TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. (Kyodo) Sawamura Award winner Hideaki Wakui got a pay raise of ¥80 million after re-signing with the Seibu Lions on Friday.
The 23-year-old right-hander will earn an annual salary of ¥200 million plus performance bonuses after leading the Pacific League with 16 wins last season and earning the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award.
Wakui went 16-6 with a career-best 2.30 ERA in 27 starts, recording 199 strikeouts over 211 2/3 innings. He threw a Japanese baseball-leading 11 complete games, four of them shutouts.