Major League Baseball’s off season just got a significant jolt. Another pitching star is coming from Japan.
While Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga made their marks for the first time last season, many believe Roki Sasaki may be the best of them all.
There was a time when getting a Japanese star to the U.S. in his prime was almost impossible. Ichiro Suzuki was talked about long before his eventual arrival in Seattle. He played seven full season with the Orix Blue Wave and wasn’t posted until age 27 in 2001.
He hit .353 in Japan from age 18, hit .385 his first season and .387 his last. Stuff of legends of course when he came over in 2001, winning a batting title, rookie of the year, a gold glove, a silver bat and the MVP.
Hideki Matsui known as Godzilla in Japan where he hit 332 homers in nine full seasons for the Yomiuri Giants didn’t arrive until age 29 in 2003. Hideki Irabu in 1997 at age 28.
Hideo Nomo first young Japanese star
Hideo Nomo had been the youngest, biggest star, arriving in L.A. at 26 in 1995. Nomo really opened the door by forcing his way out after announcing his retirement from Japanese baseball, forcing the Kintetsu Buffaloes to let him go.
Still the changes took another decade. Not until Daisuke Matsuzaka left for Boston at age 26 in 2007. Then 25 year old Yu Darvish got posted in 2012 and Masahiro Tanaka also 25 joined the Yankees two years later.
The die had been cast and now the question was, how long would they make their greastest star ever wait? Shohei Ohtani was obviously ready for the big stage, a two way monster, like nothing ever seen before and we all know what happened there.
Ohtani changed the game
After his age 22 season Ohtani was allowed to leave. He also got to pick his landing spot. Following an all out blitz for his services, the left handed slugger and right handed pitcher chose the Los Angeles Angels.
With Yamamoto and Ohtani already with the Dodgers, speculation is that Sasaki would also like to be there. He’s coming off another dominant season with the Chiba Lotte Marines.
At age 22, Sasaki’s innings have been kept to a minimum. Just under 415 total over four seasons. His numbers pristine. Career 2.02 ERA, 0.883 WHIP and 524 strikeouts to just 91 walks. Should he wind up as a Dodger, good luck beating them in the foreseeable future.
