Out of the 87 players eligible to file for free agency this off-season, only five players filed for free agency including Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi declaring as international free agents.
The other three players filing for free agency are thought to make a move within the NPB. The Yakult Swallows remain the team interested in INF Atsushi Fujimoto and the Yokohama BayStars are the front runner for C Tasuku Hashimoto. LHP Shugo Fujii from the Nippon Ham Fighters has also declared free agency and his destination is still up in the air, but a re-connection with the Fighters is unlikely.
The 2009 season is in the books, and the MVPs go to Yu Darvish in the Pacific League, with Alex Ramirez receiving the honor for the Central League. Darvish earns the award for the second time in his career and Ramirez obtains the award for the second straight season.
The Rookie of the Year award is received by Tokyo Yomiuri Giants outfielder Testuya Matsumoto, the first time in 51 years that two players from the same team received the RoY in consecutive years (Giants reliever Tetsuya Yamaguchi took the prize last year). The Pacific League award goes to reliever Tadashi Settsu of the Softbank Hawks.
The Best Nine Awards have also been announced and the winners are as follows:
The 2009 season concluded with Hideaki Wakui of the Seibu Lions being honored with the Sawamura Award, but a number of pitchers had outstanding years and we wanted to take a closer look at them. Sawamura Award candidate are judged on how close they get to the following seven criteria:
Game Appearances… 25 or above
Complete Games… 10 or above
Wins… 15 or above
Winning Percentage… .600 or above
Innings Pitched… 200 or above
Strikeouts… 150 or above
ERA… Under 2.50
Obviously the only pitcher surpassing each of the criteria is Wakui with 11 complete games which made him the only true candidate for the award. An unwritten criterion necessary to win the Sawamura Award is strength and the ability to stay healthy. Even though Yu Darvish started out the season with a stellar performance, his injury in the second-half cost him his chance to win his second Sawamura Award.
G
CG
W
Win Pct.
Inn.
K
ERA
Hideaki Wakui
27
11
16
0.727
211.2
199
2.30
Yu Darvish
23
8
15
0.75
182
167
1.73
Toshiya Sugiuchi
26
6
15
0.75
191
204
2.36
Masahiro Tanaka
25
6
15
0.714
189.2
171
2.33
Wei-Yin Chen
24
5
8
0.667
164
146
1.54
Dicky Gonzalez
23
2
15
0.882
162
113
2.11
Kazuki Yoshimi
27
5
16
0.696
189.1
147
2.00
The Best Nine Awards are still up still unannounced, and there are a lot of worthy candidates for the top pitcher in both the Central and Pacific Leagues. Who is most deserving of the award?
We mentioned on Twitter that Hisanori Takahashi has declared free agency and will try to catch on with an MLB club via twitter. Hochi sports conducted an one-on-one interview with Takahashi after making the decision and here is our English translation of it.
– When did you start considering the Major Leagues?
“The desire to accomplish my dream has gotten stronger since last year. After watching Koji Uehara play baseball overseas, my admiration for Major Leagues increased.”
– Was there a possibility of staying put?
“I received good termｓ from the Giants. Staying might have been the better decision, but I appreciate the organization understanding my selfish desire to attempt my dream.”
– What is memorable moment with the Giants?
“When we won the ON (Oh-Nagashima) match-up and won the championship in my rookie season at 2000. Throwing a shutout game in that series is unforgettable as well.”
– Which team do you hope to play for?
“A team that needs me. I would be happiest if the team uses me as a starter. I feel like I can best show my strengths when I am starting. I would like to stick with that.”
– Any hope toward your challenge to the Majors?
“If I did not have confidence, I would not be making this decision. It’s my one and only baseball life. I would like to challenge as if I am a rookie.”
Before free agent Hideki Matsui begins receiving calls for his service on the field, he’ll have a different set of suitors to field offers from: companies seeking him for endorsements.
According to reports, since the MVP performance in the World Series he has had eight offers to appear in commercials (three from existing sponsors and five additional prospective sponsors). Matsui’s price tag for each commercial appearance is estimated in the same range as IchiroSuzuki, and his MVP performance could bring in up $10 million in earnings this off-season.
Media demand has also rocketed for Matsui, as he has received an estimated 100 requests for television and event appearances in his home country. Even though his home for next season has yet to be determined, it’s not an understatement to say his new team (if the Yankees does not re-sign him) will have an opportunity to develop a big presence in the Land of the Rising Sun.
That opportunity sets Matsui apart from the rest of the free agent pool, in some regards. The Japanese-language signage we’ve been seeing in Yankee Stadium during Matsui’s tenure with the Yankees is sure to follow him wherever he goes. Every news program in Japan will show highlights from Matsui’s game, so a well-timed advertisement behind the plate will reach millions of Japanese homes on a nightly basis. With this comes a revenue opportunity that teams won’t get with, say, Jim Thome.
As I was in New York last week the lack of Matsui merchandise in stores was not only obvious, but also well publicized. You can count on the Japanese business community not missing out on this opportunity and making the most out of his MVP performance in number of ways.
Patrick Newman contributed a few thoughts to this post.
Richard is an interesting option, Corey somewhat less so, and I don’t quite see where Richard or Zuleta fit with the recent addition of Kim Tae-gyun. Zuleta also stunk up the Mexican League last season.
If you don’t see any video, try tweaking the time and date at the end of the url.
In a nutshell, Yomiuri beat Kia 9-4. It was a decent game until the 7th, when Yomiuri put seven runs on the board. Yakyu Baka has a write-up of the game, so I’ll limit my comments to a few observations. And here they are
This game failed to sell out Nagasaki’s rather small stadium. I wonder why they played in Nagasaki rather than the beautiful new stadium in Hiroshima?
The game felt like a spring training game spiked with a competitiveness, but the Giants did play all their starters. Last year, Seibu gave their foreign players the series off and let a number of their ni-gun kids play.
Kia’s starter, Yang Hyeon-Jong, was pretty good. He seemed to work mostly off of his breaking pitches, but seemed to have a respectable fastball, which I think he could have used more. In any event, I hope to see more.
Taishi Ohta pinch-hit at the end of the game, but looked completely fooled by You Dong-Hoon, who was otherwise hittable.
Wirfin Obispo is more of a “thrower” than a “pitcher”.
Tatsunori Hara took receipt of a huge trophy for his team’s victory.
Next year, the organizers are looking at bringing back the four-team format, and hosting the series in Taiwan. Good idea, in my opinion. I don’t think continuing to centralize this on Japan is in the best interest of Asian baseball.
