Tag Archives: Pierce Johnson

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Padres to sign Pierce Johnson to 2-year deal: ESPN

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Pierce Johnson, whose power curve served him extremely well in his 2019 NPB debut season with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Central League, has agreed to a two-year deal with the San Diego Padres, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

A former No. 1 draft pick of the Chicago Cubs, Johnson’s curve was selected in a poll of CL players as the best in the league. According to Delta Graphs, Johnson threw his curve nearly half the time and was rated at over two wins per 100 pitches, and led all NPB pitchers in wins from his curve.

He joins the steady stream of players who come to Japan, learn some new adjustments or simply get a different perspective on things, and then find MLB teams eager to put those skills to the test.

When I saw this, I went back to Delta Graphs and saw that Johnson’s fastball was ranked 18th in effectiveness among the 120 or so pitchers with 50-plus innings in NPB last season. It was below average effectiveness in the States.

To say his curveball was effective because of the fastball is no surprise. This happened with Masahiro Tanaka in 2018. His slider and split became more effective because of his superior command of the four-seam fastball.

Again, as Bill points out, pitchers finding something in Japan is no longer news and one reason why a huge number of players are seeing Japan as a win-win situation.

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The kotatsu league: Tigers acquire reliever Edwards

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The Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Central League announced Saturday that former Indians Padres and Rangers reliever Jon Edwards has been acquired on a one-year contract estimated at $800,000 according to multiple media sources.

Edwards, who will turn 32 in January, is expected to take over the setup role vacated by Pierce Johnson, whose curve was very effective in 2019, his lone NPB season. According to Fangraphs Edward’s most effective pitch is his slider, so that will be a slight change. With former closer Rafael Dolis now out of the picture for 2020 as well, the club is probably seeing Edwards setting up for the ageless Kyuji Fujikawa next season.

Giants counting (on) Crow

Warren Cromartie has enjoyed his Giant-sized celebrations for decades.

Former outfielder Warren Cromartie will have a somewhat expanded role next season as a team advisor with the CL’s Yomiuri Giants, Nikkan Sports reported. Cromartie, a fan favorite in his seven seasons with the Giants from 1984, was a fixture at the batting cage prior to home games this year at Tokyo Dome.

According to the story, Cromartie (66), who I have ranked as the 126th most valuable player in NPB history despite his limited time here, will join the team on the road and in spring training, his schedule permitting.

The club hopes that Cromartie, who joined Yomiuri from the Montreal Expos, will be able to tutor newcomer Gerardo Parra, who arrives from the Nationals, in the spring.

Back in the day, Crow used to lead the Giants fans in cheers when the teams changed sides after Yomiuri put runs on the board. The scoring team’s fans will chant the players’ names who drove in runs in the inning, and typically the players will doff their caps, wave or bow. But Cromartie joined the fans and they cheered each other. So if all goes well, Crow’s new routine might involve the Baby Shark

And then there’s the other “news”

Here’s a sample of other headlines on Dec, 21, 2019, an offseason Saturday in Japan from online stories in the Nikkan Sports.