Pitcher Katsuki Higashi, who won the title of the most wins and the highest winning percentage this season in professional baseball, renewed his contract for next season with an estimated annual salary of 1 million yen, which will be a significant increase, and expressed his determination that "while it has been a year of growth, we must prepare well for next year."
The sixth-year pro started 6 games this season, posting a 24-16 record, 3.1 ERA and an 98.8 ERA to win the most wins and highest winning percentage titles for the first time.
On the 4th, Higashi entered into contract renewal negotiations at the baseball team office in Yokohama City, and both contracts were renewed for the next season with an annual salary of 2 million yen, which is an estimated increase from 19.2610 million yen this season.
Higashi said, "The team praised me for doing a good job all year, and while it was a year of growth, it was also a season in which I was determined to prepare well for next year."
On the other hand, when asked about the team's third-place finish in the Central League, he expressed his frustration, saying, "I've been thinking about what I could have done to move up one or two more places.
Looking ahead to next season, he said, "Personally, my ERA was in the 1-point range this season, but I still couldn't win the title of best ERA, so I want to aim for that, and as a team, I want to aim for the championship."