Coming To America Baseball

MLB and Japan Form Exploratory Group for Championship

2010-07-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

THE HOT CORNER: Give Kato credit for small moves

Jim Allen / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

Last week the owners met and agreed to give commissioner Ryozo Kato another two-year term. When Kato came in like a ball-of-fire in 2009, he spoke of being a leader instead of a follower-- not an easy task for a commissioner here.

With Nippon Professional Baseball's 12 owners needing to sign off on all but the most mundane decisions, the commissioners have been advisors and mediators rather than leaders.

Commissioners have tended to be former bureaucrats with the demeanor of those accustomed to doing the talking. Despite their polish and nice suits, commissioners rarely stand out as the man in charge, because they aren't.

Kato, Japan's longest-serving postwar ambassador to the United States, is well versed in the game on both sides of the Pacific. He promised to make a difference, and to his credit, has done more than most of his predecessors.

One item on his agenda is to push toward a Japan-Major League Baseball club championship. On Monday, Kato and MLB counterpart Bud Selig decided to form a working group to figure out how it could be realized.

There are plenty of potential pitfalls, but those can be dealt with once both sides commit to having a championship.

The best plan aired so far is Bobby Valentine's: Play it as a charity event in Hawaii soon after MLB and NPB decide their champions. What would start as small potatoes could quickly become a feast if MLB sinks its sharp marketing teeth into the effort.

No matter how it starts, or how lightly MLB's champs might take the event at first, it's the kind of competition NPB needs to raise its standards.

High aspirations are the key if baseball is to realize its potential here and rival the majors' game in quality. Japan has won two World Baseball Classics and its owners sometimes speak of equaling the majors, yet for all the talk, many remain content to leave things as they are.

Japan's system is founded on each team owning the rights to 100 percent of its home game and licensing revenues. That system worked in the past, and it works now, provided your competition doesn't have a better system.

Unfortunately, many top players here flee to the majors, where the level of competition is higher. The best MLB teams have vastly more resources and have the well-oiled MLB advanced media sales machine backing them up.

Joint marketing efforts give the major leagues vastly more economic firepower to grow and expand their business in North America and beyond. It's firepower NPB clubs cannot hope to match without more joint action.

Japan's divided regime leaves its awkward imprint everywhere, from the badgering of umpires to slow games to the lame on-line shop on NPB's Web site, where one finds no team goods or even links to team shops.

Want to buy a Giants cap? You have to find Yomiuri's Web site on your own. A Carp shirt? Locate Hiroshima's site, which sells extremely cool shirts inspired by soccer's World Cup with the "Carp" script done in the colors of different nations.

Could teams create a larger market and produce better goods by working together? They could, but as long as they strive to preserve team rights above all else, they won't. This is business as usual in NPB.

Although Pacific League teams have begun working together, such cooperation is often anathema among the most powerful Central League teams.

The business side remains a sticking point to progress, but the commissioner is still having an impact. Next year, he'll bring an end to NPB's cacophony of the spheres.

For decades, teams have switched from one maker's balls to another's with annoying frequency. This makes offensive and defensive stats hard to evaluate at a glance, because simply switching balls can cause home run totals and ERAs to either sink or soar.

When the Carp moved to spacious Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium in 2009, home runs in Hiroshima dropped by 29 percent. This year, having switched to Mizuno's missiles, the jacks are back in the City of Peace.

Next year, however, every NPB team will be using the same ball. It's a small improvement. Let's just hope it's only the start.
(Jul. 15, 2010)
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Eri Yoshida's Major League dream starts in Chico - SB Nation Bay Area

2010-07-13T04:24:00.000-07:00

Eri Yoshida's Major League dream starts in Chico - SB Nation Bay Area

Eri Yoshida's Hall of Fame Ceremony and 2nd Start

2010-06-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

She will start in Chico on Thursday, June 24th. The Hall of Fame will be there for a pre-game ceremony where they will be receiving her jersey and bat from her first start.

She may pitch in relief prior to then as she is on the road trip with the team to Yuma and Tucson this coming week.

Did you see the line on her 2nd start for Chico? 4 IP, 1 Earned Run, 2 runs, 1K, 1BB, 1 HBP. Her team, the Chico Outlaws, went onto win. She recorded another first: a strikeout.

Angels Matsui fan of "Knuckle Princess" Eri Yoshida

2010-06-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

Angels DH Matsui a fan of female knuckleballer Yoshida
By Gideon Rubin Special to the Daily News
Posted: 06/07/2010 10:23:21 PM PDT

OAKLAND - Count the Angels' Hideki Matsui among the hordes of Japanese baseball fans rooting for 18-year-old female knuckleball sensation Eri Yoshida.

"It's amazing what she's doing," Matsui said through an interpreter about Yoshida, called the "Knuckle Princess" by Japanese media.

Last month, Yoshida became the first woman to play professionally in America in a decade when she pitched for the Chico Outlaws in the independent Golden Baseball League. She played in Japan last year and is the only woman ever to play professionally in two countries.

Matsui hasn't seen Yoshida pitch, but said he knows of her through Japanese media reports. Chico will be in Fullerton on June 25-26, but the Outlaws have not announced whether she'll travel with the team.

"It's very courageous of her to play amongst a bunch of male athletes," Matsui said.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who for years pitched against Matsui while he was with the rival New York Yankees, spent a day tutoring his protege in March at the team's Ft. Myers, Fla., spring training facility.

"I think that speaks of his character to take a day off to spend time with her to instruct her about the knuckleball," Matsui said.

Eri Yoshida, the Knuckle Princess US Debut

2010-06-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

Cooperstown Comes Calling For Eri Yoshida

2010-06-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

From the Outlaws Media Relations

Eri Yoshida's Next Start Set for June 12th Baseball Hall of Fame To Acquire Yoshida's Game Jersey & Bat From Her First Game

(Chico, CA. June 3rd, 2010). The Chico Outlaws today announced Japanese female knuckleball phenom Eri Yoshida will make her second start of the year on Saturday, June 12th at Nettleton Stadium against the Yuma Scorpions. Game time is set for 7:05 pm.

The night will be marked with a giveaway of limited edition Eri Yoshida autographed action photos, free to the first 1000 fans through the gates. Personally autographed by Yoshida, they will be marked with a number for authenticity.

Yoshida made baseball history last Saturday night, May 29th, against the Tijuana Cimarrones when she became the first woman to pitch professionally in two countries. Working three innings against the Cimarrones in a game that her team won 8-6, she retired 7 of the first 10 batters she faced, including four with major league experience, and delighted the crowd with her first professional base hit and RBI, sending a run home with two outs in the bottom of the first inning and producing the first hit by a women in a pro game since the Negro League was in existence.

In recognition of the significance of Yoshida's achievement, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum have requested her game jersey and bat from her first game so they can be displayed in Cooperstown. Hall of Fame officials will be in Chico near the end of June for the presentation ceremony to receive the items. The date will be announced soon as Yoshida's pitching schedule firms up so it can be in conjunction with a game that she is on the mound.

"Eri Yoshida's achievements have been remarkable and represent a historical moment for professional baseball," said National Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson. "We are pleased that she has agreed to our request for her Chico Outlaws game jersey and bat from her first appearance, and the donation enables us to further tell the story of how women continue to influence and make a difference in the game of baseball today."

All Outlaws home games and select road games can be watched and heard on www.justin.tv.com/chicooutlawsbaseball, in addition to www.chicooutlaws.com and on 107.3 FM at the Nett.

Prompted by Japan's "Knuckle Princess" Womens’ Rights Activist Urges Baseball Commissioner to Change History

2010-05-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, California
Gender equity attorney Gloria Allred reaches out to Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan “Bud” Selig in a letter calling for favorable changes to women in MLB.

After learning of topics related to her cause during in an interview by Philip Riccobono of www.ComingToAmericaBaseball.com at Allred’s Beverly Hills office on Thursday, May 27, she decided to call on Selig for change. The topics brought to her attention at the meeting which prompted Allred to contact Selig included past Major League Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick’s 1952 memorandum regarding no contracts for women players, which has mistakenly resulted in continuous reports Frick enacted a rule, banning women from baseball. Major League Baseball has confirmed Frick’s memorandum with Coming To America Baseball. The other discussion that brought Allred to act included the debut of Eri Yoshida, the first Japanese female pitcher in the United States playing for the Chico Outlaws of the independent, Golden Baseball League.

Upon researching these items further, attorney Allred, President of Women’s Equal Rights Legal Defense and Education Fund (WERLDEF) wrote a letter on behalf of her oraganization to Commissioner Selig addressing a desire for change in league policies that will suggest affirmative action, leading to women playing Major League Baseball.

ComingTo America Baseball has exclusively obtained the letter written by attorney Allred to Bud Selig, urging him to rebuke the memorandum written by Frick “which appeared to suggest that women would not be welcome in Major League Baseball as players.” In this letter, Allred also requests Selig to “articulate an equal opportunity policy and affirmatively encourage women and girls to excel in order to be eligible to play in the Major Leagues one day.”

For more information on the letter and story contact:

Philip Riccobono

562-397-0328
Phil@comingtoamericabaseball.com

Philip is a freelance writer and Senior Writer for www.ComingToAmericaBaseball.com. Philip also has over 20 years experience in editorial consulting and research for Fox Sports and NBC Sports.

The “Knuckle Princess” Awaits

2010-05-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

By Philip Riccobono

Chico, CA

On the eve of history, Japan’s Eri Yoshida on the steps of the Chico Outlaws dugout, waits for her big moment alongside teammates, joking, chatting and tossing a ball just like any other baseball player, and out of uniform, the 5’1 Yoshida might appear as your typical 18-year old girl, but none have done what she embarks on. On May 29 she will make baseball history as the first female to pitch in the United States and Japan. Eri just completed high school in Japan, and as her classmates prepare for college, she’ll study former major league hitters in the lineup of the opposing Tijuana Cimmarones.

Yoshida took a few minutes to talk with both Japanese and American media after taking pictures, admiring the Outlaws fireworks show, a tradition across many American ballparks and the pitcher has also acquired some other American tastes. “I like Subway,” said Yoshida. The “Knuckle Princess”, her nickname she brought with her from Japan, embraces the new experience when she faces the Tijuana Cimmarones. “It will bring me to the next step of my career.”

Since her arrival from Japan, earlier this month to play for the Chico Outlaws, part of Golden League Baseball, an independent league, Yoshida puts baseball before anything, leaving no time for recreation in her journey, but she does strive to improve on her English too, and she’s picking up English from the media. She even got an impromptu mini-lesson. “I am exciting,” said Yoshida, with a smile from ear-to-ear, marked by dimples. Her story continues to excite the baseball world. The Outlaws Dan Hawkins, Media Relations Director/Play-by-Play announcer expects over 50 media representatives at Nettleton Stadium to cover Yoshida’s historic first-pitch. “We’ve had a record amount of requests.”

Golden League President, Kevin Outcalt knows the magnitude of this event. “We have Eri pitching against a strong Tijuana team with fellow Major League hitters in their organization,” said Outcalt, a former Cisco Systems Executive who helped launch the Golden Baseball League. “It should be a great night for Chico and a historic night for Eri.”

Coming To America Baseball Covering Yohshida Debut Saturday

2010-05-24T12:14:00.001-07:00

CTABB's Phil Ricocbono will bring you Eri Yoshida's historic first pitch Saturday from Chico, CA. Stay tuned for interviews, and footage from the media blitz.

Bowers likes Yoshida

2010-05-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

Bowers likes Yoshida

Eri Yoshida Press Conference - Part I

2010-05-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

Outlaws welcome female Japanese pitcher Eri Yoshida to Chico

2010-05-07T22:28:00.001-07:00

Outlaws welcome female Japanese pitcher Eri Yoshida to Chico

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18-year old Female Knuckler Lands Friday

2010-05-05T11:50:00.001-07:00

By Philip Riccobono

The Chico Outlaws confirmed Eri Yoshida lands in San Francisco from Tokyo, Friday morning. After she clears customs, Japan's first professional female baseball player heads to Chico for her first news conference as an Outlaw. Golden League Baseball has already received over 150 media requests, including networks for May 29 when Chico takes on Tijuana for Yoshida's anticipated debut. ESPN may cut into their programming live from Chico. League Commissioner Kevin Outcalt expects the right-handed side arm Yoshida to handle the whirlwind experience. "She's incredibly professional and her demeanor reminds me of an Olympic gymnast."

Yoshida recently graduated from high school in Japan on March 20, with already having pitched a season in the Arizona Fall League where she went 1-1, 4.79 ERA in 10 games, under the tutelage and guidance of Outlaws President Mike Marshall (former Dodger All-Star). "Yoshida-san" may hit too as the Golden League just dropped the DH rule.

Prior to the Arizona Fall League, Yoshida broke the Japanese gender-barrier signing with Kobe 9 Cruise of the independent Kansai League. Her arsenal includes a mid 60MPH fastball, a cutter dropping at the knees, and her signature knuckle ball, clocked in the 40s. The big question for her: "Can she make the knuckle ball move?” explained Outcalt. The Boston Red Sox Tim Wakfield, Yoshida's idol seemed impressed with her as Yoshida threw in front of him at an early March Spring Training workout. Yoshida's is self-taught on the knuckleball, which surprised Wakefield.

Despite what she might achieve for Chico, hurdles lie ahead for a shot at MLB. Women have not played in the majors during the modern era. MLB, typically is an all mens club. In 1952 Commission Ford Frick sent out a memo, banning women. Although MLB has confirmed no such rule is on the books. In spite of that Yoshida heads into a season that will grab attention on two continents. With the Outlaws schedule, Yoshida will showoff her pitching prowess across North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico). Soon Yoshida will have an even broader international following.

Dan Hawkins contributed to this story

Lady Knuckle On the Way

2010-04-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Eri Yoshida Signs With Chico Outlaws of Golden Baseball League
1st Female to Play Pro Ball in Japan Brings Knuckleball And Big League Dreams to the U.S.
From Chico Outlaws

(Chico, CA. April 8, 2010) The Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League (GBL), the premier independent minor league in western North America, today announced that Japanese pitching sensation Eri Yoshida has agreed to terms where the 18 year-old female sidearm knuckleball pitcher will play for Chico this summer, reporting to spring training in early May.

Yoshida, 18, made headlines and impressed the baseball world last summer when she became the first female to play professionally in Japan. Equipped with a sidearm knuckleball that is considered almost unhittable when she is on, she debuted for the Kobe Cruise 9 of the Kansai League in Japan on opening day as she walked one and struck out one in front of 12,000 fans. She began playing baseball in the 2nd grade and credits Tim Wakefield as the inspiration for her 50 mph knuckleball delivered from her 5 foot 2 inch, 115 lb frame.

She went on to pitch in the Arizona Winter League in February of this year, where she had good success in the top winter development league for pro players in the U.S., including throwing 4 and 2/3 innings of shutout ball against Team Canada. She went on to spend some time at the Boston Red Sox spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida in March and had a chance to throw with Wakefield, who gave her instruction and was very positive regarding her knuckleball. She impressed both Chico Outlaws Manager Garry Templeton (former Padre All-Star) and Team President Mike Marshall (former Dodger All-Star) who made the decision to sign her for this coming season.

"We are really looking forward to having Eri as a member of the Chico Outlaws this season," said Chico Outlaws team president Mike Marshall. "The Outlaws are one of the leading teams in moving players to major league organizations and will be a fine showcase for her to show her talent. In addition, it will be a treat for our fans and our community as well."

Yoshida will be the first female to pitch for a pro team in the U.S. since Ila Borders retired over 10 years ago and the only female to ever pitch in pro leagues in two countries. The team is making special accomodations regarding separate locker room facilities and hotel rooms while traveling on roadtrips, but otherwise she will be like any other rookie pitcher starting her pro career. The Golden League will be a good test of her abilities as typical rosters are filled with major league, AAA, and AA experienced ballplayers with a few rookies per team as well. Playing a 90 game season in 100 days, the league stretches from western Canada to Hawaii, through California and northern Mexico and into Arizona and Utah as well.

"I believe that she is ready for this and has the potential to do very well," said Chico Outlaws manager Garry Templeton. "I watched her in the Arizona Winter League and was impressed with the way she handled herself on and off the field, her determination and commitment, and her ability to integrate into a league of almost 200 pro players. Like any knuckleballer, when she was on she was very difficult to hit and when she wasn't good hitters would tee off. I'm excited to have her on the team and to watch her continue to improve and develop and progess up the pro ranks."

"I am grateful for this opportunity to pitch for the Chico Outlaws," said Yoshida. "This is a dream come true for me and I hope that I can contribute to the team to help them win and also to continue to improve as a pro baseball player."

A press conference and signing ceremony is set for Tuesday, April 13th in Tokyo. The Outlaws open on the road in Tijuana and return for their home opener on Wednesday, May 26th.

Kikuchi- Double Coverage

2010-01-09T04:29:00.000-08:00

Yusei Kikuci news is in such high demand that Nippon Cultural Broadcasting has assigned two female reporters to cover Kikuchi- Ai Handa and Kaori Arima. What a stud! Here in the states, we've got Erin Andrews of ESPN, but not even the Yankees' Jeter and A-Rod have even one reporter-babe solely assigned to them.

In other Kikuchi news, Yusei Kikuchi and the team's other five 2009 draft prospects held a morning practice session on Friday. They worked out for about 2 hours. (Kikuchi played a game of catch: 106 throws.)

...Yonex apparently sent Kikuchi some training apparel (about 80 items) after he asked if he could wear their clothes. While Yonex is a fairly visible in golf and badminton, it doesn't have much of a presence in baseball.

...Seems the Lions are now leaning towards entering Kikuchi's name in the registry as "Yusei" instead of "Yusei Kikuchi." They apparently think "Yuisei" has more of an impact and is easier to remember and say.

Yakyubaka.com contributed

A True World Series

2010-01-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

World Series champs against Japanese champs? It could happen
From Yahoo

By 'Duk

We were just talking about what moves Bud Selig might make to bolster his legacy before he steps down as baseball's commissioner in 2012, so it probably comes as no surprise that he's thinking big.

Like, globally big.

According to the AP, Selig and Japanese commissioner Ryozo Kato are meeting in Milwaukee and have discussed the possibility of a Global World Series that would pit the World Series champions against the champions from the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan.

From the Associated Press:

"In meetings with Japanese commissioner Ryozo Kato in Milwaukee, MLB commissioner Bud Selig proposed that the Japanese and U.S. champions play each other, the Nikkansports newspaper reported Thursday.

"'I was surprised, Mr. Selig said he wants to realize the plan before his tenure ends,' Kato told Nikkansports.

"Selig is set to retire in 2012. When he took office in 2008, Kato, a former Japanese ambassador to the United States, said one of his goals was an international series between the world's two biggest baseball nations."

There isn't much to this Nikkansports report past those few paragraphs, so we'll have to wait and see just how serious Selig and Kato are about this proposal. Considering that Selig has a serious jonesin' for expanding the game internationally (see the Classic, World Baseball) and that Japan lives, breathes and sleeps baseball, it's not outside the realm of possibilities.

But it's also hard to imagine that the same challenges that face the WBC — scheduling, increased risk of injury to pitchers and apathetic American players — won't also hamper the Global World Series. The player's union would certainly put up a big fight during an attempted adoption as this goes past the usual All-Star goodwill trips to Japan (pictured) that we've seen in the past.

Personally, I'd enjoy seeing how the whole thing would work and the quality of play that we'd be able to see. (This season we would have seen the Yankees vs. the Yomiuri Giants.)

But I also think the novelty would wear off pretty quickly and I'm not sure you could pay the players enough money to extend a season that keeps getting longer and longer.

What do you think?

Ned Colletti looks to the Dodgers' past, present and future

2009-10-21T11:15:00.001-07:00

Ned Colletti looks to the Dodgers' past, present and future

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More MLB Teams Interested in Kikuchi, including the Phillies

2009-10-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

By Philip Riccobono

As October ends, so does the wait to know which side of the Pacific Yusei Kikuchi, 18, will reside. Kikuchi is just weeks away from announcing where he will begin his professional baseball career--Japan or the United States. Never before has such a player gained MLB attention from Japan’s high school level.

MLB teams that are scheduled to meet with Kikuchi, are the Dodgers, Rangers, Giants, Mariners, Mets, Yankees and Indians. The curiosity is understandable- he is 6'0, 180, with the southpaw's fastball clocked at 96 mph. “The Phillies have seen him and have some interest,” said Sal Agostinelli, International Scouting Director for the Philadelphia Phillies. “He’s got a good body, a good, loose arm, and breaking ball with pro stuff.”

On top of the physical prowess, Kikuchi's makeup is what every team dreams of; Kikuchi is a studious kid who reads 10 books per month, nor worrying about TV and video games. By all accounts, he seems to be a conscientious young man. The Nikkan Sports Draft Guide’s blurb on him leads off with an anecdote about how a writer was standing while watching Kikuchi throw a bullpen session. Without saying anything, Kikuchi walked off the mound, and returned a few minutes later with a folding chair, offering it to the writer to sit in.

There is also a lot of weight resting on the shoulders of the Iwate prefecture native. His life-long dream of pitching for a MLB is colliding with his country's desire to have him drafted by a Japanese club. Someone this special leaving would break the hearts of Japan baseball. MLB scouts know the potential for Kikuchi to shine in MLB, but also consider the investment, "He has to want to come to the states," said Agostinelli. "He's facing obvious cultural changes."

Kikuchi can lead a max exodus from Japan, becoming the first to sign as a MLB free agent, directly from high school. Before rules are changed, prohibiting MLB clubs from signing Japan prospects out of high school, Kikuchi will have a chance at making history. Japan baseball rules prohibit a player from returning to Japan for 3 years if they sign with a MLB club; the alternative-- Kikuchi could sign with a Japanese team and wait 9 years to be a free agent and fulfill his goal of being a MLB pitcher; or wait and see if his Japanese team would post him, allowing teams to bid on his rights. If Kikuchi does not make the leap now, he may miss MLB altogether.

Folks, this cliffhanger is about to end.
NPB Tracker contributed to this story

Yusei Kikuchi Could Lead Japanese Max Exodus to US

2009-10-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

Potential Defection of Yusei Kikuchi Again Calls Into Question Posting System

2009-10-04T00:53:00.001-07:00

Potential Defection of Yusei Kikuchi Again Calls Into Question Posting System

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Texas Rangers' Washington has wish list for 2010 | Texas Rangers News | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News

2009-10-04T00:51:00.001-07:00

Texas Rangers' Washington has wish list for 2010 | Texas Rangers News | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News

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CNN Video Yu Darvish: Pitching for baseball greatness

2009-09-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Click to watch Darvish on CNN

Murakami says players going to MLB not hurting NPB | The Japan Times Online

2009-09-07T08:56:00.001-07:00

Murakami says players going to MLB not hurting NPB | The Japan Times Online

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Chukyo, Nihon Bunri make final | The Japan Times Online

2009-08-24T02:27:00.001-07:00

Chukyo, Nihon Bunri make final | The Japan Times Online

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LA Dodgers Sign pair of Koreans and eye Japanese HS Prospect

2009-08-24T02:18:00.000-07:00

Courtesy DodgersFYI.com

The Dodgers have signed 2 Korean born players in recent days. The Dodgers first won the rights to 37 year old right hander Choi Hyang-nam with a $101 dollar posting bid. The amount of the current contract is unknown at this time. Choi was once close to signing a deal with the Cardinals but his team, the Lotte Giants, decided to not give him away for free and posted the player. We shall see if Choi turns himself in to the next Takashi Saito. Choi did pitch in the US in 2005 for the Indians Triple-A affiliate out of Buffalo. He was 8-5 with a 2.37 era.
As for the second player the Dodgers signed, it is 22 year old right hander Ji-Mo Lee. Ji-Mo was a highly touted prospect out of high school. He missed two season due to military obligations, he then came back to play last season for the Lotte Giants before being released in November. According to Logan White, Ji-Mo already has two MLB ready pitches and should develop into a solid player.
The Japanease player the Dodgers have scouted is high end left handed prospect Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi is considered to have a higher ceiling then recent Red Sox signee Junichi Tazawa. However, he is younger then Tazawa was when he signed and would most likely would make his start in one of the Dodgers single-A affiliates rather then double-A. Kikuchi, when asked about the interest responded, "I’m happy to get this attention but I can’t consider how to proceed until the end of summer.” These things can blow up as Japanease baseball has requested for MLB to not attempt to sign Asian born players straight out of high school so that they may preserve the young talent in the Asian baseball organizations.
I look at the signings as a no lose situation for the Dodgers. Choi won't cost the team much and unfamiliar Asian pitchers can have immediate success in the majors due to there usually misleading pitching mechanics. The bullpen is now looking more and more disastrous and if the team can find a guy that could maybe plug a hole sometime later in the season, then more power to them. Ji-Mo looks good in the department that the team has some high end, front of the rotation pitchers scattered around the different levels. If Ji-Mo can get back to his pre military form, he could really help boost a team that looks to have one of the best rotations in the majors within the next 3 years.
As for the interest in Kikuchi, this could be a big one. The addition of the tall left hander would once again make the future outlook of this rotation very promising. The good thing about him is that even though he is projected higher then Tazawa, he is younger and has received much less interest. Therefore the Dodgers could be bidding against against teams with not quite as deep of pockets. We shall see where this leads to by the end of the summer, but if he has Logan White's attention, then that means he has turned some heads.

A Left-Hander Must Choose Between Japan and the U.S.

2009-08-24T01:57:00.000-07:00

By BLOOMBERG NEWS

Published: August 22, 2009

Fifty thousand people packed into Koshien Stadium to watch Yusei Kikuchi throw 94-mile-per-hour fastballs in Japan’s biggest sporting event — the summer high school baseball tournament. It may be their last chance.

By October, Kikuchi, 18, must choose between Japan and the United States for a career he has dreamed about since primary school. Signing at home would rule Kikuchi out of a move to the United States for as many as nine years. Choosing the American majors may open the door to a stream of amateurs spurning Japan for a chance to play alongside countrymen like Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

“Kikuchi would open things up completely,” Danny MacLeith, a scout for the Chicago Cubs, said last week in an interview behind home plate at Koshien, in Nishinomiya city, west of Osaka. “If he’s available and wants to go, he needs to say so because the Japanese draft is two months away. It’s time.”

American teams have signed more than three dozen of Japan’s best players since 1994, often at much higher salaries. The Boston Red Sox in 2006 signed Matsuzaka, who became a national hero pitching his team to the Koshien championship in 1998, to a six-year, $52 million deal that dwarfed with his one-year, 330 million yen ($3.5 million) contract with the Seibu Lions.

Others include outfielder Suzuki, who has won two batting titles with the Seattle Mariners since leaving the Orix Blue Wave in 2000 and is on a pace this year to become the first man to record at least 200 hits in nine straight seasons. He is making $18 million this season, the most among Japanese players.

To compensate Japanese teams, Nippon Professional Baseball in 1998 introduced a system mandating that players with fewer than nine years experience can go to the United States only if their team auctions their rights. The Red Sox paid Seibu $51 million merely to negotiate with Matsuzaka.

Kikuchi’s departure would be different. As a senior at Hanamaki Higashi High School in the northern prefecture of Iwate, he is not subject to those rules.

Major league teams have mostly avoided amateurs because the agreement between the two countries is vague and players have been unwilling to risk a move to the United States without professional experience in Japan, MacLeith said.

That changed last year when the Red Sox signed pitcher Junichi Tazawa to a three-year, $3 million contract. Tazawa had asked Japanese pro teams not to draft him out of the amateur corporate leagues, a step between high school and the Nippon leagues, because he favored going to the United States.

“After Tazawa, more Japanese players may feel they can make the jump,” John Cox, the San Francisco Giants’ director of scouting for the Pacific Rim, said last week in an interview at Koshien before watching Kikuchi pitch.

Tazawa, 23, is not the only Japanese amateur to leave directly for the United States. Mac Suzuki played for the Mariners and three other teams. Kazuhito Tadano left for the Cleveland Indians in 2003 after no team drafted him, and now plays for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

Tazawa’s departure was more controversial because Japanese teams were trying to sign him as well. The league responded by introducing rules barring players who skipped the draft from returning to a Japanese team for as long as three years.

“That rule really has no teeth, it isn’t going to deter people,” said Brandon Siefken, the author of a blog about Japanese baseball.

MacLeith is easy to spot at Koshien, a Californian wearing a yellow Cubs shirt and a wide-brimmed hat to stave off the 97-degree heat in the packed stadium. Millions more tune in to national broadcaster NHK to watch the two-week tournament.

This year, the attention is on Kikuchi, a 6-foot, 185-pound left-hander. His fastball would make him among the hardest throwers on a major league team. His aggressive approach on the mound — getting 32 strikeouts in 25 innings in a regional tournament — belies his manner when speaking to the news media.

“I’m glad that scouts from world-class baseball teams are actually watching me play,” Kikuchi said after a recent practice session. “I basically shrug off the pressure.”

Manager Hiroshi Sasaki said discussing Kikuchi’s future must wait until the tournament ends Monday.

Kikuchi lead his team into the quarterfinals, limiting Tohoku High School to one run on six hits and striking out nine in a complete game 4-1 victory.

For scouts watching his games, Kikuchi has given just enough signals to suggest he is considering a move to the major leagues. The Nikkan Sports newspaper quoted Kikuchi telling other students he wanted to go to the United States “as soon as possible.”

Cox, the Giants scout, says American teams are aware that persuading young players to play for them is a “sensitive issue in Japan,” adding that his team will approach a player only after he states publicly his intention to leave.

Whatever Kikuchi chooses, major league scouts will keep coming to Koshien. A future prospect may be Takuro Itoh, a freshman at Teikyo High School who was clocked at 91 m.p.h. pitching a third of an inning of relief in the first round of the tournament.

“He wasn’t on my list coming here, but he is now,” MacLeith said.

National High School Baseball Championship

2009-08-24T01:43:00.001-07:00

National High School Baseball Championship

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Darvish gets 14th win; Fighters extend Pacific lead

2009-08-15T07:32:00.001-07:00

Fighters rally past Buffaloes | The Japan Times Online

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Korean closer to Watch: embarks on record ERA

2009-08-05T16:16:00.001-07:00

Yakult Swallows closer Lim Chang-yong is on pace to record the lowest ERA in a Nippon Professional Baseball season.

To achieve the feat, Lim can give up no more than two runs in his remaining appearances.

In a game last Monday against the Yokohama BayStars, Lim entered the match in the ninth inning with the Swallows ahead 4-3.

But the 33-year-old closer gave up his first home run of the season and allowed the opposition to get back into the game. Although Lim earned a win thanks to the help of the Yakult batters, his ERA rose to 0.42 after he gave up what was only his second run so far this year.

Lim’s personal goal this season is to reach 30 to 35 saves. Although he has been one of the best closers in the NPB this season, Lim has not had as many save opportunities as some other closers in the league. Lim is currently second in the Central League with 24 saves, while Hitoki Iwase of the Chunichi Dragons leads with 31 saves.

Lim is more focused on maintaining a low ERA than on earning more saves, though. If he manages to keep up his solid performance, Lim has a shot at keeping his ERA below the 1.00 mark.

Current Samsung Lions manager Seon Dong-ryeol managed to achieve the feat twice in the Korea Baseball Organization. He posted a 0.78 ERA on 10 wins and 31 saves in 1993 and a 0.49 ERA on five wins and 38 saves in 1995. Seon pitched as a reliever in the NPB, where his best season came in 1997 when he recorded one win and 38 saves with a 1.28 ERA for the Dragons.

In terms of Japanese closers, Kazuhiro Sasaki of the BayStars and Kyuji Fujikawa of the Hanshin Tigers rank among the all-time best. In 1998, Sasaki recorded a 0.64 ERA (four runs in 56 innings) - the best in NPB history - with 45 saves. Fujikawa tied Iwase for the all-time saves record in 2007 with 46, recording a 1.63 ERA along the way.

If Lim manages to maintain his current pace, he can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the NPB’s best.

As of Aug. 3, Lim had given up two runs in 42 and two thirds innings pitched.

It is expected that he will pitch about 15 to 20 innings in the Swallows’ remaining 58 games.

By Kim Seek [jason@joongang.co.kr]

Japan Wants 'Bobby Forever'

2009-08-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

From On the Road with Bobby V. and Frank Ramppen

‘Bobby Forever’: Now that’s a big flag

August 4, 2009 at 9:34 am by Bobby and Frank

Unfurled at a recent Chiba Lotte game

At the beginning of the game on Sunday we all had a pleasant surprise.

As always, as our starting lineup in being announced the right field cheering section (Oendan) rolls out and enormous banner that covers the entire section that says “Marines is my Life.”

Well today’s game was sponsored by Master Card and the sign was dedicated to Bobby and read “Bobby Forever” “Priceless” and in Japanese (Hiragana and Kanji) “Value that can’t be bought.”

Another nice gesture by the fans, along with a petition signed by 120,000 people, showing their support and love for Bobby.

The day ended as good as it began with a walk off (Sayonara) victory in the 11th on a base hit by our backup shortstop, and personal favorite of mine, Hayasaka.

Yu Darvish Interview Video

2009-08-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

Yu Darvish video, featuring Farsad Darvish (father)

Darvish is clearly one of the top 5 pitchers in the World. If you obtained him, you would likely have him for the prime of his career.

Darvish can ask to be posted at anytime… but is not a FA until after his 9th season. (this is his 5th season).

I believe Darvish will be posted this offseason. If the O's are serious about adding an Ace, would you want to see the O's pay a $60M posting fee (above the $51M spent for Dice-K, due to Darvish being younger) and offer Darvish a contract that he would have to consider? Ie something like 6yrs $60M?

Rules on Posting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_system

Process
When a player under contract with a Nippon Professional Baseball team wishes to play in Major League Baseball, he must notify his current team's management and request that they make him available for posting during the next posting period (November 1–March 1).[4] If the team consents, the player (including any other NPB players wishing to be posted) is presented to the MLB Commissioner. The Commissioner then notifies all MLB teams of the posted player and holds a four-day-long silent auction during which interested MLB teams submit sealed bids (in USD) to the Commissioner’s Office. After the allotted four days have passed, the Commissioner closes the bidding process and notifies the posted player's NPB team of the highest bid amount but not who the bidding team is.The NPB team then has four days to either accept or reject the nonnegotiable bid amount.

If the bid is rejected, the NPB team retains the player’s rights and the player cannot be posted again until the next off-season. If accepted, however, the bid amount is publicly revealed and the winning Major League team is granted the exclusive rights to negotiate with the player for 30 days.[1] If the player and the MLB team agree on contract terms before the 30-day period has expired, the NPB team receives the bid amount as a transfer fee, and the player is free to play for that team in the MLB in the coming season. If the MLB team cannot come to a contract agreement with the posted player, then no fee is paid, and the player's rights revert back to his NPB team. A player can request to be posted again in subsequent years, and the process is repeated with no advantage to the club that had won the previous year.

http://baseballmastermind.com/baseba...s-dicek-watch/
Nippon Ham general manager Masao Yamada said he would consider posting Darvish and would not hold him against his will: “We will admit a transfer, if it is allowed by the system. . .We won’t chain our players. Actually, we want to train players like the majors are looking for and [see them] perform well over there. That’s kind of our goal.”

Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman, who managed Darvish and the Nippon Ham Fighters before coming to the Royals added:“In my opinion, he’s one of the best in the world at 21. . .He’s got an array of every pitch you’d want to see with the exception of a knuckleball. He throws a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, movement that is natural and really unfair. He has velocity, 92-95, to go with it. He’s a tremendous competitor, a great worker, a great teammate, handles fame very well.”

Jim Callis of Baseball America says that had Darvish been a prospect in the MLB prior to the 2008 season, he would have ranked Darvish as the #3 prospect, behind Jay Bruce and Evan Longoria, but ahead of Joba Chamberlain and Clay Buchholz.Baseball America reports Darvish throws a fastball that sits in the low 90’s but can reach 95-96 mph. He also throws a curveball, slider, splitter and changeup.

One international scout says:“He has plus stuff, and plus command and control to go with plus makeup. If I had a big game, I would be comfortable with him on the mound. He’s a No. 1 starter for me. Absolutely filthy last year, and he played most of the year at 20. We’ll see what happens as the innings pile on his arm, but he would be 1-1 in the draft. . .We’re not talking a ‘blow them away with a fastball and knee-wobbling stuff’ kind of guy. We’re talking a kid with a projectable body who knows how to pitch and is still developing physically—and is really good right now. He still might end up with jaw-dropping stuff. He’s still very young.”

Aoki hauls CL to opening victory | The Japan Times Online

2009-07-26T21:02:00.001-07:00

Aoki hauls CL to opening victory | The Japan Times Online

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Has Japan Become America\'s Farm Team? (In Baseball, That Is)

2009-07-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Has Japan Become America\'s Farm Team? (In Baseball, That Is)

Darvish gets 12th win of season | The Japan Times Online

2009-07-23T16:43:00.001-07:00

Darvish gets 12th win of season | The Japan Times Online

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Another baby on the way for Yu Darvish, Saeko

2009-07-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

Nippon Ham pitcher Yu Darvish (22) and actress Saeko (22) both announced on their blogs that they are expecting their second child.

Darvish, who pitched his fifth complete-game victory of the season in Wednesday's match against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, also shared the good news with his fans during a post-game interview.

Darvish and Saeko have been married since November 2007. Saeko gave birth to their first child, a son, in March 2008.

What does this mean for MLB fans, anticipating Darvish's jump over the Pacific? Just another reason to doubt he's coming anytime soon. He's got five more years before eligible for free agency, his team has not indicated posting him, and he's vowed to stay in Japan. Darvish, who could be the best Japanese import, ever, may never debut for an MLB club.

Darvish Wins 11th

2009-07-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Darvish goes distance in romp over Hawks

FUKUOKA, July 15 (22:52) Kyodo
Yu Darvish pitched his fifth complete game of the season and the Nippon Ham Fighters' bats came alive in a 9-1 rout of the Softbank Hawks on Wednesday. Darvish (11-3) allowed one run and four hits, all singles, striking out nine with one walk to earn his first complete-game victory since pitching a shutout on May 23. ''I regret giving up a home run (to Nobuhiko Matsunaka) but I was able to pitch solidly inside and I was pretty strong tonight,'' Darvish said. ''I was just focusing on facing each batter as they came up and was able to set the pace of the game.'' The right-hander has won eight consecutive games against the Hawks since 2007. Yoshiaki Fujioka (3-4) took the loss for Pacific-League leader Softbank. Atsunori Inaba hit a three-run homer and had four RBIs. Terrmel Sledge doubled to drive in the opening run in the second and a Tomochika Tsuboi RBI single made it 2-0 at Yahoo Dome. Nobuhiko Matsunaka homered to right-center in the bottom half of the inning but Shinji Takahashi and Inaba added RBIs in the third and fifth, respectively. Eiichi Koyano had an RBI single in the eighth before Inaba rendered the final blow with his homer in a four-run ninth.

Bobby V Buzz Continues...

2009-07-15T13:43:00.001-07:00

Will the Nationals chase Bobby Valentine?

By Reid Cherner, USA TODAY

Buzz up!Buzz up!

Like this story? Share it with Yahoo! Buzz

Bobby Valentine is in the last year of his contract managing in Japan. The Washington Nationals need a skipper.

Hmmm.

Writes Dave Shenin of the Washington Post:

Speculation in Washington is certain to focus on Bobby Valentine, the former Texas Rangers and New York Mets manager now in the final year of his contract for Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines, who appear unlikely to bring him back. Valentine has publicly acknowledged a desire to return to the United States, although it is unclear if the Nationals would be willing to pay Valentine what he is making in Japan (about $4 million), or if not, whether he would agree to a steep pay cut. Valentine, 59, declined comment in response to an e-mail message seeking to gauge his interest in the Nationals' job.

Valentine last managed in the Major Leagues in 2002 when the New York Mets finished 75-86. In 2000, he led the Mets to the World Series. (Photo by H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

Dominican-born Star sets for Taiwan

2009-07-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Taiwan awaits local high school star

Mariner's Santana tries out for national team

by annabelle tometich • atometich@news-press.com • July 14, 2009

Alex Santana has grown accustomed to a steady diet of rice and beans.

The Mariner High School third baseman was born in the Dominican Republic, after all, and his mother's cooking remains his favorite.

But he's ready to expand his palate - to the exotic cuisines of the Far East if his talent will allow him. Santana is one of 36 baseball players from around the country who will travel to Fullerton, Calif., on Aug. 1 for the 16-Under National Team Trials. Eighteen players and a handful of alternates will be chosen to compete in the World Youth Baseball Championships in Taiwan, which start Aug. 14.

The team will leave for the city of Taichung on Aug. 9.

"I might have to start eating some crickets or something, but that's fine," joked Santana, 15.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I have to take full advantage of it."

Santana moved to Cape Coral with his family at the age of 4. His father is former major league shortstop Rafael Santana, who played for the New York Mets when they won the World Series in 1986.

Like his dad, Alex Santana has devoted his life to baseball.

After a jittery start - he was hit in the head by a fly ball in his first Little League game - Santana settled in and grew to love the sport.

He started playing in travel leagues when he was 10 and he has sacrificed most of his summer, spring and winter vacations to baseball - including this summer with Tampa Bay Warriors, a travel team which competes in the Amateur Athletic Union.

Not that he would call it a sacrifice, especially after an opportunity like this.

"I guess this is like the payoff for all that time I've put in my entire life," Santana said.

The junior-to-be was at the 16U East Championships, a 72-team tournament in Jupiter, when he caught the eye of a national team scout. Eighteen players were selected from that event and 18 more were chosen from the 16U West Championships in Arizona. The best of those 36 will travel to Taiwan, all expenses paid.

The team USA players will spend more than three weeks overseas and will be accompanied by teachers who will keep them up to speed on any classes they miss back home with daily study halls. They will face teams from Panama, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Mexico and Korea.

(2 of 2)

Mariner baseball coach Steve Larsen said Santana has a great chance of making the trip. According to Larsen, Santana's athleticism is finally catching up to his 6-foot-4, 195-pound frame.

"He's just very athletic, very strong and very powerful," Larsen said.

"It was only a matter of time before he got noticed."

Santana hit .351 for the district-champion Tritons last season. He totaled 28 runs and 34 RBI.

"He's a hard worker," explained Santana's father, who is the Dominican Republic scouting and player development supervisor for the Chicago White Sox. "He shows a lot of intensity and he's the type of person that just likes to go out there and play the way he's supposed to."

Like his diet, Alex Santana's travel has also been limited. Other than trips home to the Dominican, the furthest he's ventured is Chicago. The flight from California to Taiwan's capital city of Taipei is almost 15 hours long, covering more than 6,800 miles.

"Something like this doesn't come twice," Santana said.

"All I can do is play my best and see what happens. Hopefully I'm on a flight to Taiwan on the ninth."

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Japanese Superstar Pitcher Needs Xbox 360 Internet Connecting Help

2009-07-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

Nippon Ham Fighters ace baseball pitcher Yu Darvish got his Xbox 360 about a year ago. “I used it a little,” he blogs, “but then I ended up not using it at all.” Darvish, one of the country’s best ballplayers, has been practicing Street Fighter IV on the Microsoft console recently and asks his readers if there are any titles they recommend. “I heard that you can connect it to the internet,” he adds, “but I have no clue how to do it…” At least he figured out how to plug it in and press the on button. Who needs internet? 360 [ダルビッシュ有オフィシャルブログ Thoughts of Yu]

Link:
Japanese Superstar Pitcher Needs Xbox 360 Internet Connecting Help [Xbox 360]

September-Darvish to appear on CNN

2009-07-14T12:15:00.001-07:00

Yu Darvish to be on CNNj's Talk Asia some time in September

Posted Yesterday at 11:07 PM by Gwynar

Tags ダルビッシュ有, talk asia, yu darvish

CNN announced that CNNj (CNN for Japan) will be broadcasting a special Talk Asia program on Yu Darvish sometime in September. The program itself will be broadcast in over 200 different countries.

The program was shot during a 1 hour interview taken at Sapporo Dome in June. Some of the topics that were covered: the kinds of pressures he feels / faces from being considered the ace of Japan; his future dreams; and a message to young, aspiring baseball players.

When a person connected to the show was asked whether or not there was any discussion about Darvish and his potential future in the MLB they said, "That may have come up, but I don't really know all the details." As if they'd actually spill the beans.

No information about when the program will air, but I'll be sure to try and keep everyone that reads this blog informed about that.

Talk Asia has covered other famous Japanese people like Hideki Matsui and J-pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki in the past.

KND Report: Chia-Jen Lo wins rain-shortened 2009 MLB Futures Game

2009-07-14T12:08:00.001-07:00

KND Report: Chia-Jen Lo wins rain-shortened 2009 MLB Futures Game

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Agent Don Nomura is trying to introduce U.S.-style player - 05.27.96 - SI Vault

2009-07-13T00:27:00.001-07:00

Agent Don Nomura is trying to introduce U.S.-style player - 05.27.96 - SI Vault

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A brief history of Japanese-American baseball relations, Part 2: The Tornado

2009-07-13T00:15:00.001-07:00

A brief history of Japanese-American baseball relations, Part 2: The Tornado

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A brief history of Japanese-American baseball relations, Part 3: The Tazawa Effect

2009-07-12T23:56:00.001-07:00

A brief history of Japanese-American baseball relations, Part 3: The Tazawa Effect

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Changing of the Guard in Japanese Baseball

2009-07-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

The Americans Marty Brown, left, manager of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, and Bobby Valentine, manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines, before a game last month.

By KEN BELSON

Published: July 11, 2009

CHIBA, Japan — When Bobby Valentine and Marty Brown brought out the lineup cards before a game last month, they shook hands as equals: United States-born managers of Japanese baseball teams.

Enlarge This Image

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Fans of Hiroshima, top, at the stadium in Chiba. Fans of Chiba Lotte, above, make their feelings about Bobby Valentine clear. The Marines have said that Valentine won’t return in 2010.

But the meeting behind home plate was also a passing of the torch of sorts, from the volatile Valentine, who is known for shaking up the status quo, to the more subtle Brown, who is willing to work within Japanese traditions.

After years of success, Valentine’s Chiba Lotte Marines are fifth in the six-team Pacific League. Management has said it will not bring him back in 2010 because of his high salary. Valentine’s high profile in status-conscious Japan has not helped, either.

Brown has revived the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, a perennial cellar dweller in the Central League. Midway through the season, the Carp are in fourth place and Brown’s star seems to be rising, while Valentine’s appears to be waning.

Unlike Valentine, 59, who has basked in the limelight he helped create by turning the Marines into winners, Brown, 46, is building a competitive team in a more understated, Japanese way.

After Brown, an easygoing Oklahoman, spent parts of three seasons as an infielder with the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles, he played three solid seasons with the Carp starting in 1992. He was known for a gutsy style of play that endeared him to the team’s long-suffering fans. He also lived through the brutal regimen of practices and meetings that are legendary in Japan, particularly in Hiroshima.

That experience set him apart from other foreign managers when he returned to Japan to manage the Carp in 2006, two years after Baseball America named him minor league manager of the year with the Class AAA Buffalo Bisons. Like other foreigners before him, Brown initially tried to trim some of the long pregame throwing sessions, the practices on off-days and the parade of meetings. But he backed off when he realized that he was hired not to upend the routine, only to nudge the team forward.

“I thought they wanted a lot of change when I came in, but it was a total misunderstanding,” Brown said of the team’s principal owners, the Matsuda family, who helped found the automaker Mazda. “You either learn to adapt or get a new job.”

Brown’s blended approach has started to show results. Unable to compete financially with big-market teams like the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo and the Hanshin Tigers in Osaka, Hiroshima has bolstered its roster with young pitchers and focused on swift, more athletic fielders.

Brown took a broader view of practices, recognizing that players need them psychologically as much as physically. But he insisted that players prepare mentally, trying to visualize how games will unfold and what their roles may be.

“He’s taken the good points of the U.S. and the good points of Japan,” said Ken Takahashi, who pitched for Brown in Hiroshima before joining the Mets this year. “His main thing is to focus on the game itself and not just the training.”

Brown has embraced his role as a nurturer of young players, and done his best to fire them up. In 2007, he earned national attention by throwing first base into the outfield to protest an umpire’s call. The incident, immortalized on YouTube, won over the fans, some of whom wear T-shirts that read, “My Manager Throws Bases.”

“It’s not like Bobby, who is held on high,” said Yu Murota, 29, a Carp fan who lives in Chiba, standing below the left-field bleachers at Chiba Marine Stadium. “Brown is in it together with us.”

Hiroshima, which has not won a pennant in the six-team Central League since 1991, finished a game under .500 last season, the team’s best showing in seven years. In the off-season, Brown was rewarded with a new contract, and he married a Japanese woman. He also speaks passable Japanese, another sign that he is willing to set down roots in a country leery of foreigners who do not make an effort to mix in.

Valentine has certainly planted roots in Japan, too. In 2005, he became the first foreign-born manager to win the Japan Series and the Matsutaro Shoriki Award for his contributions to Japanese baseball. Valentine, who had an undistinguished 10-year major league playing career, is proud of the medal, which he sometimes shows to visitors. But as his team has slipped in the standings, some in the Lotte organization have turned against him.

Fans handed management a petition with more than 100,000 signatures asking that Valentine be kept, and ownership could reverse course. But just in case, Valentine has taken some of the pictures off the walls in his office and shipped them to his home in Connecticut.

“It’s been a nice ride until the electricity went out,” Valentine said while watching batting practice.

Unlike Valentine, who guided the Texas Rangers and the Mets, Brown did not manage in the major leagues. Americans with more humble baseball pedigrees may be better suited to managing in Japan, though. Kansas City Royals Manager Trey Hillman, who managed in the Yankees’ minor league system, lead the Nippon Ham Fighters to pennants in 2006 and 2007 in Japan.

Valentine said he had told Brown to prepare fastidiously in detail-oriented Japan and to make sure that he was understood, not just heard, counsel that Brown appears to have taken seriously.

“Players are more relaxed with Marty, that’s for sure,” said Shogo Kimura, a Carp infielder who played for Japanese managers on other teams. “Marty is frank and uses words that are easy to grasp.”

Brown’s approach seems to include tact and compromise, two traits the Japanese value.

“He has just the right personality for Japan,” said Robert Whiting, the author of “You Gotta Have Wa,” a highly regarded book on Japanese baseball. “The fact that he has had three unremarkable seasons and was still asked back says a lot. There is something to be said for understanding wa and harmony.”

Surging Lions beat Darvish, Fighters › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

2009-07-09T07:51:00.001-07:00

Surging Lions beat Darvish, Fighters › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

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Nod Goes to Darvish over Strasburg

2009-07-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

Keith Law on Darvish vs Strasburg

Patrick » 07 July 2009 » In mlb prospects »

If you’re reading this blog, there’s a high probability that you’ve heard of Keith Law. Keith is a veteran of Baseball Prospectus and the Toronto Blue Jays’ front office, and currently the lead baseball analyst for ESPN’s Scouts Inc. Keith took the time to answer a few questions on how Yu Darvish compares to Washington Nationals draftee, Stephen Strasburg.

NPB Tracker: How does Strasburg’s repertoire compare to Darvish’s?

Keith Law: Darvish shows far more pitches than Strasburg, who has four but spent most of the spring using just two.

NT: Who do you like better mechanically?

KL: I would say Strasburg – he’s easier and cleaner – although the sheer arm speed puts us into uncertain territory with Strasburg. We have little experience with starters who throw that hard and get their arms going that fast.

NT: If you had to choose one of the two pitchers for an MLB rotation this year, who would it be?

KL: I don’t think there’s a wrong answer here, but I’d take Darvish, given his experience facing a higher level of competition.

NT: Which of the two has the higher upside, and why?

KL: That’s a good question and I have gone back and forth on this. I think Strasburg’s fastball and hard curve rate well ahead of Darvish’s top two pitches, so I’d take Strasburg.

NT: Thank you Keith.

Brandon Knight Back From Japan

2009-07-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

Around the Cages with Dave Ricci

In baseball, as in life, if we’re lucky we learn from our mistakes.

Just ask Brandon Knight.

Originally drafted by Texas, Knight spent the first five seasons (1995-99) of his pro career in the Rangers system, until a 1999 trade shipped him to the New York Yankees.

But after spending the better part of 2000-02 with Triple-A Columbus and seeing only 11 games with the Bronx Bombers in 2003 Knight, then 27, took off for a three-year stint in Japan.

“I was too young to go over there,” Knight admitted. “It was a living thing. I wanted to make more money. It didn’t seem like I wasn’t going anywhere with the Yankees and to best honest I was a little frustrated. I’d go to the big league and I wouldn’t pitch. So that frustrated me plenty. When Japan was throwing guaranteed money at me, at the time it was hard to turn down. In hindsight it probably wasn’t the best idea because I was off the (baseball) map once I came back.”

Returning to the states in 2006 Knight spent the season with the Double-A Altoona where he established a franchise record 27 saves.

But the next calendar year was far from glorious, as he spent all of 2007 and the first month of 2008 playing in the Independent circuit with Somerset of the Atlantic League. Luckily for Knight the Mets came calling with a free agent contract in May of 2008. Sculpting a 5-1 record with Triple-A New Orleans last season Knight earned his first MLB win over Washington on September 17.

“I really believe that if I wouldn’t have gone I’d be talking to you in the big leagues having maybe four or five (MLB) years under my belt and not one,” Knight stated.

The definition of a roller coaster season 2008 also saw Knight experience the thrill of a lifetime as he helped Team USA win a bronze medal at Beijing Olympics.

“The biggest thing for me is it was just so unexpected,” said Knight. “At my age, the fact that a couple years ago I was pretty close to being out of baseball. To get chosen to go to the Olympics…obviously it’s a tremendous honor. But for someone like me who’s not a young guy and all of these guys (on the team) were big prospects for their team. To get that opportunity it was really cool.”

Knight made his presence known as he earned the win in Team USA’s 1-0 win over Taiwan that launched them into the medal round.

“Once I got there it was more ‘ok lets just get the job done,’” he said. “But before it was (a case) of, really? Me? Seriously? Is there another Brandon Knight?”

Now at, 33, Brandon Knight’s personal ups and downs in the game have cultivated him into a perfect leader for a young Bison pitching staff.

“He’s exactly the kind of guy that you want to have in your room,” said Herd manager Ken Oberkfell.

Who Will Get The Latest Cuban Sensation To Defect?

2009-07-04T12:17:00.001-07:00

Who Will Get The Latest Cuban Sensation To Defect?

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MLB Japanese Pitchers: Two Seasons and Done?

2009-07-04T11:57:00.001-07:00

Third time no charm

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Dice-K in good standing back home

2009-07-03T22:17:00.001-07:00

Dice-K in good standing back home

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MLB Could Expand to Japan

2009-07-03T21:57:00.001-07:00

(Mainichi Japan) July 1, 2009

Japanese baseball must find a path out of the shadow of the major leagues

Children play cricket in a backyard in Varanasi on May 24. The popularity of a game that has much in common with baseball has been a reason for MLB's expansion into India. (Mainichi)
Children play cricket in a backyard in Varanasi on May 24. The popularity of a game that has much in common with baseball has been a reason for MLB's expansion into India. (Mainichi)

In November 2008, in a village of 2,000 people on the outskirts of the Hindu holy city Varanasi about 700 kilometers from New Delhi, the first Indian Major League Baseball star was born.

From the more than 30,000 people who tried out for "Million Dollar Arm," an Indian television contest with the goal of finding major league-worthy athletes, two contestants were selected to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dinesh Patel, 20, was one of them.

While Patel had never played baseball through high school, he was a javelin thrower. He threw a pitch on the program that was recorded at over 140 kilometers per hour, which caught the eye of a former MLB scout.

Patel grew up on buffalo milk, and his family lives on a farm with no telephone or television. "(Dinesh) didn't know anything about the U.S., let alone the major leagues," laughs his 23-year-old brother. With the boy next door suddenly a national hero now training in the U.S., families in Patel's hometown are planning to have satellite antennas installed so that they can watch MLB games.

This is evidence that MLB's expansionist policy has now reached India, which, with a population of 1.1 billion people, is expected to surpass China to become the most populated country in the world.

The World Baseball Classic (WBC), which Japan won for the second consecutive time in March this year, was also based on MLB's global vision.

A few years before the inaugural WBC tournament in 2006, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) announced a proposal to restructure the major leagues into four leagues divided into the Pacific rim, parts of the American Southwest and Central and South America, an area centered around the American Midwest, and Eastern U.S. and Europe. Under the plan, Japan would have been included in the Pacific Rim league. Says non-fiction writer Kazuo Sayama, an SABR member who attended the meeting in which the announcement was made: "Domestic expansion of MLB has reached its limits, and the only thing left is overseas expansion. The WBC is just a test run. There's a danger that Japan will be swallowed whole."

From Nomo's entrance into the majors in 1995 to that of Ichiro and Hideki Matsui in more recent years, Japan has been MLB's most important market and source of players in terms of its global strategy.

Former Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. and Commissioner of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Ryozo Kato warns, "We must get past the glory of winning two consecutive WBC championships, and think about our next step." His dream is to realize "a true world series," not a competition to see who is the best of the major leagues, or even the WBC.

What would be the ideal shape of Japanese baseball -- one that is unique and distinguishes itself from MLB strategy? Hidetoshi Kiyotake, general manager of the Yomiuri Giants and chair of NPB's business operations committee says, "Both collaboration and competition are elements of Japan-U.S. relations. Further internationalization may lead to the unification of Asian baseball."

In the three years leading up to the Beijing Olympics, the NPB invited Chinese baseball teams to participate in interleague games with Japanese farm teams and corporate teams. Teams such as the Yokohama BayStars and Yomiuri Giants partnered with teams in the Chinese league and acquired Chinese players.

In anticipation of the first MLB-led WBC in 2006, Japan spearheaded an effort to unify baseball in Asia the previous year through the Asia Series, an annual tournament played among teams from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. The economic crisis forced the tournament sponsor to back out last year, and the tournament ended about 200 million yen in the red. The tournament is destined to be cancelled this year, the competition's fifth, with enthusiasm waning even in China, Japan's last and only hope.

Meanwhile, MLB has expanded its turf to include India, and is aiming to bring Japanese baseball under its wing sooner or later. It is in reaction to this global plan by the U.S. that the idea for a Japan-South Korean baseball championship to be played between the champion teams of both countries was conceived as an alternative vision for the future of Japanese baseball.

The final match of the second WBC, which took place this March between Japan and South Korea, garnered an average viewer rating of 36.4 percent in the Kanto region according to Video Research Ltd. It was clear that even without U.S. involvement, baseball fans would follow if heated, high-level games took place.

With the level of South Korean baseball now on a par with that of Japan, Japanese proponents of a Japan-South Korea championship hope that a showdown between Asia's two top baseball teams would give them more clout in its dealings with MLB. Ultimately, Japan has no choice but to boost its presence as a member of the Asian region in order to avoid falling under MLB control.

The NPB executive committee comprised of representatives from Japan's 12 professional baseball teams will soon be discussing plans for a game in November between the winner of the Japan Series and the Korean Series champions. Meanwhile, a proposal to include Japan-South Korea interleague games in the sequence of interleague games between the Japanese Central and Pacific leagues during the official season has also emerged.

Pirates Land Taiwanese Trio

2009-07-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

The Pirates signed three teenage Taiwan high school players on the first day of the international free-agent signing period: a pair of 18-year-olds, outfielder Ping-Hung Chi and righthander Sheng-Cin Hong; and 17-year-old first baseman/pitcher Chih-Wei Hsu. All three players will begin their professional careers at the Australia Baseball Academy.

Courtesy AP

NPB(Japan), S. Korean champs to play one game in fall, sources say | The Japan Times Online

2009-07-03T11:22:00.001-07:00

NPB, S. Korean champs to play one game in fall, sources say | The Japan Times Online

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Aroldis Chapman, Cuba, and How Politics Can Change Baseball

2009-07-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

From Billy DeCosta of Bleacher Report

Baseball junkies are rejoicing after hearing news that Cuban super-prospect Aroldis Chapman has defected from the Cuban National Team and is planning to play in the Unites States.

Chapman, who's only 21, is a left-handed fireballer who can hit 100-plus on the gun and some say has above-average secondary stuff.

Chapman will be one of the most coveted free agents in the upcoming offseason.

But, that got me thinking.

See, Cuba produces some of the world's most talented baseball players, yet, because of our relationship with the island, we never see their talent.

However, since President Obama was elected, clear steps have been taken to warm relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

If these steps do eventually progress to the point (and that could take some time) where Cuban players are free to sign with MLB clubs, the landscape of baseball would change forever.

Think about it.

Cuban children grow up on baseball. The country is a major player in all international competition. A flood of new talent coming into the major leagues, as politics intersect sports, would be great for Major League Baseball.

We've seen how much Dominican players and Latino players have impacted today's game.

Raising the talent level of the entire league can only benefit every team.

The ramifications from hundreds of new free agents (that haven't had the chance for much scouting) flooding the markets could be rough at first.

But, after the system is established, a flock of Cuban talent will only benefit baseball in the long run.

Today, we can gleam over Chapman.

But someday it will happen, and baseball better be ready for it.

Top Cuban Lefty Defects

2009-07-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

Courtesy Associated Press - July 2, 2009 8:03 PM ET

A top Cuban pitching prospect with a 100 mph fastball has defected from the national team while playing in a tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

ESPN The Magazine reports that several unidentified sources confirmed that Aroldis Chapman walked out of his hotel room and did not return.

Champman's defection was first reported on the Spanish-language Web site cubaencuentro.com. He told the site that he was in Europe, but refused to reveal his location.

A source told ESPN that Chapman was scheduled to fly to Miami on Thursday.

The 21-year-old Chapman is considered by many scouts to be the No. 1 left-handed prospect in the world. He would be the most prominent Cuban baseball defector since Jose Contreras left during a tournament in Mexico in 2002.

Darvish handcuffs Marines, earns 10th victory | The Japan Times Online

2009-07-02T18:00:00.001-07:00

Darvish handcuffs Marines, earns 10th victory | The Japan Times Online

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KND Report: Koji Uehara hurt again?

2009-07-02T17:24:00.001-07:00

KND Report: Koji Uehara hurt again?

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International community signs on to help keep Bobby V. in Chiba | The Japan Times Online

2009-07-02T16:39:00.001-07:00

International community signs on to help keep Bobby V. in Chiba | The Japan Times Online

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Korean Bats On The Way?

2009-07-02T13:50:00.001-07:00

From Contributor Yoon Chul, The Korea Times

Kim Hyun-soo of the Doosan Bears, and Lee Yong-kyu of the KIA Tigers are the strongest candidates for the majors.

Lee played on Korea’s World Baseball Classic team, hitting lead-off; batting first for the Tigers too. Lee's gets on with his good eye, patience, and contact-hitting.

Kim routinely bats third, but he can also be a table setter. In addition he also carries out the operation. The 23-year-old also can steal, as well as fluster pitchers on the bases. One weakness is the left-handed outfielder injured his ankle early this season. He is rehabbing right now, and may return July or August.

Kim hyun-soo is the much more attractive batter. His contact ability is brilliant; even when he’s off balance, he gets hits. In addition, he has enough power to hit home runs in MLB. The lefty handed outfielder is very similar to Choo Shin-soo of Cleveland.

If I compare them, I will give more points to Kim for contact ability; however Choo is more powerful than Kim. Kim is less fast than Lee, but he also steals as well as carries out the operation.

As you have seen in the WBC, the Korean hitters usually have ability to carry out the operation with a little more power.

I don't want to evaluate the Japanese baseball player's ability; they are really good.

But I don't think Korean top players are weaker than Japanese one.

I can give stats of Kim Hyun-soo until now (June 1, 2009), but I will not post the stat of Lee's one because he played very little this season

Kim Hyun-soo

After 42 games, Kim was batting .399, OPS .661.

Welcome to ComingtoAmericaBaseball.com

2009-07-02T12:57:00.001-07:00

Get all the 411 on who is coming to the Bigs from around the Pacific Rim. Over the last few decades, we've seen an increase in talent hailing from far-off lands. Ichiro will be the first Japanese import heading to the hall, and it appears as if more Asian-born players will end up alongside him in the halls of Cooperstown. For the baseball enthusiasts, it's my job to bring you the names, notes, and stories before they sign, and land with a MLB club. I look forward to bringing you the scoop first, right here.

Cheers,

Phil

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Welcome to ComingtoAmericaBaseball.com