Hanshin Moving on From Mench
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s followed the Hanshin Tigers this year, but team has already decided not to bring Kevin Mench back next season. Team president Nobuo Minami was quoted in Sports Hochi as saying “he won’t be here next year”. Mench has had a challenging stay in Japan, reportedly dealing with fatique and anxiety issues and ultimately getting just 15 games to prove himself with the Tigers, in which he hit .148.
Sanspo has additional reporting saying that Mench is due to head back to the States in the next few days for the birth of his twins in August (note: Kevin, if you’re reading this, congratulations from NPB Tracker). The article has an unnamed member of the Hanshin front-office saying “if he says ‘I don’t want to come back to Japan’, we won’t bring him back by force”. So there you have it.
With the Tigers sitting in 5th place and this looking like a lost season, the team is preparing for next year. Hanshin has mobilized scout Andy Sheets to begin building a list of acquisition targets, and they’re sending him and an international team representive to New York with the dual purpose of watching Hideki Matsui and checking out the new Yankee Stadium.
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23/07/2009 at 7:27 am Permalink
Hanshin has mobilized scout Andy Sheets to begin building a list of acquisition targets, and they’re sending him and an international team representive to New York with the dual purpose of watching Hideki Matsui and checking out the new Yankee Stadium.
It be a nice what if scenario, to see the Yomiuri great with the rival Tigers. Though out of what I’ve percieved as loyality to the Yankees, I’ll think Matsui will stay there till they get a logjam of DH/LF/1B types(which they already are). I dont know, I just cant see Matsui going to another MLB team out of his loyality to the Yankees, so whenever the time comes that Matsui is no longer productive enough for the Yankees, we could see a return to NPB. Though by that time, Matsui would be more of a marketing ploy(i.e Kiyohara), though who knows with all the MLB experience, Matsui might tear up NPB just like he used to. I like to see the result of Matsui playing for Hanshin.
23/07/2009 at 7:40 am Permalink
I thought all indications were that this is Matsui’s last season with the Yanks.
23/07/2009 at 8:51 am Permalink
Yeah, Cashman has more or less said he can’t see bringing Matsui back next year.
23/07/2009 at 9:36 am Permalink
I thought all indications were that this is Matsui’s last season with the Yanks.
Yeah, that’s what I’ve been hearing. Though, Godzilla has put another solid season in the hitter friendly Yankee Stadium. Finally, as I said above can’t see Matsui signing with another MLB except the Yankees, so that would guess leave only 1 option a return to NPB, where Yomiuri, Hanshin, and possibly Softbank try to outbid each other for him.
23/07/2009 at 11:50 pm Permalink
Matsui has already indicated that he has no intention of ever playing with the Giants again. Hanshin have made tentative contacts already and Matsui has expressed interest in playing with Tigers provided that he doesn’t stay in MLB. His no 1 goal is to stay there and so he would accept an offer from another team. For Hanshin salary would be a question but current winds are blowing slightly in their favour.
24/07/2009 at 5:59 am Permalink
Matsui has already indicated that he has no intention of ever playing with the Giants again
Well, that is his given right as a result of becoming a free agent to spurn Yomiuri, I honestly like to see it happen that he results up in Hanshin. Matsui might find at this point in his career, that the offeres from the West Side of the Pacific will be higher than the ones coming in from MLB. Whether makes him decide to go back to NPB is beyond me. Then, though Iguchi and Shinjo have returned, though albeit the name Matsui is.
For Hanshin salary would be a question but current winds are blowing slightly in their favour.
Call me naive, but couldn’t Hanshin you then as like the face of the team or put him on other non-baseball things like Chiba Lotte has done with Bobby Valentine.
24/07/2009 at 5:33 pm Permalink
Yes the marketing department would have a field day marketing Matsui as the face of Hanshin and they definitely want him. The question mark would be the salary as it would probably be more than Hanshin have ever paid for a player but if Matsui said yes I am sure that even that would be found.