It has been 20 years since SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son launched a bid to buy the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks baseball team from debt-ridden retail giant Daiei, in October 2004.
Son, now the owner of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, which won the Pacific League championship this year, often receives calls from U.S. Major League Baseball stakeholders, asking if he is interested in managing a baseball team.
“We often hear about investment and funding from MLB,” a close aide of Son said.