Kosuke Fukudome touched on his puzzlingly disappointing five-year MLB career Tuesday, saying that he failed miserably in an area where current Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga has succeeded magnificently.
Because of MLB’s deeper talent base, very few players who go over in their prime are able to achieve success comparable to their achievements in NPB.
But no player who stayed any length in MLB suffered as big a drop in his contributions to team wins, measured by Bill James’ Win Shares, as Fukudome. Even Kazuo Matsui, who struggled mightily at first, eventually found his feet.
And few players who returned years later have been able to produce the way Fukudome did when he came back to Japan with the Hanshin Tigers as a 36-year-old in 2013.
Speaking Tuesday at Tokyo Dome, Fukudome said he was too old and too Japanese to make good adjustments to a baseball career overseas.
While much of the talk on American social media is about which Japanese players who competed this past weekend in their exhibitions against the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will eventually play Major League Baseball, the real key to Japan’s baseball future was on the field at Tokyo Dome early Monday morning.
Monday’s official practice was preceded by a two-hour coaching clinic with former MLB stars Ken Griffey Jr, Harold Reynolds, Jason Kendall and Jeremy Guthrie demonstrating a variety of drills to coaches whose young players compete in Japan’s MLB Cup.
The quartet demonstrated fundamental elements of hitting, throwing, pitching and tagging runners to a group of about 20 coaches. Guthrie, who had great grandparents who emigrated from Japan over a century ago, previously pitched at both Koshien Stadium and Tokyo Dome in the 2014 MLB-Japan All-Star tour.
Shun Nakasone (L) interprets as Ken Griffey Jr, Jason Kendall and Jeremy Guthrie demonstrate the importance of balance as Harold Reynolds provides the commentary.Continue reading Growing grass roots→
