The Yomiuri Giants on Monday signed slugger Hideki Matsui to a new one-year contract that made him only the third 500 million yen player in Japanese baseball history.
Matsui, the Central League and Japan Series Most Valuable Player, received a 150 million yen hike in annual salary to 500 million yen after finishing the 2000 season with 42 homers and 108 RBIs, both league highs, with a .316 batting average.
"This is a fascinating ending to an outstanding season, which gave me the joy of being on a Japan Series-winning team. I got an offer of a multiyear contract but I opted for a one-year deal like in the past," Matsui said.
Baseball sources revealed that Yomiuri offered an eight-year contract to Matsui, who would meet requirements to become a free agent after the 2002 season.
"I was glad when I was asked to stay with this club and lead Japanese baseball as long as possible. But I want to test myself on the field year by year," the 26-year-old Matsui said.
Seven-time Pacific League batting champion Ichiro Suzuki, who will play for the Seattle Mariners of the major leagues next season, tops the all-time annual salary list with the 530 million yen he earned as an Orix BlueWave outfielder this year.
Kazuhiro Sasaki, Japan's all-time saves leader who joined Seattle a year ago, was paid 500 million yen by the Yokohama BayStars in 1999 after leading the Central League club to the 1998 Japan Series crown.
Matsui, a first-round pick in the 1992 amateur draft, has hit .296 and 246 homers with 678 RBIs in his eight-year career with Yomiuri. He led the league in home runs and RBIs also in 1998.