Central League MVP Kenshin Kawakami re-signed with the Chunichi Dragons on Monday for an annual salary of 230 million yen, a huge 125 million yen increase from 2004.
Kawakami, who claimed the league title for most wins with 17 victories, reached the agreement after a second round of talks, and joins Dragons pitchers Hitoki Iwase and Masahiro Yamamoto on the same lucrative salary.
Chunichi initially offered to double the right-hander's salary in the first round of talks, but the 29-year-old Kawakami shunned the offer, citing differences between him and the front office.
"(Next season) I'd like to aim for the ERA title that I missed out on this season," Kawakami said. "My goal is to beat the top-class opposing pitchers on the 11 other teams."
Kawakami, who also won the Sawamura Award as the best starter in Japanese baseball, went 17-7 to lead Chunichi to its first league championship in five years.
In other news Monday, Lotte Marines right-hander Naoyuki Shimizu re-signed with the Pacific League club for 140 million yen plus performance-based incentives, up 35 million yen.
Shimizu went 10-11 for his third straight season with double-digit wins and played on the national team at the Athens Olympics this summer. He pitched in 23 games, had 126 strikeouts and compiled a 3.40 ERA.
Tani signs up
KOBE (Kyodo) Outfielder Yoshitomo Tani and right-hander Hidetaka Kawagoe both reached agreements on contracts Monday with the Orix Buffaloes in their second round of talks with the Pacific League club.
Tani, a member of Japan's bronze medal-winning team at the Athens Olympics, will receive a 20 million yen pay raise for a yearly salary of 290 million yen with options for performance-related incentives of up to 40 million yen.