Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 632 - 3: Multiple Teams Competing (Part 2)

Therefore, in order to fill this gap as much as possible and minimize the negative impact of Lin Guanglai leaving the team, in addition to replenishing immediate combat power through designation and stockpiling potential, the SoftBank Team once again launched their money-spreading superpower in the free agent market—the biggest deal among them was signing Cuban hitter Alfredo Despaigne from the Chiba Lotte Marines with a three-year, 1.2 billion yen contract. He can consistently hit over 25 home runs in a single season, barely able to make up for the batting lineup's firepower.

The two continued to casually chat about their professional topics until Lin Guanglai's phone rang and the conversation gradually cooled. Listening to Nomura Katsuhiko's report on the other end of the line, Lin Guanglai occasionally nodded to indicate his understanding.

Seeing Lin Guanglai hang up the phone with a somewhat solemn expression, Tanaka Justice, who had understood the situation, did not wait for the other party to speak but took the initiative to say, "Senior, I happen to need to handle some matters related to joining professional baseball, so I won't bother you today..."

Seeing this, Lin Guanglai nodded and replied, "Alright, let's get together sometime later—Just don't forget Justice, if someone bullies you in the locker room when you go to SoftBank, just tell them my name, say you're under my protection!"

Tanaka Justice also nodded to express his response.

Looking at Lin Guanglai's departing figure, Tanaka Justice mumbled to himself, "What was said on the phone should be related to the bidding, right? Guanglai is really amazing, he managed to break through Nippon Professional Baseball in just 4 years... Since that's the case, I must work hard after joining SoftBank, I must not embarrass my senior!"

With this thought, his eyes became much more determined, and he was full of fighting spirit.

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"Bang!"

Nomura Katsuhiko placed a large stack of written reports in front of Lin Guanglai, the collision made a loud noise.

Lin Guanglai just stared at these paper materials in front of him, speaking slowly, "So Mr. Tuan, these are the written reports submitted by Major League teams interested in me?"

"Yes," Nomura Katsuhiko glanced at Lin Guanglai, seeing no other reaction from him, asked, "Nearly all of the 30 Major League teams have submitted applications and written reports—But Guanglai, don't you feel even a bit excited? You know, the entire Major League is crazy about you now..."

"Of course I'm happy," Lin Guanglai replied, "but such a thing was kind of within my expectations—after all, I know my own abilities the best, I feel I deserve this kind of treatment, what do you think Mr. Tuan?"

Lin Guanglai's voice was not loud, but his words were full of extreme confidence, especially the kind of domineering air that made Nomura Katsuhiko feel astonished—Only a super player like him who dominated Nippon Professional Baseball for three years could have such momentum.

"Of course you're worth it, Guanglai. My only regret is that we missed the right moment, otherwise, I absolutely have the confidence to help you secure a contract worth over 200 million dollars..." Nomura Katsuhiko replied to him, with obvious regret in his words.

However, he quickly put away this emotion, bringing the topic back to the main point: "Since subsequent applications and procedures both require simultaneous approval by Japan and the United States, the time left for negotiation discussions is about 30 days, so it's not possible to have face-to-face meetings with representatives of all teams..."

"In addition to answers from these teams to our questions, these written reports also contain summaries and analyses of each team's current situation, prospects, and market."

"What we need to do now is to select a batch of teams from these 30 that you are most interested in and would like to join, then engage in deep negotiations with their top management, and finally make a decision."

"From now on, the choice is basically all yours—So Guanglai, what kind of team do you want to join?"

Finally once again sitting down and facing this question, Lin Guanglai lowered his head and pondered for a while, then gave his answer to Nomura Katsuhiko:

"The most important thing is, the team that wants to sign me must support me to continue playing in Major League with the identity of Dual Swordsmanship. This is a condition with no room for negotiation. If there are teams that won't agree or play word games, they can be directly excluded now—I don't want to bicker with them later, it makes everyone look bad."

Lin Guanglai's tone was firm, this is also the only absolute condition he established in this bidding procedure, even if he goes to Major League, he believes he has enough strength to maintain the Dual Swordsmanship identity, there's no reason he can do it in Japan but can't in the United States.

"For me, the reason to go to the United States, to Major League, is because there are no challenges left for me in Japan. Continuing to play here will inevitably slow down my progress. Therefore, competitive elements are always my foremost consideration..."

"First, I hope to join a team with a winning culture, or is building a winning culture: I can accept short-term, even one to two seasons of losses, but the team must let me see the future prospects—I don't want to spend at least 6 years playing for a lifeless team with no victory genes."

"Just as I expected," Nomura Katsuhiko nodded to indicate his understanding, "then if that's the case, I'm afraid a portion of the teams will be eliminated..."

"And also..."

As Lin Guanglai laid out his thoughts and requirements one after another, the teams meeting the criteria among the 30 dwindled down until finally, only seven met all the conditions.

"So since that's the case, should I contact the representatives of these seven teams and prepare to start formal meetings?" Nomura Katsuhiko extracted the written reports of the remaining seven American teams from the pile and asked Lin Guanglai.

Lin Guanglai nodded.

"Oh yes, Guanglai, let's add the Mariners into the mix—you know, this team is under Japanese capital, basically the base camp for Asian players in the United States. I think it's worth hearing their thoughts, it won't do you any harm…"

To this, Lin Guanglai was still gladly amenable.

"Then since that's the case, our final choice should emerge from these eight teams—I'll release the news later to create some momentum for you."

After confirming the list of teams for the final meetings, Nomura Katsuhiko and his huge agency team immediately sprang into action: For a while, Japanese and even global baseball media and journalists focused their attention, and related reports once again dominated the sports sections, with the discussion growing ever more intense.

That night, multiple Japanese newspapers including Asahi, Yomiuri, Mainichi, and Daily Sports reported on the progress of Lin Guanglai's bidding procedure, indicating the negotiations had entered a new stage and that Lin Guanglai would engage in face-to-face talks with representatives of eight Major League teams over the next few days to determine his final destination.

At eight o'clock the next morning American time, many well-known American journalists, including Jeff Passan and Ken Rosenthal, also followed up, confirming the authenticity of the news.

"The Nippon Professional Baseball star Lin Guanglai's bidding procedure has entered a new stage, and out of all 30 teams that joined the competition, 22 have been eliminated, and the following eight teams are granted the opportunity for face-to-face talks—"

"This young Dual Swordsmanship star continues the Asian players' predilection for the West Coast, with four among the selected teams being West Coast teams: San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres."

"From the Central area, only the Texas Rangers, possessing Yu Darvish and offering the current top-tier signing bonus, are included."

"The remaining three teams are all from the East Coast: Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and New York Yankees."

"Considering the choice among these eight teams, Lin's first choice should be a team with a winning culture and capable of competing for the championship, which also aligns with our predictions; As for the inclusion of Mariners and Padres, the former undoubtedly benefits from the nurturing of Japanese players, while the latter's top management includes Japanese members Saito Takashi and Nomo Hideo, naturally inclined to facilitate the transaction."

"In any case, this deal has entered the final stage, we expect Lin to make a decision within the next two weeks... Everyone, please be patient."