I will do my best with the mindset of a rookie.”
Local media outlets such as Japan’s “Nikkan Sports” said on the 28th (hereinafter Korean time) “Arihara Kohei, who is newly joining Softbank Hawks, joins from Fukuoka, Japan. We held a press conference.”
Arihara entered the professional stage after being selected in the first round by the Nippon Ham Fighters in the 2014 rookie draft. Arihara played an active part with Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels) at the Nippon Ham as a one-two punch, and appeared in 129 games over six seasons, recording a record of 60-50, 1 hold, 2 saves, and an average ERA of 3.74. After signing a contract worth 10,000 dollars (approximately 7.6 billion won), he entered the major league stage.
Arihara competed fiercely for entry into the starting rotation at the spring camp, and at that time, he beat Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA Tigers) and took a place in the starting lineup. However, Arihara’s future was difficult. Arihara was 2-3 in April 2021 with an ERA of 5.73, and it was difficult to adapt to the big leagues, and he underwent surgery for an aneurysm in his right shoulder in May.
Arihara returned to the mound through rehabilitation, but his sluggishness continued. And before the 2021 season even ended, he was removed from Texas’ 40-man roster. Nevertheless, Arihara stayed in Triple A and waited for a call-up from the big leagues, and stepped on the major league stage again last year, but parted ways with Texas after the season.안전놀이터
After Arihara left Texas, fierce competition broke out in Japan. Multiple clubs, such as the Hanshin Tigers and Softbank, were busy recruiting Arihara. As a result, on the 6th, Arihara joined hands with Softbank. The specific contract size was not disclosed. Then, what is the background that Arihara went to Softbank, not his family team?
According to ‘Nikkan Sports’, Arihara said, “To be honest, I haven’t done well in the past two years. Nevertheless, Softbank gave me the best evaluation and said, ‘Let’s work together in a strong team.’ ’, but I was happy that a team like this showed interest,” he said.
Softbank’s sincerity that moved Arihara’s heart was also hidden. Arihara said, “When I played with him, he said that it was not easy. As a player, this is a really happy word,” adding, “I thought I wanted to contribute to Softbank.”
In Softbank, there are Kensuke Kondo, who ate a pot of rice at Nippon Ham in the past, and Tsuyoshi Wada, a senior at Waseda University. Ahiraha said, “I haven’t been able to contact Kondo yet, but I think it will be easy to adapt because I have friends.
Arihara, who tasted failure in the major leagues and learned a lot, said, “I had a lot of hard times in the United States, and I’ve never thought about baseball so much. I didn’t leave a satisfactory result, but I’ll do my best to grow based on the experience.” I think a lot has changed while I was away. I will do my best to throw for the championship with the mindset of a rookie.”