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01/28/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Millar Goes to Super Bowl, But Not Japan"
Oops, There He Is! Betts Shows Right Stuff to Yakult Boss Wakamatsu
After a hilarious case of mistaken identity almost caused a Yakult scout to strand infielder Todd Betts at Narita Airport yesterday, the Ontario, Canada product had his first workout with his new squad today and manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu, one of Japan's best ever hitters when he was an active player, was impressed, complimenting Betts on the way he uses his legs at the plate and even comparing his new foreign player with himself, high praise indeed.
Wakamatsu went on to say that he doesn't expect Betts to reproduce the power numbers of Roberto Petagine, but hopes that the 29 year old former Cleveland 14th rounder will instead post a nice average with runners in scoring position. Betts revealed that he looked up info about Wakamatsu on the web and made note of his manager's .319 career average.
What's more, Wakamatsu liked the way that Betts moved around in the field and may even try him at second base this spring, tough for now he is penciled in at first. You can see pics of Todd during the workout Here and Here.
Hot Shots....
According to the Rocky Mountain News, former Orix lefty Ed Yarnall will be given a rotation shot in Oakland after signing a $600,000 deal with them a few days ago.... Yomiuri owner Tsuneo Watanabe resigned his seat on the Sumo Association Yokozuna Committee Monday. He also sent along some words of encouragement to Mongolia-born wrestler Asashoryu, saying that he hopes that Asashoryu will be as great a champion as the recently retired Takanohana....Seibu Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka will be starring in a Nike commercial along with Randy Johnson for airing in the Japanese market.... Nippon Ham reliever Hiroshi Shibakusa revealed that he had married 29 year old model Hanako Namine last year. Shibakusa got divorced from his first wife in January, 2001 and then met Nagamine through mutual friends in Osaka the fall of that same year while on a road trip....Most Nippon Ham players will be given flu shots tomorrow....The granddaughter of former Chunichi Dragons pitching great Shigeru Sugishita will make her show business debut in a staging of the musical Annie at the Aoyama Theater in Tokyo starting April 26th as a tap dancer. Seri Sugishita, 13, is the oldest daughter of Makoto Sugishita, the former forkball king's second son. Seri has been studying dance since third grade in the hopes of ultimately becoming a stage actress. The production also features well known Japanese actress/singer Rumiko Koyanagi.... Former Tampa Bay first baseman Steve Cox flew into Japan earlier today to report to the Yokohama Bay Stars. Upon arrival, he joked to reporters, "call me The Natural." Cox may not be Robert Redford, but he was in "The Rookie." Cox also remarked that he isn't focusing on specific number goals, but will play as hard as he can. Meanwhile, due an illness suffered by his wife, pitcher Domingo Guzman cancelled his flight. But pitcher Matt Whiteside and infielder Tyrone Woods each checked in, with ex-Doosan Bear Woods saying that even if he can't take the first base job away from Cox, he can also play the outfield as well as third base. Whiteside offered that he is used to a heavy workload and suggested that the Stars "leave everything to me." A Hanshin official compared Williams' delivery to former pitcher Senichi Hoshino, who is now his manager ....Hoshino hinted that more personnel moves could be in order, as he reportedly feels that there are still too many players with losing attitudes on his team....Another Doosan refugee, former Dodger Gary Rath, hit the Japanese mainland to report to Yomiuri, disclosing to reporters that his nickname in the U.S. was "cookie man" for his sweet tooth. He also said he wants to be like Kimiyasu Kudoh and play in Japan for a longtime and even intends to study Japanese. In fact, Rath even saw Kudoh pitch on satellite television last season. The Mississippi State grad is in a cooperative from of mind, as he explained that he would do whatever he is asked by the Giants. Furthermore, he hopes to win at least ten games this season and surpass 150 innings. The word is from Sankei Sports that Rath will be given a rotation shot and will make about $175,000....For Nippon Ham, outfielder Angel Echevarria reported today and should energize the club's batting order. He told the press that his goals are a .300 average with 20 homers and 100 RBIS. As a hokey publicity stunt, Echevarria donned an angel costume. See pic Here....New Hanshin addition Jeff Williams flew all the way in from Australia and barely stepped off the plane before declaring that he would be the team's closer. "I want to lead the team to the pennant," he enthused. He also stated that he welcomes the battle for that role, emphasizing that he's a competitive kind of guy. Last season in the Dodger minor league system, he held lefthand hitters to a .130 average and if he can replicate that in Osaka, it would be a big boost to what was a subpar pen in 2002....Daiei introduced a trio of foreign talent today, as pitchers Matt Skrmetta and Brandon Knight, who will make $320,000 this season. as well as infielder Bryant Nelson had their first exposure to the Japanese press. Knight, who was also courted by Nippon Ham, expressed uneasiness over the economic state of the Hawks parent firm, but chose them anyway when he apparently came across some information about the Fighters organization on the internet that he didn't think was too positive, such as the beef labeling scandal that the team's parent company was prosecuted for. Skrmetta said that he has learned how to count to 100 in Japanese. Nelson averred that he would play wherever manager Sadaharu Oh wants him to.... Kintetsu Buffaloes manager Masataka Nashida read recalcitrant closer Akinori Otsuka the riot act today, as he angrily asserted, "even I have limits. If he's not there the first day of spring camp, I won't use him during the entire season." Otsuka has value to the team, the skipper said, "and if he bows his head and apologizes to me and the players, it will all be just water under the bridge." Otsuka's wife Akemi said that her husband had a headache and wouldn't make any comment about Nashida's remarks....Both infielder Jose Ortiz and outfielder Roosevelt Brown reported to Orix today and were intoduced at a Kobe area hotel, with Brown telling reporters that he has been taking Taekwondo lessons in the hope that the Korean martial art would teach him greater patience and discipline. Moreover, he claimed that he is ready for his black belt examination, leading the Sankei Sports reporter to ponder the former Cub's value in an on field brawl. Hiroshima Carp shortstop Andy Sheets and pitcher Dave Lundquist are now in Japan and will take part in a press conference along with reliever Alan Newman Wednesday.... Yomiuri announced that number two draft choice Yuya Kubo has come down with a fever and will thus miss a bullpen session scheduled for February 1st. In other Giants news, 28 year old reliever Hideki Okajima came back from Australia sporting a mustache, saying that it makes him look more like an adult. Oh brother....Nippon Ham manager Trey Hillman and batting instructor Gary Denbo visited with the Japanese commissioner today and then mosied on over to both the Central and Pacific League offices. Hillman's outfit suffered a setback, however, when catcher Kazunari Sanematsu fractured the palm of his glove hand, which will put him on the shelf for a month. Hillman also expressed his approval of the new PL playoff system that takes effect next year....Yokohama closer Takashi Saito signed on the dotted line today for around $2 million per season over three years. To sweeten things, there is another $1.1 million in incentives. Saito remarked that he wanted to go back into the starting rotation. He also revealed that he has bought season seats at Yokohama Stadium that will go to kids and the handicapped....Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki has his photo and a small blurb about his career in a new physical education textbook for 120,000 junior high schoolers in the Tohoku (northeast) region of Japan. It is part of a piece about six athletes from the region who have made a name for themselves. When informed of this at an awards banquet he was attending, Sasaki called it "a great honor." Of course, the obligatory question about Hideki Matsui came up and Sasaki urged Godzilla not to be a picky eater and to just do his own thing on the field. About his surgically operated on elbow, Sasaki has already started throwing again and is experiencing no discomfort.... Matsui worked out today at a Giants facility in Kawasaki and was concentrating again on hitting to the opposite field in a 74 swing batting practice session. Aside from going with pitches on the outer half of the plate, he was also insideouting the ball on the inner half, too. Indeed, the key to Matsui having success in MLB will be concentrating on hitting .300 and allowing the power numbers to come naturally and not force things....According to Sports Nippon, the Chiba Lotte Marines are asking 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medal marathoner Naoko Takahashi to be a special training coach during the spring. Takahashi has done commercials for the team's parent corporation and her coach has lectured players on conditioning in the past. For her part, Takahashi is recovering from a stress fracture of a rib and will start training again early next month....Here's a bit of amusing trivia: the Japanese title for the movie about Jim Morris is "Old Rookie"....The Chinese pro baseball league has decided to begin recruiting players from other Asian nations and will put out a call to Japanese industrial and college leagues for players to tryout. Players from Taiwan and Korea will be auditioned starting at a later date.
Millar May Not Report
Geez, they're going to use what will now be known as the "Nakamura Defense" so that Millar can play in Boston? One thing that Baseball Guru.com readers need to know is that if the Mets sued Nakamura, they would have to do it in a Japanese court, where it routinely takes 20 years for those trials and the appeals to finish up. Also, the courts there are exceedingly stingy with damage awards. Thus, the Mets suing Nakamura is not an attractive option. However, Chunichi can sue the pants off Millar as well as the Bosox and reap huge monetary rewards from that litigation in a U.S. court. Are Millar and the Red Sox really sure they want to go through that?
According to Sankei Sports, Millar has told the Dragons that he will not be able to report when spring training begins due to unspecified "family problems," though they supposedly have something to do with Millar's wife. However, that difficulty apparently wasn't serious enough to stop Millar from attending the Super Bowl game. Team president Nishikawa also ominously insisted that "if he doesn't come, his playing career will be over." In any event, see story at: Boston Globe Article
More on Tani and Tamura Engagement
See story at: Japan Today Article
Nakamura, Kintetsu Conclude Contract
See story at: Japan Times Article
Nagashima Signs Deal to Manage Japanese Olympic Team
See story at: Contra Costa Times Article
Ichiro and Nagashima Express Mutual Admiration in Interview
See story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Off Topic: Sumo Internationalizes as Japanese Participation Wanes
See story at: Singapore Straits-Times Article
Replies: 2 comments
charlie cox or steve cox as he as known is a nerd
Posted by eddie gaillard @ 01/29/2003 05:35 PM EST
I just read an article you wrote on
1-28-03 that said I told the reporters to "Just call me the natural".That statement is totally untrue. I would never say somthing so arrogant as that. The truth to the story is I was asked by a reporter why my nickname was "The Natural". My response to that question was "I don't know,Greg Vaughan started saying that propably because I don't wear batting glove and I wear my socks high". Please make that correction known, because I don't want anyone who saw that article to believe I would say that.
Thank you
Steve Cox
Posted by Steve Cox @ 01/29/2003 03:12 AM EST
