joining from high school, that it will not sign him to a contract next season.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Hiatari (daily wage)
Tōchoku (night duty)
Naoki (sounds like "chokki" — heading straight home)
> Also, since there are other people I've caused trouble for, I'm currently working with the players' union's lawyer to begin discussions toward resolving this. I won't look away from the problems I've caused and will face them sincerely.
[Baseball] Rakuten's Pitcher Hiatari Tried to Borrow Money From a Minor — Posted Apology on SNS: "I Lacked Financial Discipline and Awareness as a Member of Society" [Amidagamine★]
https://hayabusa9.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/mnewsplus/1787903841/
Baseball (yakyuu) is always like this
Baseball fanboys ("yakibuta") are always bragging about players' salaries like it's their own money
what's he going to do about income tax and residency tax next year?
He'll probably just go try to borrow money from another minor again
but I can't make a living without it
since decent players don't come their way in the draft anymore anyway
He wouldn't have been cut if he hadn't caused trouble
hochi.news/articles/20231112-OHT1T51220.html
> Agreed to join with an estimated 50 million yen signing bonus and 5.5 million yen annual salary
What was he even spending money on?
[Readings] Hinata, Hiate, Hiatari, Nittō
[Nationwide count] Approximately 820 people
More common than you'd think
Date: September 30, 8:00 AM
Location: Rakuten Stadium (direct commute, straight home after)
Daily wage: ¥10,000
No boxed lunch provided that day
Wonder what'll happen with the Hanshin and SoftBank guys too
And he was supposedly on night duty too
Teams bind players with reserve rights until free agency, but can cut them after just one year if it doesn't work out — way too one-sided
If he's released as surplus to roster needs he becomes a free agent, so he's free to sign with another team
Background and Key Points of This Story
Release notices like this are standard offseason procedure for every team — the player involved becomes a free agent and can negotiate with other clubs. Rakuten hasn’t stated an explicit reason for the notice, but the backdrop widely cited is that in August it came to light Hiatari had approached a minor about borrowing money, and the matter was reportedly still being handled with the players’ union’s legal counsel involved. In the thread, some pointed to an asymmetry in the system: players are bound to their team by reserve rights until they reach free-agency eligibility, yet the team can unilaterally decline to renew a contract — and this case was held up as a textbook example. Many details, including the specific circumstances of the loan request and Hiatari’s relationship with the other party, haven’t been made clear in reporting, and some posts in the thread were speculative, so anything not confirmed as fact has been left out of the main text.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “[Rakuten] Naoki Hiatari Given Release Notice — Caused a Stir Over a Money Issue in August and Apologized on SNS.”
Leave a Reply