Kaz Sasaki

I don't know. That's news to me as it wasn't in this morning's Nikkan Sports. Perhaps I missed it yesterday? (I don't pay much attention to the MLB page.)

I do remember reading a week or two ago that Sasaki said that if he returned to Japan, it would be with the BayStars. He also let his former team mates know that his line is always open to give any advice should they ever need it.

Hold on. Let me check yesterday's paper. [...] Whoa! NikkanSports.com does have an article [in Japanese] up stating that Sasaki wants to return to Japan to be closer to his family.

That's just the first paragraph, after that there's something about waivers, but I've got work to do right now. Can somebody else translate this article? If not, I'll look more into it at lunch.

Jim Street writes at MLB.com [Link] that Sasaki's agent, Tony Attanasio, confirmed that Kazuhiro will forfeit the second year of a $16 million contract to stay in Japan for 2004. Attanasio said that "(Sasaki) wants to be with his wife and two children."

Tim Hevley, the Mariners' PR Director, said that the Mariners "will be as cooperative as we can."

Seattle's KIRO-TV mentioned that Kazuhiro Sasaki will hold a press conferance in Japan at 4:00pm Tuesday.

- [...] Sasaki wants to return to Japan to be closer to his family.

Should that be "Sasaki wants to return to Japan to be a closer to his family"? ;^)

OK. Still have a little time. Here's what Nikkan Sports had to say yesterday:

Sasaki has expressed that he wishes to return to Japan to be closer to his family. Sasaki still has one more year remaining on his contract, but the Marinars are willing to put him on waivers according to Sasaki's wishes. There's the greatest probability that he will return to Yokohama. There will be a press conference about it on the 20th (today).

The first paragraph is reitterated in the second.

The third paragraph points out that 8,000,000 dollars (8.8-oku yen) remains on Sasaki's contract. But the ball club and Sasaki are working together to grant Sasaki's wish to return.

The next paragraph mentions that Sasaki went on the DL twice last season, chalking up only 10 saves, his lowest in the four years he threw in the Majors. Then there's something about Sasaki thinking about what Clemens said about family, and that he believes that he should put his family first - ie. he is a father above being a ball player.

Next, the article speculates that Sasaki may play for Nagashima's Japan in the Athens Olympics.

A reitteration that Sasaki will be placed on wavers soon comes next, with Melvin-kantoku stating that Sasaki is still well fit to be their stopper. It reitterates that Yokohama is the best bet for where he'll be heading. Then it mentions that, with Yokohama having 3 or 4 foreign pitchers on their list right now, the return of Sasaki may change their restructuring efforts.

Finally, there's mention that the God of Saves has shown interest in playing for the Giants, but that he's stated that it would be better to play for Yokohama if he returned. More than money, the feelings of affection for his former team may win out, seeing the Daimajim return to the BayStars. And it concludes that we'll have to wait until the 20th to find out.

Guess I'll be checking news sites after the 3:00 meeting I have.

From a fan's view point, I applaud him for his decision. I can understand him being on another side of the world half of the time during the year and suffer injuries for the past year. He'll be deeply missed in MLB, but home sweet home in Japan for him, he'll be a star in NPB and I wish him the best.

Let me preface my comment by saying I'm a huge fan of NPB, and that I actually like it better than MLB.

So Sasaki is coming home. Good! I wish something like this had happened years ago. Then guys like Randy Bass, who wanted some time off to be with his family, might have gotten more sympathy. I know the situation isn't identical, but it is similar.

I realise that things have improved for foreign players. Hanshin gave George Arias some time off in September when his wife had a baby. But I do think Sasaki's decision could positively affect relations between American and Japanese baseball.

Sasaki gave us some good years of baseball over here. I respect his decision. He knows what is most important, his family. He has accomplished in MLB what he had set out to do. Best of luck to him.

This was rumored last year. And the Mariners protected themselves by signing both Hasegawa and Guadardo.

A shame for me personally, having just moved to the Pacific Northwest. So I will miss seeing Sasaki pitch for the Mariners. The complete details are available, by the way, on the Mariners' web site, of course. [Link - MLB.com]

Today, Sasaki and his agent traveled to Seattle to handle paperwork on terminating the final year of his contact.