Japanese media outlets including the Asahi Shimbun officially announced on Wednesday that the Softbank Hawks have recruited Yamakawa, who has declared a free agent. According to sources, the deal reportedly amounts to 1.2 billion yen (1.8 billion won) in total for four years.
Yamakawa is a right-handed infielder who represents the league with 218 home runs in 786 games of the Japanese professional baseball (NPB). He won the Pacific League’s home run champion three times in 2018 (47 home runs), 2019 (43 home runs) and 2022 (41 home runs), and also won the World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March this year as a member of the Japanese national team.
Yamakawa, who started 2023 by winning the WBC title after the 2022 home run king, was embroiled in a controversy over sexual assault in May, when his stock price was in the midst of rising as a preliminary FA. Yamakawa, who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s, claimed, “It was true that I had a relationship, but it was not compulsory.” Although he denied the allegation of sexual assault, he, a married man with a family, admitted to the fact that he was “unfair.” In the end, the Seibu Lions club eliminated Yamakawa, who caused a stir, from the first-team entry and excluded him from training.
Later, at the end of August, the Tokyo District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Yamakawa for lack of evidence, but Seibu suspended him indefinitely. Yamakawa eventually had to end this season with a poor batting average of 0.254 (15 hits in 59 at-bats) and five RBIs in 17 games.
Yamakawa, who had the worst year ahead of the FA, was expected to face a cold spell in the stove league. However, Softbank, which had been thirsty for a big hit by Uta, aggressively approached Yamakawa and eventually succeeded in signing the FA contract. Yamakawa, who was on the verge of suspension of his career, signed a contract worth as much as 270 million won (270 million U.S. dollars) in terms of four years and 1.2 billion yen (1.2 million yen, annual average of 300 million yen), which was his annual salary this year. 메이저 토토사이트
Yamakawa, who attended a news conference for joining the club at the Fukuoka PayPay Dome, Softbank’s home stadium, on Wednesday, apologized and thanked his former team, saying, “I am sorry for the inconvenience caused. I owe it to Seibu that I am today.” On fans’ criticism against him, Yamakawa said, “It is natural that voices of criticism come out. I don’t want to be forgiven for making a result with baseball. I need to take responsibility for everything I do and do beforehand. I will do so from now on,” he said. “I will do my best with the spirit of a rookie.”
“Yamakawa was not indicted in August,” said Sugihiko Mikasa, the general manager of Softbank, who was aware of the public criticism about Yamakawa’s recruitment. The club also found out how the case was not prosecuted in various ways,” he said. “The incident stemmed from an affair, and Yamakawa himself deeply regrets it, and confirmed that he will gain the understanding and support of his family and be serious about baseball in the future. Under this premise, we decided that Yamakawa was a necessary force for our club and held negotiations, and today (19th) we announced the recruitment.”
He also said, “This is a time when sex scandals are taking place not only in this case but also in other clubs. I think it is necessary to look back on the compliance as a baseball player once again.”
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