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The story
On 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board, reactions blew up over the possibility that the Yomiuri Giants might use their first-round pick on star high school pitcher Oda. Oda is widely believed to be eyeing a direct route to MLB, following in the footsteps of Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani, so speculation flew across the thread that if the Giants really do draft him, there must be some kind of “secret deal” already in place. At the same time, more level-headed voices pushed back, asking “is he really worth a secret deal?” and noting “if he turns the Giants down, it’s the scouts who’ll take the heat” — so opinions in the thread were split.
What people said
Uehara's gonna blow a gasket
Well, that's just how the times are now
Still whining about it at this point seems worse honestly
He won't be satisfied unless it's the Sasaki/Ohtani route
There are other Yokohama High draft prospects there too, so he probably just tagged along
The Giants never had a shot to begin with
If anything, it was the Tigers who got demolished
Oh wait, they haven't even decided on a manager yet lol
So that's what the Hideki Matsui appointment is for!?
This whole thing's being set up like a TV drama
That's true if he refuses to sign
But if he does sign, it's definitely a secret deal
Just being the Giants gets you flak already, let alone this…
'Secret deal, secret deal,' they keep saying…
If anything, unlike hardcore baseball fans,
doesn't the general public not care how a player ended up joining a team these days?
Kuwata from PL Gakuen was a secret deal, you know
Even if he refuses, he'll get flak from Giants fans too
22: 10/22 (Thu) 17:21 ID:tQ9p6oPF
If he's going for the majors, there'd be no need for a live broadcast from the high school — so why is there a press conference room set up, I wonder
Well, that's just because it's Yokohama High, I guess
Ikeda's there too
Is the Giants gonna throw in some kind of package pick?
If they're still around in the later rounds, they might pick them as a bargaining chip
Their position players have been a mess if you look at the last 10 years of drafts
Just people nitpicking
You lose if you let it get to you lol
If he refuses, Giants fans will slam him — so Oda's getting torn apart either way
I can't see the Giants, who haven't even picked a manager yet, risking wasting their first-round pick, so it really does smell like a secret deal
Would be funny if he actually goes to the majors like he's declared though
Well, if he succeeds, people will forget about it
Like with Ohtani
If he refuses, it's the scouts who'll get slammed, not him
Giants fans really aren't gonna slam him
If anything they're currently furious asking why they even picked him
H-Hara-san… (stuttering in shock — Tatsunori Hara, former Giants manager known for bold, controversial moves)
That's a show of sincerity, isn't it
If a team like the Fighters forces the pick anyway, the secret deal goes to waste
Doesn't look like he'll be a standout from year one anyway
Fair point
Are they really gonna post him off to MLB right when he's about to break out, like with Sasaki (nicknamed 'Sasa-rō')?
Background and key points of this discussion
The baseball world has seen “secret deal” controversies around Giants draft picks flare up repeatedly, and the thread brought up the case of Shigeru Kuwata from PL Gakuen as a past example. At the same time, the view that a team with no history of forcing picks is more likely to be suspected drew pushback too, with several commenters dismissing it as “just nitpicking” — so this isn’t something that can be stated as settled fact. Whether Oda himself truly intends to go straight to the majors, and how he’ll respond to the Giants’ courtship, remained unconfirmed at the time of the thread — and it’s worth noting that even the new manager situation (speculation about Hideki Matsui taking the post) hadn’t been finalized either. It’s also worth remembering that “secret deal” talk is a recurring staple of draft-season speculation rather than a definitive accusation against any specific team or individual — closer to a guessing game among fans than a factual claim.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Oda Giants wwwwwwww.”
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