On the 23rd, the "Professional baseball Draft Conference supported by Lipovitan D" was held in Tokyo, and Softbank, which had competed with DeNA for the first-round pick of highly anticipated infielder Stanford University in the United States, won the negotiation rights after a lottery.

DeNA Chief Baseball Officer Kenji Jojima (CBO), who was selected in the lottery after new manager Ryoji Aikawa, responded to an interview after being selected in the first round and said with a smile, "There was a blessing in disguise."

▼ Question and answer session with Softbank Chief Baseball Officer Kenji Jojima after acquiring negotiation rights

-DeNA announced their first pick. How do you feel about it?
"He's a good player, so I expected that he might be competing against someone else. But I was the one who got the lottery. So I bet on him, or rather, I was hoping for him."

-Before this draft meeting, there was talk of "Haitei," the last tile to be drawn in a mahjong game.
"You see, I'm the son of a mahjong parlor owner, and I've drawn a lot of tiles, so today I really had a good one left at the end."

-Manager Kokubo was absent, but was there anything discussed?
"I haven't really talked to the manager about the draft. Our goal is always to compete in the Japan Series, so I think the reason the manager is coming here at this time is so that he can focus on the Japan Series, and that (the draft) is something we should be doing."

- What is the team's evaluation of the highly anticipated player Sasaki Rintaro?
"His case is a bit irregular. He's a player we'll have to keep an eye on until next summer, but even if we don't end up with him as the first pick in the draft, we still want him, even if it means taking that risk, because we think he's a great player."

-He hit a total of 140 Home Run in high school and has continued to do well in the United States. What do you think of his success since going to the United States?
"Of course, our excellent scouts checked him thoroughly and concluded that he is not just needed by The Hawks, but by the entire Japanese professional baseball world. I think we sent that message."

-The The Hawks have had many home run hitter in the past. If you were to join The Hawks, what kind of player would you like to become?

"Of course, we have many good players who can be the core of our team. We have many regular players, but we still need core players, so if he is connected to us, I believe he will be the core of the team and lead The Hawks for many years to come."

-I think the results of the MLB draft in July next year will have a big impact on the future, but how will you approach Sasaki until then?

"The message we sent today is that we selected Sasaki with the first pick in the draft, and I think it has been conveyed well. And since we are in Fukuoka, Kyushu, and our fans are hoping to see dynamic baseball under the leadership of Chairman Oh (Sadaharu), I am confident that The Hawks will be the team where he can perform best."

(Interview and photography by Nippon Broadcasting System announcer Yuji Arakawa)