Cabrera/Petagine

> Why don't any MLB teams sign them? They both are
> great players who have good strike zone judgement,
> which is considered the key to major league success
> by scouts. Some MLB teams lack the classic
> power-hitting 1B. J.T. Snow has good defence but no
> power.
>
> P.S Cabrera's BB:K = 100:117 and
> Petagine's = 85:106

The Diamondbacks actually had Cabrera, but they let him go to Japan for some God knows what reason. He was blocked by Erubiel Durazo, and, well, for some reason Durazo got blocked by Grace. Given the D'Backs monetary troubles, I'm thinking Seibu gave the D'Backs money for the right to negotiate with Cabrera, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Be that as it may, Cabrera has said, more than once, that he no longer has any wish to go back to MLB. He felt Arizona was jerking him around, not giving him his shot. Now he's fairly respected, is playing well, and is going to make good money in Japan.

As for Petagine, I really don't know. It's crazy. Offhand, I would say that it's probably because, in general, most teams think they can get away with paying a power-hitting prospect less money, and don't want to pony up the cash signing Petagine would require.

> P.P.S Why do Japenese players have to wait 9 years
> for free agency when they can just "retire."

They can't. That loophole has been closed. If a player "retires" from Japanese baseball, MLB teams won't negotiate with him.

I still think playing 1st base has a lot to do with it though. Most MLB teams have powerful first basemen, exceptions like Grace and Snow are not the norm. Plus they are both veterans who've been in the league a long time (and started before the offense explosion era). I'd be very surprised if any team looks at a rookie defensive first baseman at all now a days.

There has been interest in Cabrera, but he wants to stay with Seibu one more season. Alex has really been around the block (MLB, Mexico, Taiwan, and now Japan) and maybe he wants to stay in one place where he is numero uno, as he is with Seibu. He finally has a sense of stability in his life, and that is a hard thing to walk away from.

As for why MLB teams don't want to sign Roberto Petagine, there are 6-8 million reasons for that. No way Roberto gets that kind of dough in MLB and he is a moron if he leaves an opportunity to make that kind of cash for the prestige of the big leagues. At this point, he should be able to rake for four more years, unless his knees finally give way.

Actually not as many teams as you think have powerful 1B. Even less have a 1B who can hit for avg. and power like Petagine and Cabrera. Philly, St. Louis, LA, Pit. Minnesota, ANA., Tampa, San Francisco, Cincinati,Baltimore, Oakland, Montreal, Atlanta, and Arizona had starting 1B having a below- .800 OPS with Mo Vaughn having a .808 OPS. 14 teams had below .460 slugging 1B.

> Actually not as many teams as you think have powerful
> 1B. Even less have a 1B who can hit for avg. and
> power like Petagine and Cabrera. [...] 14 teams had
> below .460 slugging 1B.


True but some of those teams can't afford a powerful first baseman. Montreal, Minnesota, Tampa, and Oakland (and other low revenue teams) don't have the money to get that kind of a player. They have to worry about keeping the power they have elsewhere.

But given the choice I think they would pay money to power over defense.

Yeah, that's a great idea. Let fat old Mo Vaughn go play in the Japanese big league. He might even be a star.

Petagaine was an above average player in MLB for several years. He is a star in Japan. Let him stay and enjoy his success. There is no guarantee that any of these stars will do as well in MLB. Ichiro and Matsui-san may be the exceptions. And Matsui-san, while having a fine year, was no where near as successful as he was in Japan.

IMHO, NPB should step up recruiting of North American free agents to offset the talent drain to MLB. Drop that anti-foreigner rule capping non-native players.

And while I am on this soapbox, give the women of Japan a fair shake with better employment opportunities. The population decline is partly because Japanese women will have to give up their careers to have children, so they don't get married, get married later or not at all. The alternative is immigration of foreigners. Which is more unpalatable in order to keep the economy humming?

In the meantime, enjoy the ball game.

Have you seen Petagine's stats when he was in MLB? Above average? No way. Below average? Yes.

The fact still remains that power hitting in Japan does not translate into power hitting in MLB. I can only think of one instance where it has...Fielder.

Dwayne Hosey, Tuffy Rhodes, Cabrera, Petagine, Bass....all led the Japan leagues in dingers, but none of these guys could hit with any power in the majors.

It's just too tough to compare. If Cabrera came back to play in the US, he'd probalby end up in an independent league.

I think that the best supporting evidence for a lack of translation of home runs was Destrade. He was the PL Home Run King before joining Florida, but wasn't a power hitter at all for the expansion team.

To be fair, though, Cabrera has a lot more power than Destrade did.

I agree with you to a certain extent, but it's quite possible that some of the guys you mentioned have developed into better hitters since their brief major league stints. For example, the way Caberera hit this season (which I saw from Seibu's net cast), I just don't see how he wouldn't hit 30+ homers wherever he plays. It'll be interesting to see how he does against the MLB all-stars though.

Plus, the power numbers don't necessarily translate the other way either. Sure, there haven't been any true superstars from MLB who went to Japan, but people like Julio Franco, Rob Deer, Kevin Mitchell (who went the year after he hit 30 homers in MLB, I believe), Shane Mack, etc... have all had significantly better MLB careers than the likes of Rhodes, Cabrera, and Bass. Yet none of them put up numbers anywhere close to the latter three in Japan.

All and all, I don't really think guys like Cabrera or Rhodes didn't hit for power in MLB due to the lack of power (especially Cabrera, who has ridiculous power by any standard). I think it's either because their hitting skills just weren't developed yet, or their only weakness is the 96+ mph fastballs, which they don't have to see regularly in Japan.

- Dwayne Hosey, Tuffy Rhodes, Cabrera, Petagine, Bass.... all led the Japan leagues in dingers, but none of these guys could hit with any power in the majors.

Cabrera did hit with some power in the Major Leagues: he had .500 slugging PCT in 80 at bats. You can't say he can or can't hit in the majors. I'm just saying that he deserves a shot. Whether he takes it and makes it is a different matter. And he won't end up in an indy league if he went back to the US. At worst he would be the power-hitting PH (like Eduardo Perez of the STL Cards). Probably he just doesn't want to take the chance of becoming an PH like Perez.

Check out this article. Looks like Cabrera doesn't want to stay in Japan. Seems very bitter about the Homerun record too. A Major League team should pick him up. You can't ignore those numbers.

As I said here, the author doesn't know anything about Japanese baseball. He wrote an article based on very limited knowledge. I vent my frustriations about work from time to time, but I have no desire to go anywhere else. I think that he heard Cabrera vent and made up an article.

However, Nikkan Sports did mention that Cabu-san was thinking of returning to the Majors in 2004. More venting? We'll know next year.

Ah Westbaystars-san, you have lived in Japan so long that you have picked up the trait of ignoring unpleasantries. So you react with denial. Denial isn't a just a river in Egypt. There was nothing not factual in that article regarding background.It is hard to believe that a reporter for mlb.com would concoct a quote. Wrong conclusions maybe, but not a bogus quote or non-factual reporting.

The article is a year old. Cabrera is still in Japan and doesn't seem to be beating a path to the door. He was probably angry about being treated so poorly and unfairly in his quest to break Oh's record. I have already commented on this before. Most foreigners I have met in Japan aren't particularly fond of the place, for a variety of reasons. Fortunately, Japan is a free country and those who don't like it can leave, like Mr. Cabrera and the complaining English teachers. Those who want to try their hand at playing pro ball in a foreign country are free to do so, even though they have to wait 9 years.

If you want Cabrera and those like him to stay, pitch him the d*** ball next time.

- [...] already commented on this before. Most foreigners I have met in Japan aren't particularly fond of the place, for a variety of reasons.

I agree with George Steinbrennernot. So many foreigners dislike Japanese style.

If you visit any university dorm in Japan when there is an international sport match between Japan and another country, the foreigners are always happy when the Japan side looses the match, eventhough these guys get lots of money from Japanese Government.

Really to be fair, you can't predict what any player will do in either league. To go to MLB, hitters/pitchers now have to learn 30 teams instead of the 6 in the Pacific or Cental Leagues. You can expect Matsui to produce more power in his second season.

And Peta did turn down a multi-year, multi-million contract with Cleveland 2 years ago. Smart man! Pitchers will adjust much quicker than hitters. And Cabrera If I remember correctly, did hit for good power in his short stint with the D-Backs. And Peta was AAA MVP in both the P.C.L. and International League. And he only got 250 AB's in the big leagues in over 3+ years.

Why leave a job you're great at and being paid really well?

Venezuelans want to see Petagine play here. And Cabrera is too much for the Japanese league. He needs to be in the MLB like as Galarraga, Urbina, Vizquel, Abreu, Ordo

All I have to say is Cabu-chan loves Lions.

When he hit his 55th at Seibu Dome, the whole audience celebrated him. And he was moved deeply. It was a great moment in Lions' history.

He has a good relationship with Seibu players. If you come to Seibu Dome you can see his smile.

Of course, you can watch Cabu-jizou at Seibu Dome.