Yokohama BayStars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki confirmed the terms of his final contract year with the Yokohama BayStars on Wednesday and revealed that he earned 650 million yen in the 2004 season, making him the highest-paid Japanese ballplayer in history.
Sasaki, who re-signed with the BayStars for the same amount in his final year of a two-year contract, beat former Yomiuri Giants player Hideki Matsui by 40 million yen to put his name in the record books. Matsui's annual salary with the Giants in 2002 was 610 million yen.
When Sasaki voided his contract with the Seattle Mariners and returned to Japan, he was said to have agreed to a deal worth the same amount he was making with the Central League team before he left as a free agent in 2000 -- in the 500 million yen range.