JAPANESE MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYERS
Matsui baseball card 
There are two ways a Japanese player can enter the Major Leagues: 1) by waiting for nine years until he becomes a free agent; or 2) by asking his home club to be "posted," which means he is auctioned off to the highest bidder with the home team pocketing the money. The latter is somewhat like the transfer fee system in European soccer.
As of 2008, 32 Japanese players had played in the Major League with 15 of them playing in 2008. By some estimates there about 50 players in Japan that are good enough to play in the Majors. Japan had 11 players in the Major League in 2004. Some Japanese players have hit better in the Major Leagues than they did in Japan. Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Ichiro Suzuki vie with each other for the top spot as Japan’s favorite athlete.
Japanese baseball expert Robert Whiting told the Washington Post, “The really good players in Japan all want to go to the major leagues because of the money, the prestige and all the hassles of playing in Japan. In Japan, you have to carry your own bags, travel by train and stay in second class hotels. You also have to put up sometimes with abusive coach and excessive practices.”
Also see Japanese Major League Pitchers, Separate Article
First Japanese Player in the United States
The first Japanese player to play in the Major Leagues was a left-handed reliever named Masonori Murakami, who was called out of San Francisco bullpen in the eight inning of a games against the New York Mets on September 1, 1964.
"As I walked to the mound," he recalled, "I tried not to get to nervous, so I hummed the song Sukiyaki, which was very poplar in the states at the time...The day before I was playing in Fresno with 200-300 people. The next day I was played in New York for 40,000 people."
In 1964, Murakami pitched 15 inning and allowed only two earned runs. He returned in 1965 with 8 saves and 85 strikeouts in 74⅓ innings. He returned to Japan in 1966, citing giri (“obligation”) and ninjo (“humanity”). After his departure it would take 30 years before another Japanese player would play in the Major League,
The first Japanese to play as a professional ball in the United States was Goro Mikami, an infielder known by the name of “Jap Mikado.” In 1914 and 1915, he played for a barnstorming team called the All Nations, so called because its players were a mix of Mexican, Cubans, African Americans and Native Americans. They toured the United States and played local teams in a fashion not unlike that of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Hideo Nomo, See Pitchers
Ichiro, See Separate Article
Impact of Players Leaving Japan
Ichiro Japanese have been pleased that their players could find success in the Major Leagues but are also worried about robbing the Japan League of talent. Already the television audience and stadium attendance for Japan League is declining. After Ichiro left the Orix Blue Wave the team’s attendance figures went down 47 percent.
Japanese baseball fans watch Major League broadcasts with Japanese players on television in the middle of the night and ignore Japan League games that are during prime time. The activities of Japanese players in the Major Leagues are given top billing on the evening news and reports about the Japan League are given almost as if they were an afterthought.
Mariners and Yankee T-shirts are more visible of Japanese city streets than Yomiuri Giants of Hanshin Tigers ones. So many Japanese visit Seattle, Los Angeles and New York to see the star players that stadiums there have signs in Japanese.
To prevent a loss of talent, Japanese Professional Baseball is considering a rule that would penalize any player who plays abroad or in a corporate league by requiring them to not play for two or three years should they decide to play baseball in Japan’s top leagues.
Seattle Mariners and Nintendo
Nintendo owner
Hiroshi Yamauchi The majority owners of the Seattle Mariners is Nintendo. Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi attended his first Mariner's game ten years after he purchased the team but has encouraged the team to pursue Japanese players such as Ichiro.
Yamauchi bought his share of the Mariners in 1992 when there was talk of moving the team to another city. He said he did as a gift to Seattle, the home of Nintendo America. In a move that smacked of jingoism Yamauchi was allowed to buy 60 percent of the team but was only granted a 49 percent voting interest so his American partners could keep control of the team , a rule that was eliminated in 1996.
In 2004 Nintendo owner Horishi Yamauchi sold his shares in the Mariners but remains its CEO.
Hideki Matsui
Hideki Matsui is another Japanese player who has a great impact on the U.S. Major Leagues. Known as Godzilla, he is 6'2"” and weighs 210 pounds and has one the largest heads of any player in both the Japan and Major Leagues. He said he got his nickname Godzilla “because I look so scary.” [Source: Charles P. Pierce, Sports Illustrated, July 2003]
Throughout his careers Matsui has been known for keeping his cool, composure and cheerfulness. This and his baseball skills have made hom not only the most popular baseball players in Japan but also one the most popular people. A former prime minister was once head of his fan club. A mayor in his hometown has called his home run hitting “an act of god.”
Matsui is so popular his face has appeared on everything from tea cups to the fuselage of a 747. His favorite anime series (Gundam) and pornography have been analyzed and scrutinized for details into his personality. The New York Daily News has reported that Matsui has an extensive adult DVD and video collection and once threatened to strip "here nude" if the Giants didn’t win the pennant.
Anything with Matsui’s on it is worth big money. Balls with his autograph sel for $500 a piece, more than any other Yankee player. When Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with U.S. President George Bush in Texas, Matsui was one of the main topics of dinner conversation. There is already a museum dedicated to him in his hometown of Komatsu, near Kanazawa on the coast of Sea of Japan. It is located next to Matsui family house and is run by Matsui’s father.
In the public Matsui is quiet and self-deprecating. In private people say he is a genuinely nice guy. When he was in middle school Matsui reportedly promised his father that he would never say anything bad about another person and as far as anyone knows he has fulfilled that pledge. Matsui is also known for his generosity. He donated $450,000 to victims of he Asian tsunami. There is also a story about him giving the money he earned from an All-Star game to for a young girl’s heart operation.
Book: Hideki Matsui by Shizuka Ijuin (Ballantine 2007)
Matsui in Japan
Matsui with the Giants Matsui played right fielder for the Yomiuri Giants. Regarded as Japan’s best slugger, he was voted MVP three times and was a Japan all-star in 9 out of 10 seasons he played. He helped the Giants win three Japan Series and had a .304 career average in Japan with 332 home runs and 889 RBIs in 1,268 games. In his least year in Japan, 2002, he hit .334 with 50 home runs and 107 RBIs.
Matsui was drafted in 1993 when he was 18. By that time he was already famous. When he was in high school 55,000 people came to see him in a championship game and the opposing team was so afraid of his slugging ability the was intentionally walked him every time he came to bat.
Matsui’s father Masao told AP: “I never pressured him to play baseball. It was his dream from a very young age to a professional player.” Matsui father had satellite dish installed in the family house so Matsui could watch the Major League games when he was young.
Matsui played 1,250 consecutive games with the Yomiuri Giants from 1994 to 2002. To keep him from jumping to the Major League he signed the richest deal ever in Japan—$5.6 million for one year—in 2001. He earned ¥610 million, the highest of any player, in 2002.
Matsui and the Yankees
Matsui signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Yankees starting in 2003. Over 400 reporters showed up at the press conference in which the decision was announced. It was one of the largest press conference in sports history. Matsui turned down a four-year, $30 million offer from the Yomiuri Giants. The Orioles, Red Sox and Mets also expressed interest in Matsui, who turned them down because he was determined to play for the Yankees.
When Matsui arrived in New York the first thing Matsui did was not visit Yankee Stadium or seek out a trendy restaurant or sushi bar. Instead he went to Ground Zero, staying at what remained of the Wold Trade Center for more than hour in the snow.
Matsui played left field with the Yankees. He was not the home run slugger the Yankees expected him to be but he turned to be a good fielder, good RBI hitter and an outstanding clutch hitter, often seeming to come through when his team needed him most.
The Yankees opened the 2004 season in Tokyo by playing the Florida Devil Rays. It was the first the time the Yankees had played outside the United States since 1955.
Yankee coach Joe Torre said, “He knows what to do...When he has a man in scoring position, he has a plan and he certainly stays with a plan. There‘s really no pitch that I can see that gives him trouble continuously. He seems to think along with the pitcher...He’s not someone who’s going to knock the walls down. But he’s very efficient in the way he plays the game overall.”
Matsui came up four points short in the closest ever Rookie of the Year award in 2003. He was beat out by Kansas City shortstop Angel Berra. Many sport writers who voted didn’t vote for Matsui because they considered him to be too old to be a true rookie. Matsui was a starter in the All Star game. He played left field and Ichiro was in right field.
Matsui’s Early Seasons with the Yankees
Matsui had a dramatic debut at Yankee stadium in 2003. He hit a grand slam home run in a game that had a delayed start because of snow. But after that he seemed to have trouble with American pitching. In May, he hit more ground ball outs (118) than any other Major League player and was criticized in public by Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, who said, “Matsui’s lack of power is disappointing. This not the man we signed a contact for.” He came on strong in June, July and September and had a great year.
Matsui led the Yankees in RBIs and came through with key hits in key situations and finished the 2003 season with 106 RBIs, 16 home runs and a batting average of .287. He also played well in the post season. In the third game of the American League Division series against the Minnesota Twins he hit a game winning home run.
In his first three seasons Matsui averaged 23 home runs, 110 RBIs and had a batting average of .297. Perhaps his greatest moment was in the 2003 playoff against the Red Sox to reach the World Series. Matsui was key to the Yankee’s comeback 6-5 victory over Boston to win the American League Championship. In a rare display of emotion, Matsui let out a loud scream and jumped down on home plate when he scored the tying run. He then went on to became the first Japanese player to hit a home run in the World Series.
Matsui and the Media
The coverage of Matsui by the Japanese media was almost as amazing as Matsui playing. He was followed by an army of 80 or so reporters and cameraman who reported on his every move. Sometimes during the evening news sports broadcast it seemed that every pitch that was thrown to him was shown and analyzed and everything that happened to the Yankees or the Major Leagues was discussed in terms of how it related to him.
Most of the reporters who followed Matsui did so as a full time job. Leaving their families behind in Japan, they followed Matsui, almost year round from his first appearances at spring training in January through post season play in October. Their newspapers paid for their $3,000 a month apartments in Manhattan. Many of them were smokers and one of their greatest hardships was the no smoking rules at Yankee stadium. In the American media, they become a story themselves. At height of Matsui’s impressive start they were interviewed almost as much by American reporters and as they interviewed Matsui.
Despite all the pressure and hassle, Matsui made himself available to the media everyday regardless of whether he performed well or not, and went out his way to have friendly relations with press, sometimes taking the whole army out to dinner at spring training. One Japanese reporter told Sports Illustrated, “There are probably too many of us. But he has never complained. When he is 0 for 5, when he makes two errors, when he hits a home run, he talks to us. That makes everyone’s job so much easier. The most surprising thing is that he talks to us every day.”
Matsui in 2005 through 2008
In 2004 Matsui hit .298 with 31 homes runs and 108 RBIs. In 2005, he had a Major League career high .305 batting average with 23 homes runs and 116 RBIs. In November 2005, he agreed to $52 million, four-year contact with the Yankees, which at the time made him the highest paid Japanese player in the Major League. Before that he had a $21 million, three-year contract.
In late 2005 there were rumors that Matsui was going to marry the Japanese actress Naho Toda. Matsui said the two were close but no marriage took place.
Matsui didn’t play in 2006 World Baseball Classic. In May 2006, Matsui broke his wrist while trying to make aa sliding catch in a game against the Red Sox. The replay was shown hundreds of times in Japan and was painful to watch. Matsui missed more than half the season. The injury brought to an end his streak of 518 consecutive game appearances in the in the Major League and his streak of 1,768 consecutive game appearances in the in Japan League and the Major League . After the injury, in typical Japanese fashion, Matsui apologized to his team for getting hurt. “I feel very sorry and at the same time very disappointed to have let my team mates down,” he said after undergoing surgery. On his return after four months he received a standing ovation and went 4 for 4.
In August 2007, Matsui hit his 100th Major League home run. On getting two home runs in game batting after Alex Rodriguez, Matsui said “There wasn’t big pressure in my at bats. Everybody was in the bathroom.” Matsui suffered from problems with his left knee and underwent knee surgery after the 2007 season. He missed large chunks of the season. When he did play he mainly was used as a designate hitter. There was some discussion that the Yankee would hire Barry Bonds to take his place.
In 2008 Matsui had knee problems. He played in just 98 games, batting .294, with eight home runs. In 2009, he was the designated hitter and clean up hitter for the Yankees at the start of the season but was moved down the line to seventh. His knees had not healed enough to allow him to play outfield. Since the Yankees are rich in talent at designated hitter there es some speculation that Matsui might be traded
Matsui skipped the first WBC but wanted to play in the second one but couldn’t because of concerns about his knee.
Tsuyoshi Shinjo
Shinjo on a coffee can Tsuyoshi Shinjo, a former player with the Hanshin Tigers, found some success in the Major League in 2001. He played well with the New York Mets. His statistic were not all that great but he came through with some key plays at important times and was liked for his easy-going, idiosyncratic and funny style and his garish taste in clothes.
Shinjo played for ten years with Hanshin. He had a 249 career average and 145 home runs. Known in Japan as Uchujin ("Spaceman"), hHe turned down a $12 million, 5-year offer from Hanshin and joined the Mets as a free agents for the Major League minimum salary of $400,000 for one year.
Shinjo was initially assigned as the Mets' forth outfielder but began playing every day after the other outfielders were forced out because of injuries. He did pretty well for a first year player in the Major league. He hit .267 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs in 123 games. He played center, right and left field, and lead the Major League rookies with 12 assists. Shinjo reveled in all the attention and made himself more available to the media and fans than Ichiro or Nomo and had a good time doing it.
In the off season Shinjo was traded to the San Francisco Giants. In 2002, he became the first Japanese player to appear in a World Series and the first Japanese player to get a hit a in the World Series. In 2004, he returned to the Japan League and played for Nippon Ham Fighters. His main claim to fame that year was stealing home to get the go ahead run for the Pacific league in the Japan All-Star game. Shinjo retired after the 2006 season.
Kenji Jojima
Kenji Jojima began his Major League career as the catcher for Seattle Mariners in April 2006. He was given a three-year $16.5 million deal. He homered in his Major League debut. During his first spring training one of his Seattle team mates, taking advantage of Jojima’s limited English asked him to deliver a message to the couch—“F----- Off!” Jojima delivered the message. The coach was initially shocked but everybody laughed including Jojima. His team mates also gave him a shock-emitted lighter and tied the laces of his shoes together, all of which Jojima endured with good cheer.
Jojima played for 11 season in the Japan League withe Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. He averaged 30 homers, 87 RBIs and had a .305 average in his last five Japanese seasons. He won the Japanese Gold Glove seven times and was a Pacific League MVP. In his last season in Japan he hit .309 and had 24 homers and 57 RBIs in a season shortened by a broken leg,
Jojima was a friendly and energetic presence for the Mariners. He often shouted encouragements. There were some doubts that he would handle communication between the catcher and pitcher. But those doubts were soon silenced. He proved to be tough at the plate, and held his ground against hard charging sluggers trying to knock him off plate. In one memorable play he took a throw from Ichiro on the fly from right field and held his ground against a big Major League layer and did a backward somersault but held on to the ball and get the player out.
In April 2008, Jojima singed a three-year $24 million contract extensions with the Mariners through 2011. He struggled in 2008. In 2009, he missed a couple of weeks after breaking his toe in a collision at home plate.
Tadahito Iguchi and So Taguchi
Iguchi In 2005, Tadahito Iguchi of the Chicago White Sox became the first Japanese player to play on a World-Series-winning team. Iguchi hit .278 for the season with 15 home runs and 71 RBI and was a solid 2nd basemen. His hitting in the World Series was not so great but had some crucial hits in the playoffs. His three run homer against the Red Sox gave the White Sox a 5-4 victory and allowed them to advance to the World Series. He batted just .167 in the series and .191 during the post season.
Iguchi played the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Japan and batted .333 and had 24 home runs in his last season with the Hawks. Iguchi was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the middle of the 2007. He was traded to the San Diego Padres for the 2008 season, with whom he signed to a one year, $3.85 million contract.
Tadahito Iguchi began the 2008 season with the San Diego Padres but was released after suffering a shoulder injury in June and then moved late in the season to the World Series champions Philadelphia Phillies but hardly played with them and was ineligible for the World Series. He batted .232 with two home runes and 24 RBIs in 85 games with both teams. In 2009, Iguchi returned to Japan, playing for the Lotte Marines under a three $1.8 million-a year contract.
In 2006, So Taguchi became the second Japanese player to be on a World Series winning team. His team, the St. Louis Cardinals, defeated Detroit Tigers in five games. Taguchi was used mostly as pinch hitter and late inning substitute but came up with some key hots and kept times. He scored the go-ahead run in the final game of the World Series, hit a solo home runs in the National League division championship and a tie-breaking solo home run in the ninth in Game 2 of the National League Championship series,.
In the World Series he was 2-for-11 with four runs scored. In post season play he got off to great start, hitting two home runs—as many as he hit during the entire regular season—in his first two at bats. Overall in the post-season he batted .400 and had two homes and four RBIs. It was 37-year-old Taguchi’s fifth year with the Cardinals,
Taguchi played six seasons with the St, Louis Cardinals, starting in 2002 when he signed a free agent deal. he played with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan. In 2008, at the age of 39, he played with the Philadelphia Phillies with whom he had signed a one-year, $900,000 contract. The Phillies won the World Series but he hardly played.
Akinori Iwamura
In 2006, Akinori Iwamura signed a $7.7 million, 3-year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Rays paid $4.5 million for the right to negotiate with him.
Iwamura was a five-time Central League all-star and six-time Gold Glove 3rd basemen with the Yakult Swallows. He hit .300, with 188 home runs and had 570 RBIs in nine seasons with Yakult. He had at least 30 homers in last three years in the Japan League with career high of 44 in 2004. He batted .311 with 32 homers and 77 RBIs in the 2006 season with Yakult
Iwamura got off to good start with the Tampa Bay in 2007 and then got injured. At 29 he was one of the older players on a very young team that finished last. In 2008 Iwamura played very consistently and played a key role in the Devil Ray’s transformation from American League East’s worst team, finishing last in the division most of the previous ten years, to division leader edging out the Red Sox and finishing eight games ahead of the Yankees.
In the post season Iwamura came through on AL championship series, with some key helps, that helped defeat the Chicago White Soc 3-1 but had a disappointing showing in the World Series.
In May 2009, Iwamura tore the anterior cruciate ligament on his left knee while trying to turn a double play when an opposing player slid into him. It was originally thought he would miss the entire season but the injury was not as bad as previously though and the knee surgery was successful. Iwamura a was batting 310 at the time of the injury, which left him writhing on the grass in pain and required him to be carried off the field in a stretcher. Iwamura said, This is the most painful moment I’ve ever had in the United States, Obviously it hurt when the guy hit me.”
Kosuke Fukudome
In December 2007, the Chicago Cubs signed 30-year-old Kosuke Fukudome to a four-year, $48 million contract. Fukudome spent nine season as an outfielder with the Chunichi Dragons, hitting 192 home runs and maintaining a batting average of .305. He was a hero at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, coming off the bench as a pinch hitter with a clutch home run and some clutch hits. (See World Baseball Classic).
Fukudome first made a name for himself on Japan’s silver-medal-winning team in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and was selected the MVP of the Central league in 2006. That year he was the Central League’s batting champion and led the league in runs scored and hit a record 47 doubles. He had two batting titles and four Gold Gloves but was recovering from elbow surgery when the Dragons won their first league title in 53 years. Fukudome is known for having a good eye. He is usually selective about his pitches, His on-base percentage with the Dragons in his last three seasons, .442. .438 and .430, was top in the Central League
Fukudome got off to a good start, quickly becoming a fan favorite. In his Major League start, Fukudome went 3-for-3 with game-tying 3-run home run in the ninth but the Cubs lost. After a month of solid hitting fans cheered him every time he came to the plate and merchandise with his name and number were bestsellers. He was batting .336 and the Cubs were solidly in first place with other players playing well as well.
Fukudome made the National League All-Star team bur faded in the second half of the season. He hit only .217 after the All Star break (but came through with his 200th career home run in August) and was occasionally booed by Cubs fans and finished the season with a .257 average. The Cubs made the playoffs but they and Fukudome didn’t do very well. Fukudome was 0-8 in his first eight at bats, with four strikeouts. The Cubs lost the series in three straight games to the Dodgers and Fukudome only got one hit.
Little Matsui
Kazuo Matsui, better known as “Little Matsui,” joined the New York Mets in 2004 when he was 28. He signed a three-year deal worth $20.1 million. He had previously played shortstop with the Seibu Lions and was Gold Glove four times and was Japanese all star seven times. In 1999, he was voted the Pacific League’s most valuable player. In 2003, he hit ,305, with 33 home runs and 84 RBI. He is a switch hitter and once hit home runs from both sides of the plate in an all star game.
Matsui was the lead off hitter and for the Mets and played second base. He had flashes of brilliance but made a lot of errors and hit many rally-ending grounders and routinely received boos from Mets fans. He spent much 2006 in the minors and over 2½ years with the Mets hit .256. In 2007 he was traded late in the season to the Colorado Rockies and helped turn that team around.
Matsui joined the Rockies when they were is last place after a hopeful 44-40 start and was immediately sent the to Minor Leagues. When he began playing with the team he provided a spark that turn the team. Batting mostly lead off, he hit .345 and stole eight bases in 32 games The Rockies ended up making the playoffs with a impressive string of wins at the end of the season that they carried into the playoff s and kept going until they were shut down in the World Series by the Red Sox. Matsui hit a key grand-slam homer in the play offs.
Kaz Matsui was with the Houston Astros in 2008, when he batted .293 with 26 doubles and 20 stolen bases but missed 65 games with various injuries, and 2009.
Image Sources: 1) 5) 8) Japan Zone, 2) Ichiro file sharing 3) 4) 6) 7) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) Wikipedia
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Daily Yomiuri, Times of London, Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
© 2009 Jeffrey Hays