Nichi-Bei Series: Game 6

Really? From what I recall, Kawajiri had some amazing performances against the major leaguers, and I thought that he actually threw a shutout against them. I could be wrong, and maybe he was pulled in the 7th or 8th inning.

Nikkan Sports has the following table of Japanese who threw complete game victories against the visiting MLB teams for Nichi-Bei Yakyu in the past:

    Date    Player (NPB Team)               VS.        H  K BB  R Score
=======================================================================
1953.10.23  Aramaki Atsushi (Mainichi)      MLB        6  1  3  4  5-4
     10.31  Ohtomo Takumi (Kyojin)          Giants     7  7  1  1  2-1
1958.11.04  Sugiura Tadashi (Nankai)        Cardinals  6  4  1  2  9-2
1962.10.31  Nakamura Minoru (Kyojin)        Tigers     2  6  3  0  4-0
     11.17  Murayama Minoru (Hanshin)       Tigers     2  6  3  0  4-0
1966.10.23  Masuda Akio (Kyojin)            Dodgers    3  6  3  0  5-0
     11.14  Horiuchi Tsuneo (Kyojin)        Dodgers    6  7  4  1  3-1
1968.11.17  Takahashi Akira (Kyojin)        Cardinals  2  0  2  0  2-0
1971.11.09  Yamada Hisashi (Hankyu)         Orioles    7  3  2  2  8-2
1984.10.27  Kawaguchi Kazuhisa (Hiroshima)  Orioles    6 10  3  0  1-0
2004.11.11  Matsuzaka Daisuke (Seibu)       MLB        5  6  0  1  5-1

* Kyojin = Yomiuri Giants - to differentiate it from the visiting Giants.

After you pointed out that what I stated was wrong, I did a bit of Googling myself. Well, Kawajiri didn't pitch a complete game, although he may have pitched what may be the best game pitched against an MLB team - ever.

In the 4th game of the 1998 Nichi-Bei Series, he limited the MLB stars to 4 hits over 8 1/3 innings, allowing no runs, to lead the NPB stars to a 1-0 victory. [Link - Sports Illustrated/CNN]

For those of you who remember watching it, the final out was a runner thrown out at home plate, as mentioned in the article. And, once again, hoping that my memory isn't deceiving me this time, I recall that it was Hideki Matsui, playing in center, who threw out the runner trying to score on a sacrifice fly. So, Kawajiri faced all but one of the batters that day. Pretty good considering he wouldn't even be considered a top-of-the-rotation pitcher on any Japanese team, even during his prime.

I recall him having some success after that year against the MLB Stars as well, which I think made him want to leave for the majors, although that never happened.

Just some interesting trivia.

- Kawajiri didn't pitch a complete game, although he may have pitched what may be the best game pitched against an MLB team - ever.

Sawamura's effort against a formidable group of 1930's American stars probably beats Kawajiri's noteworthy effort.

Jim Albright

- Sawamura's effort against a formidable group of 1930's American stars probably beats Kawajiri's noteworthy effort.

However, he lost the game after giving up a homer in the seventh to Lou Gehrig. I'd say Kawajiri's 1-0 win probably trumps Sawamura's 0-1 loss.

If the account here Link - MLB.com] is accurate, then Sawamura pitched only five innings and I'd agree with you, though this is the first time I've seen anyone suggest Sawamura didn't go the whole way. Sawamura faced a team with Ruth (aging, though), Gehrig, Foxx, Gehringer, and Averill. I doubt the 1998 team Kawajiri faced was as strong, though I am willing to listen to who was on the squad.

If Sawamura went the whole way against a stronger club and allowed only one run and five hits (and lost) while Kawajiri had a shutout on four hits, for me it comes down to how much stronger a team Sawamura faced.

Jim Albright

I searched the Internet, and didn't find much clarification on Sawamura's performance. Some claimed he gave up only one hit, Gehrig's homer. He clearly struck out Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx in succession, and it seems likely he struck out nine for the game. Robert Whiting's account in You Gotta Have Wa says Sawamura "held the Americans hitless until the fifth inning. [...] The only run he surrendered was a seventh-inning homer by Lou Gehrig, losing 1-0." I'd say the five hit complete game scenario seems most likely.

Jim Albright

Kawajiri faced Jason Kendall, Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, Jason Giambi, and Devon White in that game, and the 1998 Stars included these other hitters: Garret Anderson, Fernando Vina, Carlos Delgado, Andruw Jones, Sammy Sosa, B. J. Surhoff, Greg Vaughn, Vinny Castilla, and Javy Lopez.

While that was a fine team, I'd definitely go with the 1934's team, even though Ruth was near the end of the line. If the rest of the 1934's team was ordinary major leaguers (besides linguist/spy/catcher Moe Berg, who could hardly hit his way out of a paper bag), I think you can make an argument for Kawajiri.

If the rest of the 1934's stars were above average, I'll take Sawamura's performance over Kawajiri's, even though he lost and Kawajiri won.

Jim Albright

You can find the 1934 box score to the game here, taken from the Yomiuri Shimbun of the following day.

As you can clearly see, Sawamura was the only pitcher for the Japanese team, and Whitehill threw the entire game for the North American squad. Sawamura allowed 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 9. While the box score confirms that he struck out Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx (twice), it cannot be used to verify that they were struck out in order (although that claim is not in dispute).

Also, note that the entire 9 inning game was finished in one and a half hours.

Okay, so:

1. Who, other than Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx, were among the position players? and
2. was it Foxx who played out of position, and was it third base perchance (Gehrig and Foxx were both primarily first basemen)?

Jim Albright

- Who, other than Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx, were among the position players?

The starting MLB lineup was:

SS McNair
2B Gehriger
1B Ruth
LF Gehrig
3B Foxx
CF Averill
RF Miller
C Hayes
P Whitehall

(According to this list of arrivals [The Japan Times], I mis-spelled the MLB pitcher's name. It should be Whitehall, not Whitehill.)

Well it's obvious that both Sawamura and Kawajiri faced strong lineups. But a win is a win, and Kawajiri won his game; Sawamura lost his. That doesn't take anything away from Sawamura, who was a great player. But the much-maligned Kawajiri should receive his due for his magnificent effort.

I'm not trying to take anything away from anybody. Both efforts are excellent, and deserve to be seen as such. However, the question posed was, which performance was better? To my way of thinking, subjective as it is, I'll go with Sawamura.

The Japanese team was slaughtered in every game of that 1934 series except the one Sawamura pitched. Yes, Sawamura lost, but he didn't have the supporting cast that could have gotten him two measly runs. Losing one when allowing only a solo home run to Lou Gehrig in his prime when the team has Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, and Earl Averill all in their prime is a tremendous accomplishment.

Kawajiri performed exceptionally, but IMO opinion had a better supporting cast and didn't face a team as good as Sawamura did. To me, that trumps the one run difference between them and the fact Kawajiri won and Sawamura didn't.

It's admittedly a close call, but I go with Sawamura. The fact Sawamura's team failed to provide him a mere two runs shouldn't be held against him. I agree, however, that Kawajiri deserves credit for making a single run stand up - but he apparently left the game with the tying run on base, possibly even in scoring position, and his manager didn't think he was the best pitcher to get the last two outs at that point in the game. If Garciaparra isn't thrown out at the plate, your whole argument in favor of Kawajiri is tremendously weakened. The fact Kawajiri didn't finish what he started should count against him to my way of thinking.

My approach is to look at each performance on its own merits, without putting a great deal of emphasis on the outcome of a single game. If you were talking about a season, I'd clearly agree with you, but in a single game, things easily don't even out as well as they will over a longer period. I know that whichever performance you choose, it's a matter of taste. In some ways, it's like arguing over which is better, lobster or veal cordon bleu when both are well made. Both are excellent, but most people would, I suspect, prefer one or the other.

Jim Albright

I don't want to drag this topic into a never-ending thread, but just to let you know, the batter who got on base in the 9th inning against Kawajiri was someone who got on base deliberately by extending his knee into the plate and got hit by the pitch. I don't remember if it was Garciaparra who got hit (or someone else and then was pinch ran by Garciaparra). The point is, while that behavior might be acceptable in the majors, the batter there wouldn't have gotten his free base by "cheating" in Japan like that. (I think it's downright low what he did, although nothing compared to a $25 million man slapping the ball out of a pitcher's hand to get on base in the 2004 ALCS).