Yakult's 42-year-old pitcher Masanori Ishikawa, who will be the oldest professional baseball player in the baseball world next season, has renewed his contract for next season with an estimated annual salary of 90 million yen, saying, "It is important to play with the feeling of a rookie regardless of age. '' he said enthusiastically.
Pitcher Ishikawa has won 6 wins and 4 losses this season for 21 consecutive years since joining the team, and in July he became the 28th pitcher in professional baseball history to reach a total of 3000 innings.
In professional baseball, Chunichi Kosuke Fukudome and Orix Atsushi Nomi retired this season, so Ishikawa, 42, will be the oldest pitcher in the baseball world next season.
Pitcher Ishikawa negotiated with the team at the team office in Tokyo on the 5th and renewed the contract for the next season, which will be the 22nd year, with an estimated annual salary of 90 million yen to maintain the status quo.
Pitcher Ishikawa said, "I'm happy to have him contracted for the next season, and no matter how many times I try to renew the contract, I feel like I'm going to have a good time. I thought he had to prepare well."
Regarding becoming the oldest in the baseball world, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "People who are good at baseball will participate in the game, regardless of age or achievements. It is important to play with the feeling of a rookie, regardless of age."
Pitcher Ishikawa has 183 wins in total and is 17 wins away from 200 wins. I was.
Yasunobu Okugawa renews contract with annual salary of 27 million yen, down 9 million yen
In addition, pitcher Yasunobu Okugawa, who is in his third year of high school, also negotiated with the team.
Pitcher Okugawa contributed to winning the league title and becoming No. 1 in Japan by scoring nine wins last season, but this season he left for a long period of time due to an injury to his right elbow and only pitched for one game. He has renewed his contract for next season with an annual salary of 27 million yen.
Also, from next season, the uniform number will change from the current "11" to "18", which is called the ace number in the baseball world.
When asked if he would like to have surgery, pitcher Okugawa said, "I made that decision after thinking about various things," and said, "I want to power up and come back and help the team," aiming to return during the next season. I'm here.