◆ Pacific League vs. Softbank Hawks (19th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Softbank Hawks Hawks General Manager Sugihiko Mikasa held a press conference at ZOZO Marine Stadium regarding Stanford University's Rintaro Sasaki, who has announced his intention to join the Miami Marlins. The Hawks had selected him as their first overall pick in last fall's draft and obtained the negotiation rights, but were unable to acquire him. He received a call from Sasaki's agent on the evening of the 18th, and was informed by Sasaki himself on this day. "It's disappointing, but I want to support his decision. He took on the challenge fully aware that this kind of thing is possible. We hope that our organization will also grow from this," he said.

The team has never allowed players to move to Major League Baseball through the posting system, and there is a possibility that players with a strong desire to play in the majors may hesitate to join the team in the future. The general manager revealed that the team's policy may be changed flexibly, stating, "We will not be satisfied with the current situation and will continue to consider various options and try different things to see what we need to do to be an attractive and strong team."