Baseball Jobs

Mr. Newman,

Any possibility of you coming back to the Devil Ray's organization? You did quite well in Durham.

I don't think that I'll end up with them again. At least, not this year. I loved playing in Durham! It is such a graet atmosphere. I miss my Durham days! Oh well, maybe later.

Hey Alan, great to see your post. I always pulled for you while you were in Japan, though mainly because we share the same last name!

I actually saw you pitch twice in 2002. The first time was at Koshien, against my Tigers. As I recall, you pitched quite well, and I wanted to cheer, but I had to keep my mouth shut! I was annoyed that the Tigers lost, but happy that I got to see a Newman perform well.

So I went to Jingu Stadium later that summer, hoping to find a Newman shirt or jersey as a souvenir. No luck, but I had a great time with my friends at Jingu Stadium. We got to see you pitch again, and this time, we were able to cheer without fearing the anger of 50,000 Hanshin fans.

Best of luck catching on with a team in the States, I hope to see you on the mound again this season!

Patrick Newman

Thanks for pulling for me Patrick. There are two things I won't miss about Japan:

1. Hiroshima Stadium and
2. Koshien dirt

That soft black dirt is the most dangerous surface I have ever played on.

Jingu was almost like playing a home game. Any time the Giants and Tigers came to town, there were 2 visiting fans to every 1 Swallows' fan. But I did enjoy it out there.

I do want one more shot at the NPB but it's gotta' be for Chiba Lotte - I love that place!

I'll catch you guys later.

Thanks for replying.

What was wrong with Hiroshima Stadium, if you don't mind me asking? I've only ever been to Hiroshima once, and I regret that the Carp were on the road. I really wanted to see a game there, because it seems like a quaint little ballpark, and it's in the perfect location.

The game I saw in Jingu was against the BayStars, and there were plenty of fans for both sides. I had a great time with the Yakult fans. They might not be the most numerous in the world, but that umbrella dance is quite distinctive.

Thanks for posting, it's great, as a fan, to hear from ball players. I'm still pullin' for ya!

Okay, well let me say this, I was really hoping to see the new stadium deal go through in Hiroshima. A problem is there are four small locker rooms on the home side and two on the visiting side. That may explain some of the lack of team chemestry in the Carp clubhouse.

And as a visiting player, in one room are the gaijin and coaches, and in the other are all the other players.

I always got along great with the players and wished to spend more time at the field with everyone. As a pitcher you would not believe how little you see the position players at the field. But that's okay, I still enjoyed my years there!

Good luck to you with the Tigers!

Al Newman

- Okay, well let me say this, I was really hoping to see the new stadium deal go through in Hiroshima. A problem is there are four small locker rooms on the home side and two on the visiting side. That may explain some of the lack of team chemestry in the Carp clubhouse.

That's interesting. Hiroshima Stadium always seemed like a nice place to watch a game, to me. I guess what works for a fan doesn't necessarily work for the players.

Newman-san,

Welcome.

One of the most frequetly asked (and now rejected) questions here is, "How do I get a job with a Japanese team?" I was hoping that you might be able to share your experience on how you landed a job with the Swallows a few years ago. Did you ask your agent to come to Japan, or did a Japanese team contact you, your team, or your agent?

There are numerous threads here on the subject, I've got it covered in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), but I haven't had any feedback on the question from anybody who's actually gotten a job. Is the advice in Latham-san's essay (linked from the FAQ) on the matter sound? Or my rant on why an agent is necessary?

There are a lot of college, minor league, and even high school players who would like to hear your experience in landing a job with a Japanese team.

Well, first of all both of the threads are pretty good advice. I was able to come to Japan through my agent. I was really just sitting home after the 2000 season and got a phone call in October from my agent. He asked if I could be ready to throw for a team in Japan in about a week? I had already had about 6 weeks off and tried to get ready the best I could. I flew to Tokyo for 7 days and went through a little workout for about 3 days in the middle of the week. It was pretty fun going to a new culture and seeing that approach to the game. Anyway I had 2 days at the begining of the week to get over the (jetlag). Then I had 2 days at the end of the week to watch the Nippon Series and get started looking at the Giants.

In all I would say there's two ways to get there:

1. Get an agent who has a good reputation (the more recognizable the better, unless you have already made a name for yourself).
2. This is the best way for someone with little or no pro experience. Go to tryouts for other leagues (Taiwan, Korea). These tryouts are a little hard to find and somewhat rare.

It's best to network too! Talk to agents, friends, anyone who has previously played in an international baseball league.

It's not easy to get overseas for baseball, but it can happen. Scouts for Asian leagues have been scouting a lot of independant leagues as well!

Al Newman

Hey,Alan! I remember you pitched for my team (Yakult Swallows) for two seasons. I heard that Kevin Hodges signed a contract with some Korean team. You could try for a try out with the independent Atlantic League. [Link]