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HIROSHIMA, JAPAN - JAN. 11: Kenta Maeda expressed his thanks to the Hiroshima Carp on Monday for allowing him to begin a new career in the major leagues. In a press conference held on "Coming of Age Day," when Japan celebrates 20-year-olds becoming adults, the 27-year-old Maeda returned to Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium days after signing an eight-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. "I am filled with gratitude for the support the Hiroshima Carp have given me for nine years," Maeda said. "My goal is not to simply go to the majors, but to get satisfactory results." A two-time winner of the Sawamura Award as Nippon Professional Baseball's most impressive starting pitcher, Maeda told a press conference in Los Angeles that his goal was to celebrate a championship with a "champagne fight," and said he is pained by his inability to win a pennant in Hiroshima. "I wanted to win a championship with this team," Maeda said. "I wanted to see what it was like to have a (victory) parade in Hiroshima. That (failing to win) is my sole regret." After years of asking the Carp to post him, Maeda said the reality proved nerve wracking. "Up to the point I was posted, I was really looking forward to it, and had only high expectations for myself," he said. "But when it actually came to be, my eagerness disappeared, and I felt nothing but anxiety." Maeda's contract is the longest given to a Japanese player, exceeding the seven-year deal signed by Masahiro Tanaka with the New York Yankees ahead of the 2014 season. Maeda's deal paid him $1 million as a signing bonus with another $24 million guaranteed over eight years. Last season, his reported salary with the Carp was 300 million yen (roughly $2.56 million). "The contract terms are important, but the biggest thing was my desire to pitch in the major leagues. And that was the strongest factor," Maeda said.