Japanese baseball is making a move to trash the so-called kibo-waku system, which allows notable players to designate teams they wish to play for and vice-versa in the professional leagues, in this fall's amateur draft.
Nippon Professional Baseball said it decided to consider the issue after meeting with representatives from baseball's 12 teams and the Japanese pro baseball players association on Tuesday in the wake of a scouting scandal in which two amateur players were paid money under the table by the Seibu Lions.
"We've made some progress by starting over from scratch to look at the draft system method. I think the 'kibo-waku' will be abolished," said players association president Shinya Miyamoto.
NPB officials said it would hear the opinions of the amateur side on Friday and could possibly make a decision on whether or not to keep the system at a meeting scheduled for March 21.
The three amateur baseball bodies, including the Japan High School Baseball Federation, the Japan Student Baseball Association and the Japan Amateur Baseball Association, want the kibo-waku system discarded.
The Yomiuri Giants ball club, which has been a strong proponent of continuing the system, is being forced to reconsider its stance.
Under the kibo-waku system, players designate teams they want to play for and the clubs in the professional leagues are allowed to select one player each from among them at the expense of the right to join the first round of the main draft.