Japanese Fostering Player’s Success Story
A foster player who joined the club 13 years ago with an annual salary of 2.7 million yen earned an annual salary of 100 million yen. Daisei Makihara 31, Softbank Hawks, whose annual salary has risen 37 times from the time he joined the club, has written a myth of success as a nurturing player.
Japanese media, including “Nikkan Sports,” reported the news of Makihara’s annual contract on the 21st. Makihara, who signed a three-year contract with Softbank on an annual salary change system, completed his annual salary contract next year at 100 million yen, up 20 million yen from 80 million yen this year.
Makihara’s annual salary was only 2.7 million when he joined Softbank as the fifth pick in the 2010 Fostering Player Draft. However, after seven years as a backup since his debut in the first division in 2012, he rose to the starting lineup from 2019 and finally reached 100 million yen.
The 100 million yen is a whopping 37 times higher than when he joined the company. He is the fourth former Softbank player to earn 100 million yen a year, following pitcher Kodai Senga, catcher Kai Takuya, and pitcher Shota Ishikawa.
“I didn’t even get a down payment because I was a training player. I think I got it now. I’m so grateful,” Makihara said, jokingly saying, “I have to work for 1,000 years to catch up with Shohei Otani.” Ohtani received the highest treatment in all professional sports worldwide when he signed a 10-year, 700 million-dollar FA contract with the Dodgers on the 10th.
Makihara, who is 172 centimeters tall and 73 kilograms short, has entered the first division as a utility player capable of both inside and outside the country. He recorded a batting average of 268 542 hits in 2025 at bat in 12 seasons in the first division with 19 homers, 166 RBIs, 247 runs, 61 steals, and a slugging percentage of .298 OPS.640.
He had a batting average of .31 123 hits in 409 at-bats in 120 games in 2022, with six homers, 42 RBIs, 45 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases OPS.739. At the World Baseball Classic in March this year, he joined the Japanese national team as a substitute for Seiya Suzuki Chicago Cubs, who was eliminated due to an injury, and contributed to winning all seven games by playing as a pinch runner and a big fee.
This year, he struggled with a batting average of 259 93 for 359 with two home runs and 32 RBIs OPS.605 in 91 games amid unfavorable injuries, such as being out for the season due to a broken right wrist due to a dune at the end of August, but was recognized for his value with a three-year contract and an annual salary of over 100 million yen.
Makihara, who was able to win the right to become a free agent in Korea during the next season but gave up on a three-year contract, said, “I was going to stay at Softbank even if other teams contacted me. I had to repay the kindness that I gave to my hometown team as a training player because I was old. I want to play baseball here in Fukuoka until the end.”
Makihara, who has crossed second base and center field this year, will be fixed as second baseman under new coach Hiroki Kokubo next year. “Second base is a position that I am good at. There are some that Kokubo said, and I want to focus on second base and receive Golden Gloves as well as regulation at bat,” he said. 스포츠토토
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