From our other sites
The story
Regarding Yokohama High School pitcher Shoki Oda, selected by the Yomiuri Giants with their first-round draft pick, the school’s head coach Hiroaki Murata revealed that “we had talked about the possibility of a forced pick happening” and “I just spoke with him, and his resolve hasn’t changed at all.” With reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers had shown interest in Oda with a signing bonus exceeding 500 million yen (roughly $3.3 million), the thread was split on how to read Coach Murata’s comments — some took it as “his mind is made up and the Giants took a gamble,” while others saw it as “a scripted line with the negotiations already settled behind the scenes.” Posters also questioned the system itself, under which high school players can’t negotiate directly with MLB teams and are forced to go through Japan’s “pro draft declaration” process.
What people said
On first-round pick Shoki Oda:
"Regarding Oda, we had talked about the possibility that a forced pick might happen. I didn't want it to come as a total surprise, so I'd prepared for it. I just spoke with him a moment ago, and his resolve hasn't changed one bit. I want to support the path he's chosen."
So the Giants have a smooth talker too, huh?
If they have, I'd think MLB would be the better choice.
There were reports the Dodgers reached out with a signing bonus over 500 million yen.
If nothing comes through, he said he'd study English the Rintaro way (like Rintaro Sasaki did before heading to the US).
otherwise they'd get slammed by everyone.
It's all scripted, and behind the scenes they're pumping their fists.
In the end it'll wrap up nice and neat with a heartwarming 'persuaded him just like Ohtani' story.
You guys are so gullible.
There was no secret deal with Ohtani, come on.
Well, I guess the answer then is just don't file the pro declaration at all.
If you don't file it you can't go straight to MLB, so the rule really needs revisiting.
The NPB declaration and the MLB declaration should be separate things.
A guy straight out of high school isn't an instant-impact player anyway, so why not skip the declaration, sit out a year, and head to MLB the following year?
Once the contract period passes you can go without ever filing it, right?
If you actually want to go to America, there's no point filing a pro declaration with NPB in the first place.
He's affiliated with the high school baseball federation, and his destination is MLB —
NPB is just a company in the same industry, a completely separate organization with nothing to do with it.
Why should someone who wants to join Toyota have to submit an entry form to Nissan?
And then if Nissan makes him an offer, he can't even go interview at Toyota?
NPB is forcing a human-rights-violating rule on student athletes that strips away freedom of occupation — one of the basic human rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
If that's really true, that's just dumb.
Even if they felt confident, if he'd said right away 'I'm going to the Giants,' the board would still be blowing up with speculation.
Well, even if they talk him into signing, it's gonna blow up either way.
Well, he's good-looking too.
No way he's getting won over by 'passion' or anything like that.
Sounds like Oda's a Giants fan.
If that's not it, then they just threw away a first-round pick like idiots.
When the Fighters picked Sugano, that was Nippon Ham signaling they wouldn't tolerate the Giants'/Sugano's maneuvering,
and with Ohtani there was probably a secret deal too.
There's no way they'd gamble on a first-rounder with zero plan or intention behind it.
They already got turned down with Sugano —
there's no way there was a secret deal with Ohtani, are you dumb?
Re: #120
Matsui becoming manager is permanently off the table.
The way they fired Abe was exactly the kind of Giants culture Matsui despises.
Honestly there's not really anyone else worth taking this year anyway.
The only notable one is a catcher,
and catchers are already oversaturated on the roster.
Could there be a one-in-a-chance shot here?
He's pretty good-looking, so he doesn't really have an 'ace of the Giants' kind of face.
That's because he convinced him going through NPB first is actually the fastest route to MLB,
and honestly, that's true.
The team covers your expenses and treats you well.
MLB's minor leagues only deal with whoever manages to survive on their own, so it's hard to even develop there.
Especially No. 1 — Oh (the Giants legend whose No. 1 is retired) is basically a SoftBank guy now, so they should just strip it from him, no problem.
I already said they're not doing that.
Background and Points of Debate
Under the current system, a drafted high school player can’t negotiate with an NPB team without first filing a “pro declaration,” and this runs on a separate track from MLB teams — once the declaration is filed, NPB-side negotiations effectively take priority. What split the thread was how to read Yokohama High’s Coach Murata’s comments: was it “an already-negotiated, settled path,” or “the player’s resolve is firm and the Giants took a gamble”? Reports that the Dodgers had offered a signing bonus north of 500 million yen only added to the sense that the negotiations were murky. Posters repeatedly brought up Shohei Ohtani’s case — being talked into going to MLB via NPB by manager Hideki Kuriyama — as a comparison, but that’s an unrelated past example and doesn’t indicate that Oda’s own path has been decided. What readers may easily misunderstand is that Coach Murata’s comments only reflect the player’s stated intent immediately after being drafted, not a guarantee of how the contract negotiations will actually turn out.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Oda: “My resolve hasn’t changed at all” wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”
Leave a Reply