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12/04/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Hiroshima Backs Out of Ballpark Proposal; Seung-yeop Lee, Lotte Draw Closer"
Team Reports
Hanshin While catcher Akihiro Yano was picking up an award (see item under Daiei), he was asked about Opening Day, when the Tigers will face off against Yomiuri at Tokyo Dome. "That should be an amazing game. It will be a battle containing them. I wonder how many homers [Tuffy] Rhodes will hit. If we can win it 1-0, it will boost our confidence." Southpaw Kei Igawa will make his third season commencing start in a row in that one. Hanshin has never shut the Giants out on Opening Day....Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto re-signed for a $180,000 raise to around $2.3 million....Hanshin announced that it has reached agreement with Dodgers outfielder Mike Kinkade on a one year contract. He will make $800,000....Hanshin is already moving on next year's draft, as it has started pursuing Meiji University righty Yasuhiro Ichiba and his 95mph heater. They are also interested in Shidax hurler Takahiko Nomaguchi.
Chunichi Outfielder Kazuki Inoue had his pay slashed by $72,000 to about $400,000 after hitting .252 with two homers and five RBIs in 75 games. He will also change his uniform number from 99 to 9....After visiting an elementary school, third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami spent some time in a Nagoya Red Cross hospital children's ward along with second baseman Masahiro Araki....According to Hochi Sports, Kevin Hodges is being considered to help bolster the Dragons pitching. The main guy they have their eye on right now is Domingo Guzman, however....Number seven draftee Kawagishi will make about $130,000 in 2004 with another $360,000 available in incentives along with a $720,000 signing bonus.
Yomiuri Ace Koji Uehara spent Wednesday visiting Ikeda elementary school in his native Osaka. The school was a the scene of a massacre perpetrated by a mentally disturbed man in June, 2001, who stabbed eight children to death in a classroom. Accompanying Uehara was Lotte number one starter Tomohiro Kuroki and Chunichi third sacker Kazuyoshi Tatsunami. One of the kids asked Uehara if he intended to play in MLB. Uehara replied that it was indeed one of his goals....And while we're on the subject of Uehara, he re-signed with Yomiuri for a raise that brought his salary up past the $2.5 million level, but the ballclub denied that it had allowed Uehara to use his agent even though this deal was conducted through back channels by the agent before Uehara put his hanko (a signature seal) on it. Rather, they claim that the agent was more of an adviser and thus their policy of not permitting players to be represented at the negotiating table by agents is still an ongoing concern. Now how do you say "credibility gap" in Japanese? The Yomiuri statement resulted in the agent, who is a lawyer, sending a rather ominous note to the team about being slandered by them. A representative for Yomiuri has since responded to the agent's note, but the contents of it have yet to be disclosed. So the tension between the Uehara camp and the Giants continues....Tuffy Rhodes as Hideki Matsui's replacement? The team has prepared a two year offer for a total of 1.5 billion yen (about $14 million), including incentives, and will give him number 55, Matsui's old digits, if he chooses to come to Tokyo. And contrary to his earlier indication that he would have Roberto Petagine fight it out with Kazuhiro Kiyohara for the first base job so that he could strengthen their outfield defense, manager Tsuneo Horiuchi now says that he may use Petagine in left again and put Rhodes in center. One still has to believe, though, that Kiyohara will somehow be shipped off to Seibu, making this ll moot....Rookie of the Year Hiroshi Kisanuki got himself a nearly $300,000 raise to around $400,000....40 year old veteran Kimiyasu Kudoh reupped for a year after absorbing a $180,000 pay cut to around $2.5 million. Sports Nippon is speculating that Kudoh will then head to MLB in 2005, when he will be 42. However, Kudoh showed signs of age catching up with him this past year, so if he doesn't do better than his 2003 numbers, he may be done....Number two draft choice Kentaro Nishimura signed his first pro contract for $720,000 bonus and $54,000 in salary. Nishimura stated that he hopes to play for Japan in the 2008 Peking Olympics....Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo flew to L.A. Monday to have his surgically repaired knee checked out. He then moved on to Tempe, Arizona Wednesday to start his workouts in preparation for the 2004 schedule. He will return to Japan on the 13th....Eighth round pick Kazuaki Minami signed for a $55,000 salary and a $450,000 bonus. He won 32 games in college, including 24 straight at one point, and had a 19 strikeout game. His fastball tops out at about 92mph and he has a sharp slider to go along with it. He will be used in a relief role....Lefthander Masanori Hayashi, who had some nice performances during the second half of the schedule, saw his salary shoot up by 249% to about $165,000.... Reliever Ryuji Kimura took a 25% pay cut....Reliever Takashi Kahiwada earned a 5% boost.... Utilityman Takayuki Saito accepted a raise of about $130,000 to about $440,000....Another utility player, Daisuke Motoki, was dunned for a 10% cut to about $1.1 million....Reliever Junichi Kawahara saw his salary decline by 20% and signed for $540,000. That's going to be zero in 2005 unless he can straighten himself out this coming year.
Yakult Free agent closer Shingo Takatsu said that the Florida Marlins are interestred in him, but that it is still 50-50 that he will go to the majors or stay in Japan. The Yankees name is still coming up, though that could just be hype to pump Takatsu's value up. San Diego has, according to Sports Nippon, offered $700,000 plus
incentives....Pitcher Katsutoshi Ishido had his salary pushed up by $36,000 to $85,000....Diminutive lefty Masanori Ishikawa was unhappy with the $210,000 raise to about $600,000 he was offered and hinted that he may use an agent next year. He left without taking part in a press conference announcing that day's player negotiation results. He was looking for another $90,000 or so. It is unknown when the two sides may meet again....Yu Sugimoto, a former Yokohama moundsman, formally joined the team Wednesday. He will make about $90,000 next season and will wear number 44....Number four draft choice Norichika Aoki, an outfielder, signed for a $90,000 salary and around a $650,000 bonus. He will wear number 23....Yataro Sakamoto, a major letdown this past season, signed for the same pay he garnered for 2003. He blames his misfortune on trying to throw harder than he was capable and it lead to his control being off.
Hiroshima Plans made in conjunction with a U.S. developer----Simon Property Group---to build a new outdoor ballpark and shopping plaza in an old Japan Rail freight yard have been put off for now due to the rickety Japanese economy and the expense involved. Carp owner Matsuda has apologized to the team's fans and vows that at some point, they will get a new stadium done, but not right now....Number one selection Yuta Shirahama, a catcher, signed for a $65,000 salary and a $720,000 bonus. He will wear number 12 and said that he is aiming to be part of the Peking Olympics for Japan in 2008. In addition, he wants to add another 17 pounds to his 165 pound frame....Veteran infielder Kenjiro Nomura was wacked with a $450,000 salary decrease to $900,000 plus incentives. Nomura needs 152 hits to reach 2000 lifetime.
Yokohama Lefthander Yuji Yoshimi, who was a monumental disappointment in 2003, will get married on Christmas Eve to his girlfriend Kazuko Ikeda. The pair met two years ago through an acquantance and began dating on Christmas Eve of 2001. Ikeda is a former nurse. Yoshimi revealed that Ikeda is a good cook....The Stars may up their offer to Hanshin free agent lefty Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi due to the intrerest he is reported to be receiving from MLB. Their current proffer is two years for a total of $2.5 million....Koike got hitched Monday to new wife Maki at a Yokohama area hotel in front of 250 invited guests....Backup catcher Masakuni Odajima was given a $9,000 raise. Odajima cracked the first sayonara grand slam homer in team history this past July 18th against Yomiuri.... Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki was named the team's new players assocation rep.
Daiei The Japan Battery Manufacturers Association named their batteries of the year Wednesday at a hotel in Tokyo. As could be expected, the Hawks duo of righty Kazumi Saito and catcher Kenji Johjima carted off the trophy for the PL while Kei Igawa and backstop Akihiro Yano were the Central League recipients. This is getting to be a habit for Johjima, as this is his fourth such citation in the last five seasons. However, while this is certainly good news, even better was the birth on the 24th of Johjima's second child, a girl. The slugger joked that he would use the one million yen he pocketed as part of this award to buy diapers for the new arrival....Second year righthander Hayato Terahara was all but useless in the second half after going undefeated in the first half, but was bestowed with a $54,000 raise to about $330,000 anyway. He will also be getting married soon to 18 year old housekeeper Yuki Sugiwara. The two met as students at Nichinan Gakuen High School....First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka wants his salary nearly doubled from 159 million yen to 300 million. Today, he worked out for three hours, putting special emphasis on his problematic knees.
Seibu Former Giants hurler Tsuyoshi Ono played in Italy after being released by his former club, but finding the pay too cheap and there being a rule limiting foreign player participation, he tried out with the Lions recently and grabbed a roster spot. He has also gone to a sidearm delivery, which improved his control. Seibu also picked up Junichiro Muto, who was released by Nippon Ham, infielder Kazuaki Miyazaki, another Giants refugee, and veteran outfielder Jiro Fujitate, most recently of Chunichi....Reliever Koji Onuma will make the same $110,000 in 2004 that he made this past season. He also announced that he got married to wife Sumiko, an office worker who is seven years his senior, in May and they now have a newborn child, Ririka. The two met three years ago through mutual friends.
Kintetsu Reliever Hideo Koike, who lead the Pacific League in appearances with 65, received a $90,000 pay boost to about $300,000....Slugging third baseman Norihiro Nakamura says that he is giving up drinking and golf this offseason in endeavoring to both rehab his surgically fixed knee as well as comeback from a dismal 2003.
Lotte According to Sports Nippon, Korean slugger Lee Seung-yeop, no doubt frustrated by the lukewarm interest he has received from MLB outfits, is leaning toward taking a one year $1.4 million deal with Lotte and will wear his Samsung Lions number, 36. He has reportedly been offered $500,000 by Seattle and $1 million by the Dodgers, but is apparently putting money first and is likely to end up in Makuhari, Chiba as a result. In addition, Samsung will reportedly retire Lee's number....Satoru Komiyama held a press conference at Chiba Marine Stadium Wednesday. He will make about $360,000 and will wear number 14. He said that receiving the offer to rejoin Lotte "was like a miracle. I'm grateful." Ironically, Komiyama had been released by the club back in 199 after they didn't want to pay him what he demanded. So he signed with Yokohama before eventually moving to the Mets. Komiyama will also do some coaching for the team and, upon retirement, manager Bobby Valentine will reportedly use him as a fulltime coach.
Nippon Ham Tsuyoshi Shinjo has formally signed with the Fighters and held a 30 minute press conference near the third base dugout at Sapporo Dome before 2000 fans to say so. He will wear number 1. In a typically loopy Shinjo response, he averred that he wants to live in a part of Sapporo where there are foxes and bears. Local authorities had posited that the Fighters stationing themselves in their locality would bring the area around $200 million in extra income from tourism, but with Shinjo no part of the equation, that could double. More on the press conference can be found Here...In a very pleasant development for Nippon Ham, recalcitrant number two draft choice Hideki Sunaga will forsake his hope of pitching for Yomiuri and will sign with the Fighters after all, according to Sports Nippon. He will be able to deposit $900,000 into his bank account as a signing bonus while making a salary of around $90,000 next season. That is the most they team has ever given a player out of high school....Sidearming reliever Hiroshi Shibakusa disclosed that he wants to play for an MLB team in 2005. The Padres have reportedly scouted him. However, Shibakusa has hardly set the world on fire in the Nippon Ham bullpen and isn't likely to be offered much cash, should anybody be interested at all....PL batting champ Michihiro Ogasawara visited Mizuno's bat factory Monday. If Ogasawara wins three batting titles in a row, they are considering giving the great infielder a gold painted bat as a souvenir....Pitcher Tsutomu Iwamoto saw his salary reduced by more than $125,000 to about $475,000. Some would say that Iwamoto is lucky to not be a civilian, he was so ineffective.
Orix 22 year old pitcher Kawaguchi has gotten married to a 22 year old dental assistant (can't read her name, sorry). Unfortunately, he begins married life with a $5500 pay cut to about $57,000 and will go from wearing number 16 to number 68....Free agent signing Arihito Muramatsu says that he wants incumbent centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani's job. That should be an interesting battle.
Miscellaneous Righthanded reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa met with Mariners GM Bill Bavasi, with Bavasi saying that Hasegawa's re-signing is a priority. Hasegawa has also drawn interest from the Yankees....The Japanese olympic baseball team may play a pair of practice games against other unspecified nation's national baseball teams on July 13 and 14. The original plan had been to compose the opposition from other NPB nines, but national team manager Shigeo Nagashima thought that other national squads would provide better and more productive competition....Hideki Matsui has signed a deal with Suntory to endorse their happoshu Magnum Dry line. The tv commercials for it will be broadcast beginning in February....The Japan Scholastic Baseball Association was busy Wednesday, handing out three year long suspensions to high school head coaches and reprimands to a whole host of others. Two of the suspensions involve violent incidents exerted on students while another was a sanction for the coach being caught driving drunk. In addition, a college head coach was suspended for a year for getting drunk and causing a traffic accident.
In the News
Reyes Will Be Moved to Second if Mets Get Matsui
See story at: NY Times Article
See related story at: Newsday Article
Next Daiei Moves Could Include Hawks
See story at: Asahi Shimbun Article
Yankees Japan Trip Almost a Done Deal
See story at: Newsday Article
