In recent days, when the residents of Hakusan Town are chatting, the topic has always been about Zhang Zhe. Even those who are not familiar with Japanese professional baseball have learned about the sensation in the baseball world from the overwhelming news on TV.

Everyone is happy for Zhang Zhe.

Only one professional baseball player has left the small town over the years, and soon there will be a second.

Neighbors in the town are familiar with each other. When several cars with unfamiliar numbers drove in, everyone speculated that the contract negotiation might be today.

At this time, at Baishan High School, the venue has been decorated.

In the center of the conference room is a wide long table, with people on both sides sitting opposite each other.

The Hanshin Tigers are a signing team led by team director Yoshihiro Yano.

On the side of Baishan is Zhang Zhe, his parents, Superintendent Higashikata Division and Minister Makiko Kawamoto are seated.

After greetings, the conversation began.

The two parties have had several phone calls before, and the contract has been roughly negotiated. The purpose of this meeting is to express the team's attention and sincerity.

Supervisor Yodai Yano explained the contract amount to Zhang Zhe.

"Zhang Zhejun, in terms of signing bonus and annual salary, our team sets it based on the rookie contract limit stipulated by the league, and the same goes for incentive bonuses."

In order to prevent teams from excessive competition during the draft and luring players with sky-high contract promises, the Japan Professional Baseball League has set upper and lower limits for rookie contract amounts.

The contract given by the Hanshin Tigers is full of sincerity, and all the amounts have reached the highest value limited by the league.

[Signing bonus 100 million yen]

[Annual salary 15 million yen]

[Incentive bonus 50 million yen]

Because the Nippon Professional Baseball contract is renewed every year, the signing bonus for new players is much higher than the annual salary, and the annual salary increases or decreases after each season based on individual performance.

Zhang Zhe was very satisfied with the contract amount, but he was more concerned about the other "training plan" document.

Looking at the training plan the team had developed for him, Zhang Zhe asked a question.

"Does the team plan for me to start in the second team in the first year?"

"Yes." Supervisor Yano Yaoda's heart sank, thinking that Zhang Zhe was not satisfied with the plan.

Each Nippon Professional Baseball team can have 70 official players, and 28 players are allowed to register in official games, so many players who are not strong enough are active in the second team.

The main purpose of each team's secondary team is to test and train players and provide rehabilitation for injured players.

Because the first-named player in the draft attracts media attention, he is often signed to the first team first and plays several games to experience the shocking education of professional baseball.

The Hanshin Tigers plan to directly let Zhang Zhe start in the second team during spring training. Obviously, they are not planning to follow the usual path of increasing exposure and selling peripherals.

Zhang Zhe was not dissatisfied, on the contrary, he felt the sincerity of the other party.

According to the plan, Zhang Zhe's first year of professional baseball will start with the Second Army, and he will first practice in the Second Army League for a period of time.

The current main catcher of the Hanshin Tigers is a player selected for the Japanese national team and at the peak of his powers.

If the team directly puts Zhang Zhe in the first team to compete with the main catcher, Zhang Zhe will feel unreliable. He knows his own level. He will definitely have poor results when he starts in the first team and then sit on the bench in the second team in despair.

Speaking of which, the Japanese professional baseball team really likes to throw young players into the army to experience the frustration and education.

The Hanshin Tigers first placed Zhang Zhe in the second army for training in order to prepare him before joining the first army for baptism.

It can be said that the level of attention is so high that Zhang Zhe's confidence is reluctant to be undermined from the beginning.

As for the money from selling peripherals, I can make it back sooner or later.

After reading the training plan, Zhang Zhe said seriously: "Director Yano, I am very satisfied with the contract and the plan. I am very honored to join the Hanshin Tigers. Please take care of me in the future!"

Supervisor Yodai Yano said happily: "Zhang Zhejun, welcome to join us!"

The contract format for newcomers is stipulated by the league, so there will basically be no major problems.

Looking at the open contract in front of him, Zhang Zhe took a deep breath, wrote his name and stamped it with his personal seal.

Signing completed!!

Zhang Zhe is officially confirmed to join the Hanshin Tigers!

When reporters who had been waiting for a long time heard the applause in the conference room, they immediately understood what was going on and rushed to the door of the conference room to grab their seats.

Supervisor Yodai Yano led the team out and faced the waiting reporters, raising his right hand and making a victory gesture.

"Done!!"

Immediately, reporters started talking and asked questions, wanting to know how the team plans to train Zhang Zhe.

Potential is just potential after all, and it is just that until it is realized.

Nippon Professional Baseball has many players who have failed to realize their talents.

Although the eight top teams in history were named No. 1 at the same time, it shocked the baseball world, but it actually had no impact on the current Japanese baseball landscape.

Except for a few blockbuster talents, the players in the 2020 draft may not become the backbone of Japanese professional baseball in five or even ten years.

When the Hanshin Tigers team was being interviewed by reporters, Zhang Zhe was also surrounded by a group of reporters asking questions.

I just signed the contract and I feel a little excited.

Inadvertently, Zhang Zhe was fished out by a seasoned reporter to reveal his hidden thoughts.

"My goal is to become a catcher with 1,000 home runs in my career!"

The reporters' eyes lit up and they secretly exclaimed that big news was coming.

Sure enough, you can't help but be young and frivolous!

1000 blast?!

How dare you think!!!

Seeing the secretly delighted expressions of the reporters, Zhang Zhe suddenly realized that he had been tricked. He smiled bitterly and thought, now everyone will think of me as a very frivolous person. I haven't even hit the first hit in my career and I'm still thinking about a thousand hits.

…

The news that Zhang Zhe's signing was confirmed has aroused heated discussions among fans.

Hanshin Tigers fans can finally put their minds at ease and give full marks to this year's draft results. The team not only signed Zhang Zhe, a great player, but also won a bunch of immediate players.

The future is promising.

As for Zhang Zhe's lofty ideals, fans just regarded him as a young player who didn't understand the world of professional baseball.

As the signing negotiation phase comes to an end, each Nippon Professional Baseball team has gained its own future.

Due to the impact of the epidemic in 2020, the start of the Nippon Professional Baseball season was delayed until the middle of the year, and the season was significantly shortened, with the schedule lasting until November.

In order to compete for seats in Japan's first major competition, teams from the two leagues fought hard in their respective leagues.

After successfully completing the signing, the Hanshin Tigers invited Zhang Zhe to watch the game at Koshien's home court and conduct a workplace training by the way.

If third-year Japanese high school graduates choose to work after graduation, they will visit some companies or factories when deciding on a career path. This activity is called a workplace internship.

Professional baseball is of course considered a workplace, and it is common practice to invite players in advance to visit their future working environment.

Zhang Zhe went to Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture alone, carrying only a backpack.

There is a card holder attached to the backpack, which contains "prayers for smooth work" from partners and a message written by the supervisor and the director.

【The world will eventually know you】
Chapter completed!