NPB Tracker

Some quotes & paraphrases from around the Japanese media on Hanshin’s impending acquisition of Craig Brazell:

• “It has become known that the negotiations between Hanshin and former Seibu Lion Craig Brazell have reached a basic agreement” (Nikkei Net)
• “The posibility of Brazell debuting for Hanshin on June 5  against Orix has increased… Brazell is coming to Japan on May 26th for a physical” (Nikkan Sports)
• “He likes Koshien! He likes yakiniku!” (Sanspo)

There you have it. The way this has played out, I wonder if the Tigers really ever considered anyone else.

According to Nikkan Sports, the Rangers had two scouts watching high school lefthander Yusei Kikuchi on May 21st. Kikuchi didn’t appear in his team’s game, the first of an Iwate Prefectural tournament, but the Rangers watched him work out with a long toss excercise. Kikuchi was quoted as saying, “I’m happy to get this attention but I can’t consider how to proceed until the end of summer”. The Dodgers had assistent GM Logan White watch Kikuchi in a practice game in March, and he appears on the draft lists of all 12 NPB teams.

Kikuchi is among the consensus top class of this year’s draft candidates. Brandon Siefken has brief profile of him in English, and Draft Reports has more on him in Japanese. The Nikkan Sports Draft Guide gave him a “BA” rating, a rating that we would normally denote in English as “a/b”, saying that his fastball is good but he can work on his delivery to get a more movement on his pitches.

One of the positive outcomes after the Kintetsu Buffaloes-Orix Blue Wave merger and the addition of Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2005 was the increase of interest in sports business from the general public. The development of the problem was publicized daily on every media and I personally remember wanting to know the details and learn exactly what was happening behind the scenes. I was probably not the only one developing an interest in the subject, as many teams around the league started to show signs of emphasizing the business side of their operations. From that time on there have been many books published on the business side of NPB and, for bilingual readers, I would like to recommend some of the books I have read recently and in the past which might catch your interest.

• プロ野球2.0 (Pro Baseball 2.0)
• 楽天が巨人に勝つ日ースポーツビジネス下克上ー (The Day Rakuten Defeats the Giants)
• スポーツと国力ー巨人はなぜ勝てない (Sports and National Strength-Why Can’t the Giants Win)
• 97敗、黒字。ー楽天イーグルスの一年 (97 Losses, Black Ink. -The Rakuten Eagles’ First Year)
• プロ野球は崩壊する！ースポーツビジネス再生のシナリオ (Pro Baseball will Collapse! -A Scenario to Revive Sports Business)

I will try introducing some good reads at times to get a better understanding and learn what happens behind the scenes in Japanese baseball and sports in general.