Top Ten List – Japanese Born Players

Every so often I will do a top ten list. I’ve always enjoyed reading them and they can be very subjective which makes for great discussions! And in keeping with my heavy reading on Japanese players this week, I wanted to do a top ten list of the best Japanese born players in major league history. Many of the Japanese players only play 3 or 4 years in the MLB, towards the end of their baseball careers. Since many Japanese players have to wait 9 years before they can become international free agents, this makes sense. We all know about the hype of pitcher Yu Darvish, but where will he eventually land on this list?

In descending order, here is my top ten…

10) Shigetoshi Hasegawa – RHP 9 seasons (1997 – 2005)

Hasegawa was a very durable relief pitcher (in 9 years going on the DL only once), pitching 5 seasons with the Anaheim Angels and 4 years with the Seattle Mariners. He started pitching in the majors at age 29. Hasegawa was known for a quick release delivery that kept batters off balance. He was willing to do whatever a team asked of him, pitching in middle relief, as a setup man or emergency closer when needed. His best season was 2003, his lone All-Star selection, when he pitched in 63 games, had 16 saves, 12 holds, 1.10 WHIP and a 1.48 ERA.

Shigetoshi Hasegawa career stats: 517 GP, 720.1 IP, 265 BB, 447 K, 45-43 record, 33 saves, 85 holds, 1.33 WHIP, 3.70 ERA, .256 Avg against, .728 OPS against

9) Hideki Okajima – LHP 5 seasons (2007 – 2011)

Okajima was a solid relief pitcher that spent over 4 full seasons with the Boston Red Sox. He started pitching in the majors at age 31. The lefty had a very distinctive pitching motion that included pulling his head down towards third base as he followed through with his pitch. Even with his head turning away from the batter, Okajima was known for his pinpoint control, along with a baffling screwball. His first couple of years were tremendous and he helped Boston win the World Championship in his rookie season.

Hideki Okajima career stats: 261 GP, 246.1 IP, 86 BB, 215 K, 17-8 record, 6 saves, 85 holds, 1.25 WHIP, 3.11 ERA, .238 Avg against, .669 OPS against

8) Daisuke Matsuzaka (Dice-K) – RHP 5 seasons (2007 – 2011)

Matsuzaka is an erratic starting pitcher who has pitched all 5 seasons in the majors with the Boston Red Sox. Dice-K, as he is nicknamed, started pitching at age 26 in the majors. He is best known for the astronomically historic posting fee The Red Sox bid on him. Matsuzaka is also known for unbelievable bouts of wildness and for being very brittle (injury prone). Dice-K has been placed on the DL six times and had Tomy John surgery this past June. His best season was 2008 when he had an 18-3 record, with a 2.90 WHIP, and he held betters to a .211 average. That was good enough for 4^th place in the Cy Young voting.

Daisuke Matsuzaka career stats: 105 GS, 1 CG, 622.2 IP, 301 BB, 568 K, 49-30 record, 1.40 WHIP, 4.25 ERA, .242 Avg against, .720 OPS against

7) Akinori Otsuka – RHP 4 seasons (2004 – 2007)

Otsuka was a hard throwing relief pitcher that spent two years with both the Texas Rangers and the San Diego Padres. Otsuka started pitching in the majors at the age of 32. He posted solid stats every year as a setup man or as a closer (he saved 32 games for the 2006 Rangers). Sadly, though he wanted to continue playing, Otsuka’s career ended after he had elbow surgery in January 2008.

Akinori Otsuka career stats: 236 GP, 232 IP, 80 BB, 217 K, 13-15 record, 39 saves, 74 holds, 1.15 WHIP, 2.44 ERA, .222 Avg against, .600 OPS against

6) Hiroki Kuroda – RHP 4 seasons (2008 – 2011)

Kuroda is a control pitcher who has played all 4 of his seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He started pitching in the majors at age 33. Kuroda’s career win-loss record definitely does not reflect how well he has pitched, as the Dodgers have never supplied him much run support in his starts. His best season was 2011 where in 202 innings pitched he went 13-16 with 161 K’s, a 1.21 WHIP and a 3.07 ERA (good enough for 9^th in the NL).

Hiroki Kuroda career stats: 114 GS, 2 CG, 699 IP, 163 BB, 523 K, 41-46 record, 1.19 WHIP, 3.45 ERA, .249 Avg against, .673 OPS against

5) Hideo Nomo – RHP 12 seasons (1995 – 2005, 2008)

Nomo pitched 12 years, 8 in the national league and 4 in the American league, playing for 7 different teams. Nomo is famous for escaping the Japanese baseball league by voluntarily retiring in 1994. Nomo’s first two years were incredible. He won NL Rookie of the Year in 1995 and both years he was in the top 5 for Cy Young voting. But Nomo also had mediocre and dreadful years, often having bouts of wildness with his delivery mechanics. Nomo had a unique, violent and funky pitching motion that got him the nickname “Tornado”. His mechanics also led to several years fighting through injuries. His inconsistencies and injuries were maddening, but he was still able to; lead each league in strikeouts once, lead the NL in walks once and throw a no-hitter in each league (a very rare feat!).

Hideo Nomo career stats: 318 GS, 16 CG, 1,976.1 IP, 908 BB, 1,918 K, 123 – 109 record, 1.35 WHIP, 4.24 ERA, .235 Avg against, .723 OPS against

4) Takashi Saito – RHP 6 seasons (2006 – 2011)

Saito is a relief pitcher still producing at age 41, so much so that the Arizona Diamondbacks recently signed him for the 2012 season! Arizona will mark his 5^th different team he pitches for. Saito started pitching in the majors at the tender age of 36. His first two and half years were as the Dodgers’ closer, where he performed excellently (in July of his third year he sprained a ligament in his elbow). His best year was 2007 when he saved 39 games with a 0.72 WHIP and a 1.40 ERA. Not too shabby!

Takashi Saito career stats: 322 GP, 326 IP, 103 BB, 389 K, 21-15 record, 84 saves, 38 holds, 1.03 WHIP, 2.18 ERA, .199 Avg against, .565 OPS against

3) Kazuhiro Sasaki – RHP 4 seasons (2000 – 2003)

Sasaki was an outstanding closer who played all 4 years with the Seattle Mariners. He started pitching in the majors at age 32. Sasaki was a dominating closer from day 1 in the majors, saving 37, 45 and 37 games his first 3 seasons respectively. At the time, the 37 saves were a record for a rookie. He won the 2000 AL Rookie of the Year Award and was an All-Star in 2001 and 2002. He formed a trio with Jeff Nelson and Arthur Rhodes that for 3 years (2000 – 2002) was as good as a bullpen can get. Sasaki had a devastating split-fingered fastball that was nicknamed “The Thang”. He often banged heads with Seattle team officials for his Japanese style of workouts which included throwing as many as 100 pitches following games he did not appear in!

Kazuhiro Sasaki career stats: 228 GP, 223.1 IP, 77 BB, 242 K, 7-16 record, 129 saves, 0 holds, 1.08 WHIP, 3.14 ERA, .200 Avg against, .614 OPS against

2) Hideki Matsui (Godzilla) – OF 9 seasons (2003 – 2011)

Matsui, also nicknamed Godzilla, played 7 years with the New York Yankees along with single seasons for the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics. He started playing in the majors at age 29. Godzilla was a solid clutch RBI man who came up big in the spotlight, including winning the 2009 World Series MVP while playing for the World Champion NY Yankees. Unfortunately, Matsui was robbed of the Rookie of Year Award in 2003, when a couple of voters unexpectedly decided to not vote properly for a “Japanese veteran”. He holds the record for longest streak of consecutive games played to start a Major League Baseball Career with 518. He was an All-Star in both 2003 and 2004. Godzilla drove in 100 RBI’s 4 times, including the first 3 seasons he played in. He hit .300 twice, though he never came close to showing the same power he had regularly displayed in Japan (where he reached 50 homeruns once). Whereas most Japanese players butt heads with their organizations both here and Japan, Matsui never did. He was considered one of the best teammates to play with by his peers.

Hideki Matsui career stats: 1,202 GP, 4,347 AB, 1,239 H, 649 R, 173 HR, 753 RBI, 13 SB, .285 Avg, .363 OBP, .467 SLG, .830 OPS

1) Ichiro Suzuki – OF 11 seasons (2001 – 2011)

Ichiro, best known by his first name, has played all 11 of his seasons with the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro started playing in the majors at the age of 27. Ichiro was the first non-pitcher from Japan to play in the MLB. And play he did… he landed in the majors with a bang, winning both the Rookie of the Year Award and AL MVP! As a rookie, Ichiro also helped the Seattle Mariners to tie the major league team record for wins in a season with 116. In each of his first ten seasons, Ichiro was an All-Star, won a Gold Glove Award, had 200 plus hits and hit .300 or better. Ichiro holds the single season hit record with 262 and also for a rookie with 242. He has led the league in hits 7 times, batting average twice, stolen bases once and games played 3 times. Ichiro never seems to get hurt, having only once in 11 seasons played less than 157 games! Ichiro is also known for one of the best outfield arms in baseball history. Even though he started his career in the MLB late, he is all but assured of getting into the Hall of Fame.

Ichiro Suzuki career stats: 1,749 GP, 7,456 AB, 2,428 H, 1,127 R, 95 HR, 605 RBI, 423 SB, .326 Avg, .370 OBP, .421 SLG, .791 OPS

I hope you like my list, though it is surprising how many on it are relief pitchers. Also, I didn’t realize how disproportional the numbers of Japanese players coming to the MLB are pitchers over positional players. In general, many people have a misconception that Japanese players come over to play here, have one or two good seasons and then go downhill because they have never played against such a high level of competition. But instead, since the average Japanese player is roughly age 32 in his first season, it only makes sense that in the last couple of seasons of their career they go downhill. Most players start to lose their effectiveness around their mid 30’s.

If you disagree with anyone on my list, or the order of my list, I would love to hear why!