Yusuke Oyama’s Absence from Fan Day Sparks Anger, Threatens His Stay

The owners of Hanshin and Yomiuri Giants commented to the press.

The annual FA reinforcement frenzy in professional baseball is heating up day by day. The biggest concern for fans is whether Yusuke Oyama (29), the fourth batter and infielder from Hanshin, will decide to transfer to their eternal rival, the Yomiuri Giants.

On the afternoon of November 20, a meeting was held at a hotel in Tokyo with owners and representatives from all 12 baseball teams. However, there appeared to be a clear difference in tone between the two sides after the meeting concluded.

“In response to reporters’ questions, Hanshin owner Takehiro Sugiyama (65) firmly stated, ‘Free agency is an important personnel matter, so I have nothing to comment on regarding personnel matters. Please understand.’ He gave no further response.

On the other hand, Yomiuri owner Juichi Yamaguchi (67) indicated that the decision regarding free agency was entrusted to the head of the team’s development department, Tadashi Yoshimura (61). He further commented on the situation, expressing his wish for players to have a happy baseball career with the Giants. He said, ‘As a team, we want to win the league title and the national championship. We approach players with this goal in mind and hope they will join us.’

Additionally, he passionately stated, ‘As Japan’s oldest baseball team, we believe we have the greatest responsibility and the deepest love for the sport. I hope you will consider becoming part of such a team.’ This clearly demonstrated how forward-looking the Giants were in their approach” (report from a national sports newspaper).

 

The players who declared free agency were all absent.

In the midst of this, it was the job of the reporter covering the Hanshin Tigers to track the daily movements of players until a decision on free agency was made. On the same day, two sports newspapers reported that Yusei Ohyama planned to participate in all upcoming team events.

“One newspaper reported that the team president, Kazuo Awai (60), revealed that Ohyama’s name was on the participant list for the team golf tournament and the fan appreciation event. Another newspaper pointed out that former Hanshin players who declared free agency—Keiichi Hirano (45), Yamato (37), and Takashi Toritani (43)—had all skipped team events that off-season. This seemed to imply that ‘Ohyama’s participation in team events suggests he has decided to stay’ (according to the same source).”

However, Ohyama is reportedly frustrated by this. A team insider provided further details:

“He has had a distrust of the media for a long time, and he’s fed up with being written about in ways that aren’t true, especially regarding free agency. What bothers him the most is that his participation in the team events, which he has marked with a checkmark, is being reported as a sign of his desire to stay with Hanshin.

This time, he’s angry not only at the media but also at President Awai for openly leaking information. To avoid the misunderstanding that he has decided to stay, he’s even willing to cancel his participation in team events at the last minute.”

The battle off the field in this long-standing rivalry looks set to continue for some time.