Softbank Hawks 's Isami Nomura infielder held contract renewal negotiations at the team's office in Mizuho PayPal and withheld the team's offer, the fourth player to be withheld by the team after Yanagimachi, Tanigawara and Otsu, which won its first Japan championship in five years. Nomura, who was paid 21 million yen this season, had a career-high .271 batting average in 126 games, 12 Home Run and 40 RBI. He commented, "It's not a decision I can make right away, so I wanted to think about it some more and put it on hold."