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12/08/2002 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Lasorda Tells Nakamura to Stay Put"
Dodgers V.P. Says He Wants to See Buffs Win Pennant With Nakamura
L.A. Dodgers vice president Tommy Lasorda said Saturday that while he believes that Kintetsu Buffaloes free agent third baseman Norihiro Nakamura could do okay in the major leagues, it would be better if he remained with the Buffs. "I think Japanese should play in Japan," Sports Nippon quotes him. "It's the same with Nakamura. It's because I think the fans there want to see him play." Lasorda then went on, "because I want Kintetsu to win the pennant, I would naturally like to see him play with them. If he stays with them, then they will have a shot at the pennant."
The Japanese press is also taking this as Lasorda's way of tacitly turning down any possibility of Nakamura ending up in L.A., especially since Adrian Beltre is already a fixture at third.
Lasorda's remark about Japanese players staying in Japan is rather odd, especially considering he has two pitchers of that nationality in the starting rotation and the club may go after Akinori Otsuka and use him in a setup role.
Hot Shots....
Hanshin plans to use Hideki Irabu not as a starter, but as a closer. That would put Jeff Williams, then, in a lefthanded setup role ....Seibu reliever Yoshihiro Doi was given an $88,000 raise to $320,000....Daiei Hawks manager Sadaharu Oh marked the one year anniversary of his wife Kyoko's death from stomach cancer Saturday at a temple in Tokyo. He will also be leaving on a trip to the U.S. and Central and South America to scout foreign players around the 12th. He will reportedly visit with the president of the Dominican Republic as well as MLB Commissioner Bud Selig....The Yakult Swallows have put in an incentive in Alex Ramirez' new $1.2 million contract to walk more in light of him leading the Central League in strikeouts last season with 146. He will receive an extra $16,000 if he walks more than 30 times and then will have that increased ever ten free passes he works up to $40,000 for 100. He will also replace Roberto Petagine in the four hole....Yokohama manager Daisuke Yamashita spent three hours with elementary school age kids Saturday in Shimizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, teaching them the ins and outs of baseball....Hiroshima starter Hiroki Kuroda took part in a junior high baseball clinic in that city Saturday afternoon....The Chunichi Dragons denied having tampered with Hanshin Tigers first baseman George Arias.... Yomiuri lefthander Hisanori Takahashi was upset at his club's new contract offer. He was hoping for $800,000 after his first ten win season, but the Giants front office would only give him $640,000. This is a guy whose won just 29 games in three seasons. By contrast, Kazuhisa Ishii won 14 games in MLB and received only $500,000....Hanshin rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama complained that the weight room at his team's training facility was too small and the equipment antiquated....Kintetsu hurler Hisashi Aikyo got married Saturday in front of 120 guests in Osaka.....Judo idol Ryoko "Yawara" Tamura, who will be getting married next year to Orix outfielder Yoshitomo Tani, won an international Judo tournament earlier today in Fukuoka despite an injury to her right knee....Yakult Swallows number one draft choice Yuhei Takai signed on the dotted line with the team today instead of opting for the Japanese industrial league, which he had threatened to do after not being taken by Yomiuri. He received an $800,000 signing bonus and will make $96,000 plus another $400,000 in incentives during his rookie season. He will also wear number 16, which was previously held by Kazuhisa Ishii...The new agent for Hideki Matsui, Arn Tellem, has arrived in Japan....St. Louis Cardinals outfielder So Taguchi has returned to Japan after playing well in the Arizona Fall League. He told reporters that despite spending most of the season in the minors, that it still wasn't a bad memory for him and hopes to carry over that experience in winning a job with the big club next spring....The NY Mets are apparently thinking about jumping into the Hideki Matsui sweepstakes, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger....Yomiuri Giants draftee Mitsunobu Takahashi says he wants to slug 61 homers in a season like he did during the entirety of his high school career and break the pro homer record. His new teammates have also bestowed him with a new nickname, "yabushi." I'm not sure what that means.
Irabu, Rose Return to Japan
See story at: Japan Times Article
Indians Hammered for Selling Vargas to Dragons
See story at: Akron Beacon Journal Article
Former Swallow Ortiz Still Kicking Around U.S. Minors
Infielder Luis Ortiz hit .172 in 20 games with Yakult in 1997 (29 total at bats) before being released in June of that year. He apparently then headed back to the North American minors, where he still manages to hold down a job. See story at: Jackson Sun Article
Today in Japanese Baseball History
This report is for December 8th and on this date in Japanese baseball history in 1964, losing hope that former Nishitetsu Lions lighthitting infielder Yoshizo Tanabe would comeback from a severe beaning, the commissioner's office ordered that two million yen, the maximum compensation available, be paid to him. At the time, that would have been worth just a little over $6,000.
Replies: 1 Comment
Gary,
My office mates told me "yabushi" is the same kanji as "nobushi", which is a soldier of fortune or a wandering samurai. Since Takahashi is from Kumamoto-ken, Kyushu, 600 miles from Tokyo, and with his goal of 61 HRs, I guess his new teammates think this name makes sense. I've heard worse!...Mike
Posted by Mike Todd @ 12/09/2002 01:27 AM EST
