Why Aren’t There More Japanese Relievers in America?
June 5, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Global Baseball, Stats and Analysis
You know me and efficiency. I’m always looking for the better, cheaper way to get things done. I have a particular fondness for the way the San Diego Padres and a few other teams are able to identify and procure relatively obscure relievers that can help a club just as much as (or more than) their more expensive “name brand” counterparts.
One area that maybe could be tapped a little more is Japan. We’ve seen some excellent relievers come over to North America from the other side of the Pacific in recent years and, with the notable exception of Kazuhiro Sasaki, most have arrived with a minimum of fanfare and cost.
Before Sasaki, of course, there was Shigetoshi Hasegawa. The right-hander came to Anaheim in 1997 for a whopping $575,000 and proceeded to carve out a nice little career in MLB (124 ERA+ over 517 appearances). Others followed with limited success — Takashi Kashiwada, Masao Kida, Satoru Komiyama, Takahito Nomura.
Sasaki was first to establish himself as a true late-inning force in North America. Since he returned to Japan following the 2003 season, others have taken his place:
| Player | Team | 1st Yr | 1st Yr Salary | Career ERA+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats are through June 4, 2007, and courtesy of Baseball-Reference. | ||||
| Hideki Okajima | Bos | 2007 | $1,225,000 | 353 |
| Akinori Otsuka | SD | 2004 | $700,000 | 172 |
| Takashi Saito | LA | 2006 | $500,000 | 233 |
| Shingo Takatsu | ChA | 2004 | $750,000 | 140 |
| Keiichi Yabu | Oak | 2005 | $750,000 | 100 |
This is an extremely small sample, but every Japanese reliever that has come to the MLB since Sasaki left has met with at least some measure of success. Otsuka and Saito are among the best relievers in baseball, while Okajima has gotten off to a terrific start with the Red Sox. Takatsu was very effective in his two seasons here, and even Yabu did okay.
Most interestingly, from a front-office standpoint, is that none of these guys added a lot of payroll. Two questions come to mind at this point:
- How many more relievers are there in Japan that haven’t yet been “discovered” by MLB teams?
- How long before the market corrects itself and these guys start getting paid a little more in line with what they’re actually worth (you know, like Sasaki did when he first arrived)?
Seems like there’s an opportunity here. Also seems like the opportunity shouldn’t last that long, but we’ll see…
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