Sports :: Major League Baseball Players in Japan - Strangersin Paradise (Page 1 of 3)

The final match-up of the World Baseball Classic featuredtwo teams from countries where baseball is a belovedsport - Cuba and Japan. Both countries are noted forproducing fine players, some of whom are enjoying stellarcareers in America. Presently, Ishiro and Matsui fromJapan are two of the best and most consistent players inthe majors. Making it in the big leagues in America is a bigdeal in Japan, a country that loves baseball and embraces

its own professional teams.

American teachers first introduced the game to the island country in the 1870's, and it firmly tookroot. By the turn of the century, it was a sport throughout the nation and in 1936 the firstprofessional teams were established. The current professional structure was created in 1950, withteams playing in either the Pacific League or the Central League.

The exchange of players between the Japanese leaguesand Major League baseball is not a one-way street. Thefirst American to play baseball in post- World War IIJapan was Wallace Kaname Yonamine, a Nisei JapaneseAmerican who had played NFL Football but never had aspot on a Major League Baseball club. Yonamine had aHall of Fame career in Japan.

When major leaguers from America first started to compete in the Japanese League, they were oftenat the end of their careers. In 1962, right-handed pitcher Don Newcombe became the first MLBplayer to sign and play with a team in Japan. During his 10 years in the majors, Newcombe posted a149-90 mark, with 1129 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA. He is still the only player to win Rookie of theYear, MVP and the Cy Young. Newcombe was the first of many Americans to go to the Far East toplay what many consider "the" American sport.

In the past decade something has changed concerning the emigration of professional players fromAmerica to Japan. The men who go to the Japanese League are no longer at the end of their careers.They are now, more often than not, mid-career players who can't seem to find an everyday role on amajor league team. Often, these players decide to go to Japan because they will have a chance tocontribute every day.

Some players find a home away from home in Japan, while others go and get some daily experienceand come back to parlay that into a starting role in MLB. Still, others struggle in their foreignenvirons and come back looking to play in the big leagues, even if it's as a utility player.

Alex Cabrera is an example of the first type of player, while Lou Merloni seemed as though he mightfit the bill for the second category but didn't quite get a break in Japan or make the cut when hecame back to his homeland. Gabe Kapler illustrates a player in the final and least desirable of thethree groups.

First baseman Alex Cabrera, who spent nine seasons in the minors with the Chicago Cubs, TampaBay Devil Rays, and Arizona Diamondbacks, finally got his chance to play Major League Baseball in2000. In 31 games he hit 5 homer runs, scored 10 runs, knocked in 14 RBI and accumulated a .262BA. Then, in 2001, the Seibu Lions of the Japan Pacific League bought his contract from theDiamondbacks. For Cabrera it was the perfect move at exactly the right time.

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