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April 10, 2007

Impact Talent in Japan

Give Us Your Best, Yearning to Be Enriched

by Mike Plugh

Since we began coverage of Japanese baseball with my previews of the Pacific League and the Central League, the most common kind of e-mail I’ve gotten in my inbox since asks the question, "Who’s Next?"

Why the sudden interest in who’s next? It wasn’t all that many years ago that people scoffed at the idea of a Japanese player making an impact in the major leagues. There were a lot of reasons given for the lack of interest, but I believe the lack of high-profile Asian athletes on the American sports scene perpetuated some old ideas about the size, strength, and durability of East Asian players. Misconceptions remain until someone gives us a reason to change our minds.

In the year 2000 I was living and working in New York. That was when the name "Ichiro" began to make the rounds, as the Orix Blue Wave was getting ready to send the outfielder to the Mariners. Many people I spoke with at the time rolled their eyes at the move. The big money the M’s were spending on a little slap hitter from Japan was widely questioned. I vividly recall my shock at the rationale behind these journalists’ opinions. "Japanese players are too small, lack power, and won’t stand up to the grueling Major League routine. Major Leaguers are much bigger, stronger, and likely to dominate the average Japanese position player. They don’t throw as hard as we do. The parks are smaller. How can we expect to believe in the quality of Japanese baseball when minor league wash outs go over there and succeed?"

I’ve just gone through a second round of defending the Japanese athlete with the Matsuzaka Watch I’ve been engaged in for more than a year. It was all about Hideki Irabu for doubters. Many people, then and now, fail to understand that we’ve never seen Japan’s best pitching on American soil. The list of Japanese pitchers who have tried to make the jump to the major leagues is very short; it’s hardly a representative sample worthy of accurate prediction. With every start that Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kei Igawa make this season, I expect more people will come around. Neither of them will always be lights-out, but each will turn in enough strong performances to bury the name of Hideki Irabu when it comes to discussing expectations about Japanese pitching. If Matsuzaka is half as good as I think he is, fans from all corners of America will be knocking down doors trying to find the next Dice-K. If Igawa can balance his clunkers with some strong outings, you’ll find your middle ground starter.

Every new Japanese player in the Majors has already made his debut in 2007, and it’s worth noting why people have suddenly come around to the idea of getting in on the Japanese market.

Daisuke Matsuzaka   Kei Igawa    Hideki Okajima

7 IP                5 IP         4 IP
6 H                 8 H          2 H
1 BB                3 BB         1 BB
1 ER                7 ER         1 ER
10 K                2 K          2 K
1.29 ERA            12.60 ERA    2.25 ERA
1.00 WHIP           2.20 WHIP    0.750 WHIP