Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 470 - 86: The Grand Talent-Snatching Show
But as Ichiro Suzuki gradually ages, they also gradually realize one thing:
It's time to select a successor for "Rang Shen" from the new generation of players!
Almost at the same time as the SoftBank Team was eliminated, the marketing research department had already delivered the organized proposal to Itabashi Kenji's desk.
Mizuno's professional data analysts conducted a comprehensive analysis on Lin Guanglai, including his game performance, future potential, commercial value, and other aspects, and the final conclusion was—
"No matter what the cost, we must secure Lin Guanglai as our spokesperson—he will be the symbol of Mizuno baseball department's new era after Ichiro's retirement!"
So, the matter now before the baseball affairs department is very simple: offer a quote that the player himself will accept and is within the company's senior management's sustainable range, then hurry to sign Lin Guanglai before rivals like Asics, Zett, SSK, as well as foreign teams like Wilson, Rawlings, and Nike react.
"Minister, first we need to clarify one thing..." An employee interrupted Itabashi Kenji's thoughts and pulled him back to the meeting table, "Regarding the contract with player Lin Guanglai, should we straightforwardly bundle all his equipment, or sign them separately?"
This question touches on the critical point: unlike soccer and basketball where contracts are usually comprehensive, in baseball, because offense and defense are completely separated, many famous professional players opt not to rely on just one sponsor but instead choose to split their gloves, batting gloves, bats, protective gear, and sign with different brands respectively;
And sometimes, to save costs, brands might choose to sponsor only part of the player's equipment—like the well-known Tanaka Masahiro, who, being a pure pitcher and playing in the Pacific League with the DH rule, has a contract with Mizuno covering only his defensive gloves and shoes.
But Lin Guanglai is different from these people.
Being a Dual Swordsmanship player, Lin Guanglai needs both to pitch and bat, requiring more baseball equipment than most fielders—if we can successfully bundle all his equipment comprehensively, it means Mizuno could gain far more exposure than with ordinary players.
However, at the same time, a bundled contract also represents higher costs and more concessions, which would likely entail large figures needing board approval.
"You don't need to worry about that, I have already asked President Mizuno about this before the meeting." Itabashi Kenji waved his hand towards his subordinates and continued, "For this negotiation, the board has given me full authority, you just need to remember one thing when preparing the proposal and quote—"
"President Mizuno will personally attend the season opener in Fukuoka, and he doesn't want to see any baseball gear on Lin Guanglai other than Mizuno's."
"Regardless of anything, we must secure Lin Guanglai before December! Ichiro-san will return from the United States then, just in time to attend the signing ceremony as a special guest."
At this point, Itabashi Kenji, fearing his subordinates might not take it seriously enough, hurriedly emphasized to them: "Act quickly, if other brands have already started to move, offer a quote that cannot be refused, don't pay attention to the little immediate profits."
"Remember, at all costs!!!"
-----------------
"Ugh—so tired!"
Standing up from the soft sofa in the reception room, Lin Guanglai stretched his arms high into the air, fully extending his body—counting the conversation that just ended a few minutes ago, this had already been the 7th brand this morning that clearly expressed interest in signing with him.
Just as Mizuno's marketing department predicted, when Lin Guanglai, this gold mine, entered the sponsorship market, it immediately sparked a fierce scramble:
In addition to classic domestic brands like Asics, Zett, SSK, and Kubota, overseas brands with baseball-related businesses in Japan also sent representatives to meet him—among them, most brands still maintained a wait-and-see attitude; only a few large conglomerates truly made offers.
After all, no matter how outstanding Lin Guanglai's performance was this season, it was only his first season in professional baseball, these data in the eyes of "professionals" carried some beginner advantages;
Without sufficient sample data to support, most brands find it difficult to offer a particularly large bid in a short time—after all, if Lin Guanglai's performance suddenly plummets next season, sponsors might suffer significant losses.
"Of the contracts proposed so far, I think Nike offers the best conditions." Lin Guanglai's current agent Nomura Katsuhiko expressed his opinion.
Through connections on the Softbank side, Lin Guanglai signed a three-year agency contract with Nomura Katsuhiko—in the coming three years, he will handle all commercial contract negotiations and personal publicity affairs for Lin Guanglai; if Lin Guanglai later advances to the Major League, related affairs in Japan will also be entrusted to him.
