Major League Baseball Players in Japan – Strangers in Paradise
The final matchup of the World Baseball Classic featured two teams from
countries where baseball is a beloved sport: Cuba and Japan. Both countries
they are noted for producing good players, some of whom enjoy stellar careers
In America. Currently, Ishiro and Matsui from Japan are two of the best and
most consistent players in the majors. Reaching the big leagues in the United States is
a big deal in Japan, a country that loves baseball and embraces its own
professional teams.
American masters first introduced the game to the island country in the 1870s,
and firmly rooted. By the turn of the century, it was a sport around the world.
nation and in 1936 the first professional teams were established. The current
professional structure was created in 1950, with teams playing in any of the
Pacific League or Central League.
The exchange of players between the Japanese leagues and Major League
baseball is not a one way street. The first American to play baseball postwar.
World War II Japan was Wallace Kaname Yonamine, a Japanese Nisei.
American who had played NFL football but never had a spot in a Major
League baseball club. Yonamine had a Hall of Fame career in Japan.
When the major leagues in the United States began to compete in the Japanese
League, they were often at the end of their careers. In 1962, right-handed
Pitcher Don Newcombe became the first MLB player to sign and play for a
team in Japan. During his 10 years in the majors, Newcombe posted a 149-90
brand, with 1,129 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA. He is still the only player to win.
Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young. Newcombe was the first of
many Americans to go to the Far East to play what many consider “the”
american sports.
In the last decade something has changed with respect to the emigration of
professional players from America to Japan. The men who go to the Japanese
La Liga is no longer at the end of its careers. Now they are, more often than
no, the mid-career players who can’t seem to find an everyday role in a major
league team Often these players decide to go to Japan because they will have
the opportunity to contribute every day.
Some players find a home away from home in Japan, while others go and get
some daily experience and come back to turn that into a starting role in
MLB. Still others struggle in their foreign environment and return in search of
play in the big leagues, albeit as a utility player.
Alex Cabrera is an example of the first type of player, while Lou Merloni
It looked like it might fit the bill for the second category, but not quite
get a break in Japan or make the cut when he returned to his homeland.
Gabe Kapler illustrates a player in the final and the least desirable of the three
groups
First baseman Alex Cabrera, who spent nine seasons in the minors with the
The Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks finally got
his chance to play Major League Baseball in 2000. In 31 games he hit 5 home runs
runs, scored 10 runs, hit in 14 RBIs, and compiled a BA of .262. So in
2001, the Seibu Lions of the Japan Pacific League bought his contract from
diamonds For Cabrera it was the perfect play at the right time.
Cabrera immediately became a star in Japan. In his first season he hit .282 with
124 RBIs and 49 home runs. In 2002, his second season, he won the Pacific League
MVP award and tied the single-season home run mark (55) set by the Babe
Ruth from Japan, Sadaharu Oh. (Tuffy Rhodes, another former MLB player as well
tied the record in 2001.)
In 2004, Cabrera hit two home runs in Game 3, including a grand slam, and a
Massive Dinger in Game 7 of the Japan Series to help the Seibu Lions
defeated Chunichi Dragons 7-2, leading his team to its first championship
since 1992.
Cabrera has a .308 BA with 413 RBI and 147 HR in his first four years with
the Lions. Life is great for the first baseman and he loves Japanese ball. Except
for one thing. In an interview with ESPN.com he acknowledged his frustration
for failing to break the record set by Sadaharu Oh.
Cabrera noted: “All my teammates wanted me to break the record. Many of the
players from other teams also wanted him to break it. Pitchers want to throw
I hit but the managers and coaches don’t let him.”
“They didn’t want me to keep the record,” he acknowledged. “All records are for
The Japanese. The last 20 at-bats of the season, I think I only saw one strike.”
There are aspects of the game that MLB players struggle with. Cabrera
made it very clear, when he complained: “Here, if you hit a home run your first
at bat, you get tickets for the next three. In the United States, you have the opportunity to hit more
home runs They challenge you.”
In the same article, former Japanese player and current Yankee Hideki Matsui
observed, “There have been more of that kind of injustice in the past,” Matsui
he said, sympathizing with Cabrera. “But he has been declining in the last two
years and I only hope that in the future it gets better.
Although Cabrera has found a home with the Lions, he is certainly willing to
come back and play in America. In fact, he is eager to prove that he can hit
big-league curveballs, something scouts say he can’t do, and he hits 40-plus
round-trip players per season in the majors.
Lou Merloni and Gabe Kapler spent their time in Japan for the same reasons.
and with similar results. Merloni and Kapler were attracted by the opportunity to play
every day, something that had escaped them when they were both with the
Boston Red Sox.
In 2000, Merloni went to the Yokohama Bay Stars with the understanding that
he would be the team’s regular third baseman. But the player who was supposed
to replace decided to stay with the team, so Merloni spent much of the
season on the bench. Although he found it to be a frustrating season, he also
I thought it was a cultural experience of a lifetime.
The game is pretty much the same, except there is a rule that prohibits tied games.
to pass more than 3 additional innings, which means that the game ends in a tie. First,
there are the pre-game workouts and warm-ups, which last for hours. then there is everything
cigarette smoke: Japanese players light up a lot. Furthermore, there is the fact that
when the club is away everyone has to dress for the game at the hotel
because there are no visiting dressing rooms.
The media did not tire of asking the third baseman if he would like to marry a
Japanese woman. When Merloni answered questions, she often felt that her translator
he was editing his comments along with the reporters’ queries.
Along with the chance to be an everyday player, there is the chance to
salary of a player who has been in the states realizes. Usually they are doing six to
10 times what they did in MLB! That’s a whole payday. After Japan, Merloni
he returned to the Red Sox and played for them and the AAA team for the next
three seasons before going to other major league clubs. he seemed like
could have found a starting role with San Diego midway through 2003
season, but after 65 games, he was returned to the BoSox.
Gabe Kapler was offered a similar opportunity in 2005 and, like Merloni,
took it. With a contract valued at roughly $2 million, the utility outfielder
I was excited to be able to play every day and experience a completely different experience
culture. But after being part of Boston’s first World Series-winning team in ’86
years, the Japanese ball seemed to lack the spark of the game that was taking place in its
homeland.
The overly expressive fans, the rich heritage and the punch were missing.
down the rivalries. Kapler also failed to live up to expectations and found himself
sitting on the bench in the second half of the season. When he came back to the
United States and was signed by Boston for the remainder of the 2005 season, he was
full of joy like many Red Sox fans, who always admired Kapler’s hustle,
work ethic and play smart.
In a strange twist of fate, the outfielder, who was on first base when Tony
Graffanino homered and tore his Achilles tendon after going around second. ace
Kapler lay in the base path unable to get up and in agonizing pain, it was clear
that his 2005 season was over.
In 2006, he was no longer on a major league roster and neither was Merloni,
who had played a useful role with Cleveland in 2004. For both players, Japan
never broke out, while Alex Cabrera has achieved more than most Japanese
players. The irony for Cabrera is that, despite their winning ways, the Japanese
League will never accept it. That non-acceptance, which seems to affect
each foreign player, is one thing that definitely separates baseball in Japan from
baseball in the United States.
