Hanshin Reportedly Offers Front-Office Path After Chikamoto’s ¥500M Jump

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Hanshin Tigers outfielder Koji Chikamoto (31) spoke to the press at the team office in Nishinomiya on November 11, announcing that he would stay with the team on a multi-year contract instead of exercising his free-agent (FA) rights.

“I want to stand in Koshien and share those moments of joy with Tigers fans.”

When he began speaking to the media, the clock was approaching 9 p.m.

A Hanshin beat reporter explains:

“Because he’s from Awaji Island and has strong attachment to Kansai, fans and the media alike expected him to stay from the beginning. But by the final day, it became clear that not only had he not signed—he hadn’t even decided whether to declare FA or not. The negotiations were at a standstill.”

Chikamoto had also visited the team office the previous day, Nov. 10, but left without answering any questions, fueling speculation online such as “Is he really going to declare FA!?”

But in truth, what was happening behind the scenes was far simpler.

A team official says:

“That day he just stopped by the office after working out. President Awai and other executives were away in Kochi for the championship parade. No one was around to finalize the contract, so he had nothing to say to the press.”

As a result, the real negotiations didn’t happen until the absolute deadline—Nov. 11.

A TV sports staffer recalls:

“Everyone expected the announcement by early evening, but it dragged on and on. TV stations were running up against their sports news airtime, newspapers were facing print deadlines. We were all panicking like, ‘So is he declaring FA or not!?’”

Why did the negotiation take so long?

According to one staff member:

“Apparently, the team’s initial offer during preliminary negotiations was pretty poor.”

With Hanshin drawing 2,962,268 fans to 71 home games this season, ticket revenue alone was enormous. But the team judged that Chikamoto—who turns 32 next year—would decline in performance, and reportedly offered a contract close to the five-year, ¥1.7 billion deal given to Yusuke Ohyama last year.

“Chikamoto couldn’t accept that and pushed back hard, dragging the negotiations right up to the final hours.”

Based on inside information, media outlets speculated the final amount would be 5 years, ¥2 billion.

But then—surprise.

Reports came out stating 5 years, ¥2.5 billion.

“Although the figure is listed as estimated and Chikamoto simply responded, ‘Feel free to write what you like,’ avoiding confirmation—if the amount jumped by ¥500 million in a single day, then his negotiation skills are practically magic.”

(Hanshin beat reporter)

And Chikamoto didn’t stop at just money—he secured an additional bonus.

A team insider reveals:

“The Tigers apparently offered him a future front-office role or even a manager position.”

During his days at Osaka Gas, he was regarded highly as a corporate employee, to the point the company wanted him to stay as a future executive. The Tigers clearly judged he would be reliable after retirement as well.

“He extracted the best possible terms at the best possible timing.”

In the end, the negotiation closed as a clear victory for one of baseball’s shrewdest players—Koji Chikamoto.