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Shinjo Tsuyoshi (54), the Nippon Ham Fighters manager who is also regarded as a "maverick" in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), made an unconventional proposal to hold a "real World Series" pitting the Major League Baseball (MLB) champion against the Japanese champion.
According to multiple media outlets, including Japan's Chunichi Sports and Daily Sports, on the 5th, Manager Shinjo revealed his concept for a "dream match" that would stimulate the imagination of baseball fans to reporters at the team's fall closing camp held at Escon Field Hokkaido on the 4th.
On this day, Manager Shinjo opened with his characteristic playful joke, asking, "When are we starting? I'm talking about a 'Real World Series' between the Brewers and SoftBank. Huh? Are we not doing it?"
He then presented a concrete blueprint for the tournament. Raising his voice, Manager Shinjo proposed, "Let's make it a 'winner-takes-all' format where the winning team takes home an enormous prize pool of 2 billion yen (approximately 17 billion won)," and added, "Since there is a time difference issue, let's build a baseball stadium in Hawaii, which is right in the middle."
He also added a specific idea to raise the large prize money by pooling contributions from all teams in both leagues and sponsors. In particular, he emphasized that the championship prize should be distributed not only to the players but also significantly to team staff to create a definite motivation.
Manager Shinjo said, "If there is a prize pool, the staff who work hard behind the scenes will be truly happy. It could amount to several million yen per person," and added, "Even for the sake of the staff, the players will unite as one with a 'let's give it a try' attitude and burn with passion."
So, what would happen if the two countries' champions faced off in Hawaii immediately this year? Manager Shinjo predicted a clear advantage for SoftBank, the Japan Series champion, without hesitation.
After making the bombshell remark that "if they were to face each other right now, SoftBank would win by about 4-2," Manager Shinjo offered a sharp analysis, stating, "With the speed of SoftBank's players, they could fully exploit the weakness of the opposing (Milwaukee) pitching staff's slow quick motion and run," showcasing his witty talk.
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*This content was translated by AI.View Original
