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12/05/2002 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Hanshin After Michael Tucker?"
Is Hanshin Really Going to Spend $3 Million on Tucker?
According to Sankei Sports, the Hanshin Tigers are prepared to spend more than $3 million to acquire Kansas City Royals outfielder Michael Tucker. The question is, would he be that much of an improvement over Norihiro Akahoshi and would it solidify manager Senichi Hoshino's thinking about converting Akahoshi to either a shortstop or second baseman?
With Tucker, they would be getting outstanding speed and he will be a better defensive player than Akahoshi. He also has somewhat more power. Yet, Tucker has never hit for a very high average in MLB and there is no guarentee that he would do so in Japan, where he is unlikely to see many fastballs. At least Akahoshi has already hit .290 in his rookie year and his second year was marred by a broken tibia. Neither man has a particularly good on base percentage. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Hot Shots....
Political turmoil forced the postponement of the Venezuelan Winter League all star game, according to CNN Asia....Former college batting champ Takashi Kita will make the same $105,000 for his second season with Lotte as he did as a rookie....Nippon Ham infielder Yukio Tanaka absorbed a $40,000 pay reduction to about $1.1 million. His teammate, infielder Hiroshi Narahara, was cut down by $32,000 to about $550,000. Rookie of the Year Itsuki Shoda had his salary tripled to $200,000....Hanshin reliever Shinji Taninaka was given a $65,000 pay boost despite a sucky season and will pull in close to $400,000 in 2003. Utility man Shuta Tanaka was awarded another $40,000 even though he didn't do much and now makes about $240,000. Pitcher Shinobu Fukuhara, who recently had shoulder surgery, had his salary plummet by $65,000 to a little over $250,000....Veteran Hiroshima centerfielder Koichi Ogata, after team management made noises about across the board pay cuts, must have been surprised to see his compensation take a $160,000 leap to $1.1 million. The Carp also upped bench player Itsuki Asai's salary by almost $50,000 to about $420,000 and utility man Takuya Kimura will make almost $400,000, the same amount he banked in 2002....Promising hurler Yataro Sakamoto earned what he termed a surprisingly large pay increase to approximately $135,000 for Yakult. He will also don a new number, 11. New Swallows addition Ken Suzuki endured a $350,000 decrease to $250,000 plus incentives....Hideki Matsui said while out playing golf with a couple of his teammates that he was honored to draw interest from the Boston Red Sox, noting their long tradition and that they once had Hideo Nomo and Tomokazu Ohka on their roster. Yomiuri mouthpiece Hochi Sports is also saying that Matsui is likely to decide who he will sign with by the 17th.... Orix righthander Jun Hagiwara, the infielder who was converted into a pitcher and showed promise in that role this past season, got a raise from $44,000 to about $185,000. Sweet! Another Blue Wave hillsman, Takashi Aiki, who tossed back to back shutouts at one point, accepted a $40,000 boost to about $95,000....Kintetsu reliever Toyohiko Yoshida assented to a $65,000 raise to about $225,000.....A San Francisco Giants spokesman says he knows of no plans for the club to meet with any Japanese players, including Norihiro Nakamura. He also stated that beyond that, he couldn't say anything else. Hmmm....Yokohama manager Daisuke Yamashita says that he is going to have his pitchers workout separate from the rest of the team, emphasizing doing more running....The Seibu Lions are thinking about putting a bronze plaque out in the spot at Seibu Dome where Alex Cabrera's 55th homer landed....Seibu setup man Shinji Mori, who lead the Pacific League in appearances last season with 71 and set a new single season holds record with 32, is seeking a $1 million pay boost over the approximately $500,000 he makes now.... Kazuo Matsui says that he will be training in Hawaii this offseason....Lions reserve catcher Kosuke Noda legally tied the knot today, which is his birthday, with his girlfriend Kyoko Yamazaki, a government civil servant. They met two years ago while Noda was playing in the industrial league...Seibu leftfielder/DH Kazuhiro Wada wants his salary ratched up to about $650,000....Yokohama lefty Yuji Yoshimi is reportedly hoping to have his salary jacked up to about $280,000 from the around $90,000 he collected this past season....Hanshin draftee Lin Wei-zhu has an odd way of getting prepared for his rookie year in pro ball: he will be working part time as an agricultural field hand in his native Taiwan. Former Tiger and Dragons Yasuaki Taiho, who was himself born in Taiwan, used a similar method, believing that it was good for strengthening endurance as well as his legs.
Is Petagine a Good Fit for Yomiuri?
Wayne Graczyk also has some good news about Melvin Bunch. See story at: Japan Times Article
More on Nagashima Taking Japan Team Managerial Job
See story at: Japan Times Article
Mariners Early Spring Departure Hurts Arizona Town
See story at:Everett Herald Article
Tellem's Hiring Confirms for Some Link With Yankees
See story at:Greenwich Time Article
Tellem Signing Good News for Yankees
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
Red Sox Still Plan to Pursue Matsui
See story at: Japan Today Article
Matsui's Alliance With Tellem Doesn't Diminish Yankee Chances
See story at: NY Post Article
Yankees Like Doing Business With Tellem
See story at: Hartford Courant Article
What Does Matsui's Defection Mean for Japan's Broadcasters?
See story at:Japan Times Article
Contreras in Nicaragua
See story at: Baseball America Article
Today in Japanese Baseball History
This article is for December 4th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1962, due to trade liberalization, horsehide could be used instead of the usual cowhide for baseballs, but finding that the horsehide variety were more expensive,NPB went back to cowhide.
Also on that date in 1963, Kansai University was made ineligible for the Kansai Big Six University League championship when one of its pitchers, a gent named Nishikawa, signed a pro contract while still playing in college.
