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The story
At the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft Meeting, the Yomiuri Giants selected pitcher Shoki Oda (18) of Yokohama High School (Kanagawa) with their first-round pick — even though Oda had already declared his intention to pursue a career in the United States. Appearing live on air, Oda reaffirmed his stance: “My resolve to challenge America hasn’t wavered one bit.” On 5ch, discussion split between users suspicious of a possible “secret arrangement” between the Giants and Oda’s camp, and those expressing sympathy or criticism toward the Giants, who stand to forfeit their first-round pick entirely if he doesn’t sign — with posters also bringing up past cases involving other teams in similar spots.
Sports Nippon [October 22, 2026, 19:06]
The “NPB Draft Meeting, supported by Lipovitan D” was held on the 22nd at a hotel in Tokyo, where the Giants made the bold call of selecting pitcher Shoki Oda (18) of Yokohama High School (Kanagawa) with their No. 1 pick, despite his declared intent to try his luck in the majors. Oda, who also joined via live feed on TBS’s broadcast of the “2026 NPB Draft Meeting,” shared his current thoughts.
After a segment aired covering the struggle and emotions behind his decision to pursue America, Oda appeared live and spoke about being picked No. 1 by the Giants: “Honestly, I was surprised to be selected. It’s an incredibly honorable pick, but as I said at yesterday’s press conference, my resolve to challenge America hasn’t wavered one bit.”
Source: sponichi.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
The Giants: "C'mon, it's about the money, right? Money money money money"
Those Kyojin scumbags (a common derogatory nickname for the Giants) are the absolute worst.
Word is signing with an MLB team nets him upwards of $3 million.
The Giants can't exactly hand over under-the-table cash, so there's no way they win this no matter what.
Dodgers: "Here's a 500 million yen signing bonus."
Oda: "Thank you so much."
Giants: "…"
Someone who actually knows the rules, explain.
They should've just picked him lower, like SoftBank did — idiots.
If he doesn't sign as things stand, yeah, that's exactly what happens.
Same thing happened last year — SoftBank's No. 1 pick, Rintaro, fell through too.
It's required by the rules.
Under the Japan High School Baseball Federation's regulations, any active high school player who wants to negotiate or try out with a pro team — including teams overseas — must submit a "Declaration of Intent to Go Pro" to the Japan Student Baseball Association.
Seriously, what a shameless organization.
There probably just weren't any position players worth taking. This year's been called a weak draft class from the start.
There wasn't anyone who stood out as ready to contribute right away.
What actually happens in a case like that?
Would they have to draft him again later as a former minor leaguer?
No way he just makes it work right out of the gate.
Everyone said Ohtani's two-way thing was impossible too, and he pulled it off.
"No precedent" doesn't mean "impossible."
Let him be the one who blazes the trail.
A fully produced VTR package, him appearing live, a letter from his mom —
that's way too polished to be a coincidence.
They probably put the package together before his press conference announcing the US bid,
and once that happened they couldn't patch the gap, so they just aired it as-is.
The storyline where he can't refuse once Matsui personally talks him into it.
Background and key points of the debate
To negotiate with an MLB team, a current high school player must first submit a “Declaration of Intent to Go Pro” to the Japan Student Baseball Association before the draft. Oda went through this process before entering the meeting — but under the rules, if a team can’t reach an agreement with the player it picked, that team’s first-round pick for the year is considered used up, with no option to make a replacement selection. The thread’s biggest point of contention was whether there was a “secret arrangement” between the Giants and Oda’s camp — but that remains pure speculation on 5ch, since neither Oda nor the team has said anything confirming a deal. One thing readers can easily get wrong: a forced pick doesn’t mean the player is guaranteed to sign — in the end, it’s Oda’s own decision that determines where he lands.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Speed+) thread “[Draft Meeting] Shoki Oda: “My resolve to challenge America hasn’t wavered one bit” — No hesitation even after Giants forced the pick.”
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