Veteran Fukuoka Softbank Hawks slugger Nobuhiko Matsunaka accepted a 50 percent pay cut in re-signing with the club on Tuesday for ¥200 million, plus performance incentives, after an injury-plagued 2010 season.
It is the biggest pay cut ever in Japanese baseball in terms of the amount. The Yakult Swallows reduced then-playing manager Atsuya Furuta's salary by ¥180 million — a 75 percent pay reduction — after the 2006 season.
"For a professional athlete, performance is everything. I have apologized to the team for causing trouble in this way," Matsunaka said.
The Hawks have added free agent infielder Seiichi Uchikawa from the Yokohama BayStars and former Orix Buffaloes slugger Alex Cabrera to the lineup.