Fukuoka – The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks are set to acquire highly sought free-agent outfielder Kensuke Kondo, one of the best contact hitters in Japanese baseball, an executive of the club revealed Monday.
The Hawks offered the 29-year-old Kondo an attractive deal to beat rival bids from four other Pacific League clubs, including the Japan Series champion Orix Buffaloes and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, who were trying to retain Kondo.
Kondo is a .307 career hitter with 52 home runs and 446 RBIs over 11 seasons, all with the Fighters. He batted .302 with eight homers, 41 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .418 in 99 games this year.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times