Showing posts with label Munenori Kawasaki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Munenori Kawasaki. Show all posts

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Pacific Mariners: Japan

ROOTS IN JAPAN

Sixteen players born in Japan were part of the Seattle Mariners organization during the first thirty-five seasons. Eight of these men played for the big league team.


CAREERS IN JAPAN

Eighty-two Nippon Professional Baseball players and one manager were part of the Seattle Mariners Major League club over the first thirty-five seasons. This list includes players, managers and coaches at the big league level. Partial seasons and cups of coffee are listed right along with regulars, a respectable number of All-Stars, and every Rookie of the Year Award winner in M's franchise history. The list also includes one Hall of Fame player and another who will likely be elected on his first ballot. Mariners who later coached with the big club are not marked as coaches.


* coached MLB Mariners
** managed MLB Mariners
*** managed NPB Marines

One-hundred and twenty-one Nippon Professional Baseball players and one manager were part of the Seattle Mariners organization over the first thirty-five seasons. This list is expanded to include players and managers at all levels of the minor league system, along with players, managers and coaches with the big league club.


Members of the Seattle Mariners big league club also had family who played baseball in Japan. Jim Paciorek (Whales '88-'91; Tigers '92-'93) is the brother of Tom Paciorek. Bump Wills (Braves '82-'83) is the son of Maury Wills.


[Note: This draft is based on a week spent poring over every level of the all-time organization roster and individual player pages at Baseball-Reference. Please let me know if there are any errors or omissions. Latest update: January 31, 2013]
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Friday, January 11, 2013

The Bigs

On this date a year ago, the Seattle Mariners inked a minor league contract with Munenori Kawasaki.  Coming off a glorious 2011 Japan Series championship with the SoftBank Hawks, there was every reason to believe that the magic could translate to the big leagues. He bid a fond farewell to the Fukuoka faithful who had supported him since he was a rookie, and followed his dream to the United States. At last, the moment had arrived, the papers were drawn up, and arguably the only person in MLB history to insist on playing for the M's, or not at all, was a member of the organization. Mune had earned a spring training invite and a chance to be Ichiro's teammate.

"Being able to add a player with the resume that Kawasaki possesses is very good news for the Mariners," said GM Jack Zduriencik in a press release. "We are looking forward to having him compete for a major-league position in spring training. He is a high-energy player with a record of success in Japan."

Fast forward to his first regular season game in a big league uniform. Kawasaki takes the field in Oakland against the A's. In his debut trip to the dish, Mune faces the soon to be 39-year-old Bartolo Colon.

Full stop.

For anyone who supported Kawasaki and played the "what if" game in their head since late October; for the faithful fans in Japan who cheered for Mune on television at odd hours; for all the folks who were really hoping to see him succeed with the club as a middle infield option backing up defensive wizard Brendan Ryan; for the M's crowds who simply found Mune endearing and enjoyed watching him at the ballpark; for the skeptics who might have been swayed toward recognizing his value if the production had been average; the story begins with those first at bats.

We will probably never know if Bartolo Colon started the monkey business to prepare for the trip to Japan. Or, to recover from the journey. Or, if he only took that stuff later in the season. There isn't a way to know, nor is there a way to quantify the advantage he may have had over opposing batters. Colon was knocked out of the ballgame after 4 1/3 innings, but maybe he only made it that far with a little help. Perhaps Mune would have had more than a groundout, a single, an RBI, and a run scored. It was respectable enough for the first two trips to the plate in a debut, but everyone on that field was still feeling the effects of travel. Except Colon. Maybe. Maybe not. We simply don't know. We never will.

Bartolo Colon vs. PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Dustin Ackley 13 13 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 .308 .308 .308 .615
Justin Smoak 13 12 3 1 0 1 2 1 3 .250 .308 .583 .891
Michael Saunders 12 11 1 0 0 0 1 1 5 .091 .167 .091 .258
Kyle Seager 12 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 .167 .167 .333
Kendrys Morales 9 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .111 .111 .111 .222
Raul Ibanez 6 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .167 .167 .167 .333
John Jaso 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000
Totals 69 67 12 1 0 1 4 2 16 .179 .203 .239 .442
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used Generated 1/11/2013.

This handy chart from Baseball-Reference tells us that most of the left handed bats on the current Mariners roster were bad against Bartolo Colon last year. It doesn't tell us why. Was it the shoes? Maybe Colon is really that good. Maybe the M's are really that bad. It's hard to look at anything Colon did in 2012 without being skeptical. After all, the best 37-year-old in baseball last season was a knuckleballer who rebuilt himself from scratch. The dominance of Dickey is believable. The resurrection of Colon? Well, not so much.

After beginning his career against Bartolo Colon, Munenori Kawasaki would have 102 more at bats in 2012. He would also appear in two games on the same diamond with Melky Cabrera. At that point of the season, there were excited rumblings that San Francisco might have the next NL batting champion. Weeks later, Cabrera was the MVP of the All-Star Game. Like Colon, Cabrera would bring disgrace to baseball. We have no way of knowing who else was using among the players Mune faced last year. We can't really speculate. A lot of little things added up to a season of disappointment. It would be a shame if any of those things involved cheating by opponents.

This is the infuriating part about abuse in the game. Not just the silly cartoon numbers put up by gifted guys who were breaking what should have been the rules over the last twenty something years, but the questions left lingering for fringe players and their fans. Ethical hard working men who played their hearts out, yet were doomed by poor numbers over small sample sizes. The marginal ones who might have had some or all of their only chances spoiled by a competitive imbalance. They are the real victims of performance enhancers. Not the cozy multimillionaires hiding behind weepy confessions and indignant humblebrag. Definitely not the ones caught red-handed who color their reaction with plaintive cliches about statistical advantages granted by a higher power rather than a syringe or cream. They've got their money already. The rest is just theater.

Soon to be forty-year-old Bartolo Colon still has five games left to serve on his suspension for synthetic testosterone, but was tendered a shiny new contract by the Oakland A's in early November. Melky Cabrera sat out 50 games for the same infraction, watched from his comfy chair as the Giants took the crown, and was rewarded for his mistakes with a two year deal from the Toronto Blue Jays. The career of Munenori Kawasaki is still in limbo.

Perhaps it isn't a big deal to people who live and breathe wins and losses. The ones who are only in it for the cold beer, vicarious trophy hoisting, and high fives. I get it. Adults invest time and money into the sport. It's gone beyond an emotional connection for the serious fan. A part-time light hitting shortstop with good defense doesn't spark their interest like another player might. That makes sense.

At the same time, the sport sustains itself by cultivating interest in new generations through personal interaction. The game needs genuine ambassadors to the kids along the fence. Youngsters of all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds should feel like there is a place for them in the big leagues. Perhaps a kid would rather emulate a high priced talent in his practice and playing style, but it's seldom the superstars in MLB who come over with a friendly smile to sign his or her baseball, or play catch for a little while, or give them a big hug for a picture. Given a chance to share the joy of the game, Munenori Kawasaki never hesitated.

Mune has been a member of eight NPB All-Star teams. He's been a part of Pacific League, Japan Series and WBC Championship runs. He's also been a bench player for a not so good MLB club. He is well acquainted with the cycles of pain and disappointment, of elation and triumph, and of waiting and wondering. No matter where you look on the arc of his years in professional baseball, you'll see an effervescent, yet humble man who takes his responsibility to young people very seriously. He also works extremely hard at his craft. Mune is a fellow grateful for the chance to play the game he loves. He embodies the positive spirit of baseball, and has touched the lives of youthful Hawks and Mariners fans alike.

Like Munenori Kawasaki, 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Rich Gossage connected with youngsters as a member of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and the Seattle Mariners. Reacting to the news of a shutout in Cooperstown, Goose told the Los Angeles Times, "I don’t know how we can reward these guys for cheating. What does that say to kids?”

Yesterday, in the wake of a thoroughly embarrassing and controversial Hall of Fame election that featured an incoming class of known and suspected PED users, Major League Baseball announced overdue additions to the drug testing program. Soon after the official announcement of stricter rules on drug use, Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees sent out an enthusiastic tweet that said in part, "Lets make our game a great example for kids!"

While I applaud their sincere efforts at this late date, it seems like the real message to youngsters was sent over the course of a few weeks last fall. The days that saw Munenori Kawasaki released, Bartolo Colon given at least a seven figure raise, and Melky Cabrera working out a two year $18 million dollar contract. Whether or not Munenori Kawasaki ever earns the opportunity to wear a big league uniform again is an unanswered question, but we know without a doubt that Mune made our game a great example for kids.

At the risk of sounding cynical, it seems like the lesson for the moment is pretty clear: If you're thought of as a not so good ballplayer, but proven to be a decent human being, the chances for staying in the game are slim to none. If you're proven to be a not so good human being, but thought of as a decent ballplayer, the chances for staying in the game are still pretty good if your lack of scruples puts wins on the board. Welcome to the bigs, kids.

The Mariners spring training invitations came out this afternoon. Munenori Kawasaki is not among the eighteen non-roster invitees.
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Friday, December 21, 2012

Fifinori, Kuma & 42

In the long-forgotten days before Felix Hernandez threw his first perfect game, there was a traditional event scheduled for August 21, 2012. Trusting that the iconic Ichiro would be a face of the franchise all season long, the Mariners set the date and made preparations. The club with the strongest ties to our Pacific neighbors was proud to be hosting another Japan Night. As the day grew near, the team sent out a press release and local organizations got on board. With contagious enthusiasm, Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims promoted "Japanese Baseball Appreciation Night" during their broadcasts.

Sadly, right field would no longer belong to Ichiro. Fans in attendance would not be chanting and beating megaphones in unison. Nor would there be a fired up ouendan with drums and trumpets. Mune wouldn't be digging into the box while the crowd belted out his personal fight song or a chance theme to fit a given situation. Home run sluggers would not be tossing a little stuffed mascot to a kid in the seats. The crowd would be encouraged to cheer, but there would be no happy umbrella dances, no celebratory pogoing, and no colorful jetto fuusen to scream skyward for Lucky 7. The bleachers wouldn't be singing a regional anthem to celebrate a win. It was going to be a special game, but these guys were gonna feel right at home in The 'Pen.

It still seemed like a prime opportunity for Hisashi Iwakuma and Munenori Kawasaki to be part of an M's victory. Maybe one or both of them would do something worthy of a hero interview. It might have seemed like Japanese baseball for a few seconds before John Jaso could sneak up with a whipped cream pie. Of course, it didn't happen that way. With a bit of help from the baseball gods, August 21, 2012 was all about Felix Hernandez. Nobody in the world is complaining about how things worked out. It was absolutely perfect.

Hopefully, fans will long remember that Hisashi Iwakuma picked up where Felix left off and extended the streak of consecutive hitless at bats to 42. Their combined efforts set an all-time franchise record. The Mariners are not sure how many other times it happened in MLB history, but confirmed that it hadn't occurred in the lifetime of Kevin Millwood. The Millwood metric clearly illustrates that Major League Baseball moves at a glacial pace.

On the day Millwood was born, The Sporting News named Lou Brock "Sportsman of the Year" for 1974. In the winter of 1974, there were 22 names on the all-time list of players from Venezuela who had appeared in at least one MLB game. Thirty-five years had passed since the debut of Alejandro Carrasquel.

After a taste of success during the 2004 season, Felix Hernandez celebrated his very first big league Christmas. In the winter of 2004, there were 22 names on the all-time list of players from Japan who had appeared in at least one MLB game. Forty years had passed since the debut of Masanori Murakami.

Maybe somebody will crunch all the relevant historical data and discover that 42 straight batters were retired in the days of the velocipede, parasols and penny arcades. Perhaps the narrative will include a lengthy rhubarb broken up by an umpire with a pistol. If this stellar pitching streak happened before, it's safe to assume that the feat was accomplished when right-handers from Venezuela and Japan weren't considered for MLB rosters.

When Hisashi Iwakuma takes the mound in September of 2013, the franchise can mark twenty straight years of welcoming Japanese players into the extended Mariners family. That represents nearly 56% of a relatively short organizational history. The Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles have welcomed African-Americans into their system for 52% of a much longer period of time. In the context of breaking barriers and cultivating a culture of inclusion, both numbers represent remarkable legacies of progress.

42 consecutive ought to be easy for fans to remember. Records are pretty cool. Change is even cooler. Some sort of "Japanese Baseball Appreciation Night" this year is still a grand idea. Better late than never, right?
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