On the 10th, Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes infielder Masahiro Nishino attended contract negotiations at the team's facility in Maishima, Osaka, and signed a contract for an annual salary of 50 million yen (estimated amount), maintaining his current salary. Having completed the first year of a two-year contract he signed last offseason, Nishino smiled and said, "I was told that I did a good job for the team this year."
This season, his 11th year as a pro, he played in 75 games with a batting average of .287, 7 Home Run and 35 RBI. Despite being small at 167cm tall, he significantly surpassed his 2014 personal best of three home runs and was batting fourth in the games against Softbank Hawks on September 20th and 21st (Mizuho PayPay Dome). "I didn't think I'd be able to hit that home run. This season has given me hope that I can still grow even at this age," he said.
The oldest fielder, who will turn 36 next season, is scheduled to train with Sugimoto and Oshiro in Miyakojima, Okinawa this offseason. "If I could acquire the power of Raoh, I think I could become an even better batter. But that's wishful thinking," he said with a laugh.
"This year I achieved career-high numbers, but I hope to do even better next year.As a team, I want to win and go to Hawaii," he declared.
Related News
・ [Orix Buffaloes] Koji Oshiro signs for 40 million yen, maintaining his current amount. "I'll be part of the 'old guys' group of fielder." In January, he will train independently with Yutaro Sugimoto and Masahiro Nishino.
・ [Orix Buffaloes] Jo Endo signed for 5 million yen, maintaining his current amount... Joined from Hanshin Tigers last offseason "performed well in first-division games"
・ [Hanshin Tigers] Development player Toshiaki Kawasaki signs to maintain his current status. "I was most confident in my batting, but I've hit the wall of being a pro."
・ [DeNA] Sano Keita maintains his current salary of 170 million yen: "I want to be number one in Japan again"
・ [Softbank Hawks] Hotaka Yamakawa maintains his current salary of 450 million yen, saying "It's completely my fault that I struggled" and will be heading into next season after losing nearly 10 kilograms.
