NPB players are not eligible for international free agency until they’ve accrued nine years of service time. Sasaki has pitched at Japan’s highest level for four years. He unsuccessfully pushed for the Marines to post him for MLB teams last offseason. He gets his wish this time around. T...
In 2023, the first of a five-year, $75 million deal, Senga was named an All-Star and placed second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, so the Mets had expected him to be a big part of the rotation as they tried to rebound from a disapp...
You might think refusing MLB players to play in the Olympics is a travesty. Many MLB players have bellyached their disappointment for being barred from the Olympics since they may not become great major league players. Playing in the Olympics is the only platform to reach the apex of their c...
He's worked into better shape in recent months and is now posting plus straight-line run times, has always had a plus arm (into the mid-90s on the mound), and has big lefty raw power, which was on display from his time playing in Japan. The Marlins and Astros are tw...
MLB Players from Japan ⚾ 日本人メジャーリーガー Currently Active (現役) All Players(歴史) There are10Japanese players active in MLB this year Shota Imanaga LHPChicago Cubs 今永昇太(いまなが・しょうた) Bats:LThrows:L Current Age31 ...
In 1966, Major League Baseball and the Japan professional leagues signed an agreement to honor each other's players contracts—a deal that effectively stopped Japanese players from playing in the big leagues for nearly 30 years. Following Murakami's debut, no other player from Japan made it to...
One of the best players in KBO history, Lee holds league records for homers, RBIs, runs and total bases. He won five KBO MVP Awards and four Korean Series championships during his career, and he earned a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Lee also spent time playing in Japan and ...
“Players have a deep interest in growing baseball around the world. No matter where they come from, players are linked by a passion for our game that transcends different languages, cultures, and nationalities,” said Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLB Players Association. “The ser...
Sometimes it's unfair to judge Japanese players by traditional standards. Hideki Matsui’s stats in Japan were amazing, but they were just decent in MLB. “Godzilla” was a power hitter, once hitting 50 home runs in Japan in a season. However, in 10 seasons in MLB, he only hit over ...
Ohtani has 25 hrs now; Judge has 44. I don't think in the deadball era players were necessarily slap hitters; the strategy of the game was different and as such, they did slap hit often ---but the same ball was used throughout the game and became soft, pitchers could throw spitter...