Nippon-Ham pitcher Hiromi Ito (28) attended contract renewal negotiations at the team office in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido on the 3rd, and signed a contract for an annual salary of 340 million yen (estimated), an increase of 120 million yen. Reaching 300 million yen in just his sixth year is the fastest record for a player on the team, tying Darvish (Padres) in 2010, and breaking the record for the highest salary for a sixth-year player on the team. "Darvish is a high school graduate, and I'm a college graduate, so it's a bit of a stretch, but I'm really happy," he said, flashing a smile.

This season, he made 27 appearances, recording 14 wins (8 losses), innings pitched 196 2/3 innings and strike out out 195, all of which were career highs. He won the most wins strike out titles for the second consecutive year, and was also awarded the Sawamura Award. "I'm really happy because this is an award I've been striving for," he said with a blush. He said with a wry smile that his salary increase was "65% in total, with 45% income tax, 10% consumption tax, and 10% local resident tax. Taxes are a pain," but added, "I bought my father a vacuum cleaner the other day." He also remembers to show his filial piety by gifting his father, an octopus trap fisherman, an item that keeps seafood fresh.

The right-hander, who has been informally selected to start pitcher the season next March 27 against Softbank Hawks Mizuho Peipay, said, "I want to pitch through the rotation for a year and just win the championship, not what I want to do. The absolute ace, who emphasized winning the championship, will lead the team to its first V in 10 years. （The team's first V in 10 years.)