Question on Japanese players

Well, the "who" is to be found in this thread on this year's free agents. So I'll concentrate on a short profile of each of the players.

First is 37 year old veteran pitcher Komiyama. He's a right handed pitcher who, despite having a losing lifetime record, is really quite good. I belive that he was the winningest pitcher on the 3rd place BayStars last season, throwing more complete games that any one else on the team as well. To your interest, he played for Valentine-kantoku in 1995 when Valentine managed the Chiba Lotte Marines, and rumor has it that Valentine is interested in reuniting.

Next is Komi-chan's current battery mate Tanishige, a right handed catcher. Shige had a lifetime .246 batting average going into the season, and I believe batted somewhere near there this past season. (Sorry, I don't have this season's stats handy and have to play it by my poor memory.) Tanishige did bat over .300 in Yokohama's championship season of 1998, but that was a career year for him. He is only 32 years old, but has been Yokohama's main catcher for pretty much most of his 13 year career, and can catch Sasaki's fork ball. Yakult's Furuta is considered the best catcher in Japan, but Tanishige is a close second in my book.

Taguchi, of the Orix Blue Wave, is a very good (right handed) outfielder who was often overshadowed by Ichiro. It always amused me at how Taguchi would try to copy Ichiro's tricks in the outfield, like catching the ball behind his back. Taguchi couldn't quite it get for the most part, but he continued trying. Lifetime going into the 2001 season Taguchi batted .277, 59 home runs, 362 RBIs, in 973 games.

Well, that's it. Those are the only three considering the move to the MLB this off season. Reports are that each player is getting offers, Tanishige the most as six MLB teams appear to be looking for a solid catcher.

A friend of mine in Nagasaki tells me Taguchi is going to be Japan's #1 player. What were his stats for the 2001 seasion?

Also do you think Tuffy Rodes has a good chance of breaking the Home Run record this year?

Taguchi's career stats are here. I can't say that I think he'll be #1, but he is a competent player.

It'll be a lot harder for Rhodes to break the record this year. You can bet he'll have a mark on him from all of the pitchers around the league from the start. He does have Nakamura batting behind him which will help him get more good pitches, but...

Another thing that will go against him, and all of the home run hitters this season, is the expanded strike zone. The strike zone has been expanded 20cm higher (approx. the diameter of three baseballs) this season in yet another futile effort to speed up the game. I see the number of strike outs rise this year, with the number of home runs going down.

To me, this is not what Pro Yakyu needs. I fail to see why the "powers that be" think that shorter games will draw larger crowds. Also, as Kintetsu showed last year, a home run derby (and being in the pennent race) does draw a crowd. With the expanded strike zone, home runs are going to go down, which is not going to bring out more people.

Will fans switch their attention to a new strike out record? Perhaps. Many fans do like a good pitchers' duel. But those tend to be the fans who go to games anyway. The fair weather fans that NPB seems to be trying to bring back to the park tend to prefer games with lots of home runs over lots of strike outs, IMHO.

Do you expect any impact signing like an Ichiro(I am aware the MLB team needs to negotiate with the Japanese club first)

The only other player I can think of who could generate as much enthusiasm is Seibu's high school phenom pitcher Matsuzaka. And there's little to no chance of him going any time soon.

There's been a lot of talk about the possibilty of the two Matsui's going over (neither of which will this off season), but I don't think that they'll get nearly as much coverage as Ichiro. While it's possible that Tanishige may go, he doesn't have anywhere near the fan base that Ichiro had. "The first catcher to cross" can only be hyped so far.

Can Tanishige or one of the Matsui's next year have an impact on a team? Sure. But nothing compared to Ichiro.

As for negotiating with the team first, that's only if a player is to be posted. If you're not familar with the posting system, use of the search facility should turn up quite a bit of information on it.

Nonetheless, Tanishige is a free agent, so no such negotiation with the ball club is necessary. "Big" and "Little" Matsui will both be free agents after this coming season, so it won't be necessary after the 2002 season for either of them. (If it were, Godzilla would never be allowed to depart.)

As far as I know, Little Matsui has made it clear that he'll stay with the Lions for the rest of his career.

I believe Little Matsui is at least 2 years (possibly 3 seasons) away from becoming a free agent.
I think he's only played 6 and half years.
His team could post him before that, though.

>fusianasan

Where did you hear that??

>fusianasan

Where did you hear that??

There was a Nikkan Sports article a few weeks ago.
Maybe it's nothing but a groundless rumor, but the article basically said that Matsui "promised" the GM(or someone in the front office) that he would be a Lion for the rest of his career(including after the retirement as a player).
Whatever the case, we'll see in a few years.

I was under the impression that Matsui would be eligable after the end of 2003. Matsui entered the Lions in 1994 and hasn't been injurred to the point that he was taken off the roster (playing in pain on a number of occasions) and did not join the Lions as a gyaku-shimei, making him eligable after 9 years of service.

Please, somebody correct me if that's wrong.

You are correct on Matsui's FA status.

As you might know, he could have been posted this off season with Mr.Tsutsumi's approval, but somehow changed his mind and decided to stay with the Lions.
Some fans who had expected to see Matsui play in MLB next season were both surprised and disappointed.

So after 2003 season, Little Matsui would be eligible..
That's what I thought but I was not sure. Thanks.

>fusianasan

I found a couple of articles about Little Matsui, too.
Sankei Sports article from about a week ago said Matsui told Seibu Officials that he would stay and would not go to USA.
Just like the one you mentioned.

This one is little different.
Nikkan Sports (12/1) reported that Little Matsui said he will not talk (about going to the Major League) until he's satisfied with himself. (I guess he meant his offensive numbers and winning Japan Series)
It said he still wants to play in the Big League.

Like you said, we'll see soon.

As Brooklynite-san mentioned, today's Nikkan Sports reports that Little Matsui won't talk about going over until he's satisfied with himself. The conditions in particular are a .300 batting average, 30 home runs, and 100 RBIs. Matsui hit .308, 24 home runs, and 76 RBIs in 2001, clearing only one of his three conditions. What's more, he batted .278 with runners in scoring positition, which I think was the biggest factor in Matsui "losing his confidence" in crossing the Pacific.

I got a chance to watch Takanori Suzuki(sp?) play several years ago against the MLB All-Stars.
Very Impressive hitter. I liked his game more than Ichiro or the two Suzuki's during that series.
I know he has the 10 years service time, but I never hear his name as a possible N.American import to MLB.
Has he ever indicated interest?

When is Big Matsui eligible for free agency? Is 2-gun a minor league for Japan? If so, what are the teams and where are they based? Also, whatever happened to Takashi Kashiwada and Masao Kida? I know it is a lot of questions. Thank you.

- When is Big Matsui eligible for free agency?

He will meet elegibility requirements during this season, heath permitting. Expect him to seek out and sign in the Majors next off season.

- Is 2-gun a minor league for Japan?

Yes, it's the farm system. The number should be pronounced in Japanese, so it's "ni-gun." Each top (1-gun - ichi-gun) team has a farm team. I've heard "rehabiltation" referred to as 3-gun (san-gun), but there is no team per se at that level.

One could consider the Industrial Leagues as an independent farm system.

- If so, what are the teams and where are they based?

All but Yokohama's and Orix's have the same name and uniforms as the 1-gun teams. If there is a difference, it's a small addition to the sleeve. Yokohama's 2-gun team is called the Shonan SeaRex and Orix's is called the Surpas (I'm not sure if Kobe is tacked on in front or not).

The farm teams are generally located within near their top teams. The ones I know are:

Yokohama: Yokosuka - Oppama Stadium is a 5 minute walk from where I live.

Yakult: Tokyo - I've played in that stadium (Ota Stadium, I think) with our company team. It's near Heiwajima's Ryutsu Center, just north of Haneda airport.

Lotte: Urawa - North of Tokyo in Saitama-ken. I've never been there, but have passed by on the expess way on my way to play ball at Omiya.

Giants: Kawasaki - Located in the flood plain of the Tamagawa (Tama River), that separates Tokyo from Kanagawa-ken.

Nippon Ham: Fighters Town - I know that it's in Chiba, but I don't recall the town's real name.

Chunichi: Nagoya Stadium - After the 1-gun Dragons moved to Nagoya Dome, 2-gun took over their old stadium.

Kintetsu: Fujiidera Kyujyo - Like Chunichi, when the top team moved into their new dome, 2-gun got the old stadium.

- Also, whatever happened to Takashi Kashiwada and Masao Kida?

Kasihwada returned to the Giants, but I don't know if he's still with them this year.

After playing for Orix the past couple of years, I think I had read in another thread here that he was returning (or trying to) to the Majors. Anyone?

About Kashiwada and Kida-it looks like Kashiwada will start training camp with the Giants' farm team while Kida reportedly signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. I doubt he'll make the major league roster, but weirder things have happened (like him playing for Detroit for a whole season in '99 when he was anything but spectacular).

I can't find any article about Masao Kida signing a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. Where did you see it?

What can you tell me about a lefthanded pitcher named Nomura that is rumored to pitch for Milwaukee in the Major Leagues next season?

What kind of pitcher is he and what are his career statistics?

I see the announcement in today's (1/28) Nikkan Sports. I'm afraid I don't have time to put his detailed career stats together right now, so I'll give his summary stats:

Name: Takaki Nomura
Throws/Bats: Left/Left
Height/Weight: 196cm/75kg
Born: 1969/01/10 in Kochi-ken
Draft: #3 draft pick by Orix in 1990 from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
History: Used mainly in middle relief in 1995-6. Traded to Giants in 1998.
2001: 40 Games, 2 Wins, 1 Loss, 4.62 ERA
Career: 11 Years, 338 Games, 24 Wins, 22 Losses 39 Saves, 3.11 ERA

Will post career stats either this evening or tomorrow.

Mr. Westbaystars, are you sure that information on Nomura is accurate? I believe he is much shorter than 196 cm. In fact, I'd be surprised if he is taller than 175 cm. He's probably around 5'9" or somewhere around there.

Thanks for catching that. I got the last two digits inverted. He is actually 169 cm tall. That's not very tall at all. A quick double check of the rest, and it looks OK.

Thank you again for pointing that out.

I have posted Nomura's career stats here. Please post follow ups there.

Enjoy.

I'd read about this here in Milwaukee. It sounds like he's basically always been a middle reliever. As far as I'm concerned, we (Milwaukee) need as much pitching help as possible. It's interesting to note that when Nomo was here for a year, there seemed to be quite a few Japanese fans coming to games. It was neat to see. On a totally seperate note, does anyone know whatever happened to Masuda Daisuke? Wasn't he a "rising star" for Chunichi a few years back?

Masuda played pretty much full time for Chunichi's 2-gun (farm) team last season. He batted .254 in 72 games with 2 home runs and 20 RBIs. He was 9 for 15 in steal attempts as well.

I don't have him listed as signing this year (yet - my data is incomplete). But to have been playing him all season last year, even at 2-gun, the Dragons must see some potential in him still.

I'm afraid that that's all I've got on him for now.

Today's (1/30) Nikkan Sports shows that Masuda is still with Chunichi.

Now I'm confused....I went to the IBM BIS site, before I checked back here, and went to Chunichi's roster. It said Masuda was traded to Osaka in May.

My mistake. The character for Makuta looks a lot like Masuda. And double checking the Record Book, it looks like I missed there, too.

I couldn't find anything on him in 1-gun, but in the Western League e played 18 games for Chunichi, then 2 games for Kintetsu. He went 5 for 30 (.167), scored 4, drove in 4, and hit 1 home run while with Chunichi's 2-gun team, and was 1 for 5 (.200), scored once, drove in none, and failed to hit a home run for Kintetsu's 2-gun. I'm pretty sure I got the right guy this time.

Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for your persistance in finding the truth.

I am a little bit confused, but I don't know if Takahito Nomura and Takaki Nomura are the same player or two players... I found different listings about baseball cards

They are the same person. He, like quite a number of ball players, changed his name to something with better fortune.

Baseball players seem to be very superstitious. One often hears about players who don't wash their underware while on a hitting/winning streak in the Majors. Well, in Japan, the number of strokes in the Kanji of ones name carries a lot of weight.

Hanshin's Hirosawa changed the Kanji for his name a number of years ago (but not the pronunciation, I don't think), and Nomura-kantoku has changed his first name at least once as well, if I remember correctly.