Koshien

- The New York Times ran [an] article about Koshien on August 18th. As an aside, Bob Whiting, ascribed by the reporter as a Japanese baseball historian, was quoted. Is this the same Robert Whiting who posts here?

It is indeed. Although I'm not sure if Mr. Whiting would describe himself as a baseball historian, per se. He did, however, write the most well known book on Japanese baseball, You Gotta Have Wa [see also the Japanese baseball book FAQ].

- Anyway, I was interested in comments to this article from an accuracy perspective as well as the implication that the times have made the games a bit less intense. How long does it take the top tourney players to make it as a starter in NPB? Can any of these guys be drafted out of high school for MLB? If so, it seems like there is a great talent pool of the willing to be tapped.

Question 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka went from Koshien hero in 1998 to Rookie of the Year in 1999. In general, though, it takes about a year or two before they can grab a starting spot.

Question 2: Since MLB has no worldwide draft, none of the Koshien players are draft eligible. They can, however, be signed. In the 2001 off-season, a couple Major League teams pursued Koshien star Hayato Terahara, but he chose to enter the Japanese draft and was selected as the Hawks as their number 1 pick.

I don't think he played at Koshien, but did Mac Suzuki sign right out of High School to play with the Seattle organization? [Admin: I thought he went through the Royals' organization.] Is it true that once a player signs a NPB contract he must wait 9 years before he can sign with a MLB team?

Let's say a Japanese high schooler has his heart set on playing MLB for whatever reason. If he makes it to the Majors, I would think he could hook up with a NPB team later on. What if he only made it to AA or AAA, but was a decent player? Would he be black balled in the NPB?

Aside from the great cultural differences and challenges of playing in a strange land, I'm trying to understand the risk of a Japanese youngster signing a U.S. minor league contract. I think these young guys are locked up for 10 years in Japan.

- Let's say a Japanese high schooler has his heart set on playing MLB for whatever reason. If he makes it to the Majors, I would think he could hook up with a NPB team later on. What if he only made it to AA or AAA, but was a decent player? Would he be black balled in the NPB?

Aside from the great cultural differences and challenges of playing in a strange land, I'm trying to understand the risk of a Japanese youngster signing a U.S. minor league contract. I think these young guys are locked up for 10 years in Japan.

High schoolers are locked up for 9 seasons in Japan. Only gyaku-shimei (reverse selection) players wait ten years for free agency.

I certainly don't think a player would be black balled in NPB if he went to MLB first. Look at Mac Suzuki. He wasn't drafted by an NPB team, got signed by an MLB team, and then was able to find a job when he returned to Japan.

Suzuki was originally signed by Seattle, but was later traded to the Royals. He made a few starts with Seattle, but didn't really become a Major Leaguer until he went to Kansas City.