The Dodgers have a wealthy historical past of overseas gamers having success in Chavez Ravine. Nearly thirty years in the past, a beginning pitcher from Japan had nice success as part of this group. Right here, three many years later, two Japanese stars will attempt to do the identical.
It's too simplistic to match totally different gamers with totally different expertise, simply due to their path to get there, but it surely's additionally true that gamers coming from NPB face related challenges. Completely different balls are utilized in Japan, the schedule that gives greater breaks for freshmen, and there are numerous different cultural elements.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto 2024 projections
| Projection | IP | Okay | WAS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection | IP | Okay | WAS | WAR |
| Ships | 184 | 200 | 3.98 | 3.4 |
| ZiPS | 171⅓ | 168 | 3.63 | 3.9 |
| SIN | 154 | 157 | 3.13 | 3.3 |
The Dodgers entered the offseason in determined want of beginning pitching assist, because the group's lack of rotation has been round for fairly a while. They responded by signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the longest and most profitable contract for a pitcher in main league historical past.
Two-way unicorn Shohei Ohtani apart, no beginning pitcher from NPB has generated this a lot buzz for the reason that New York Yankees signed Masahiro Tanaka earlier than the 2014 season.
Understanding the excessive expectations surrounding Yamamoto, in addition to the Dodgers' wealthy historical past of success with importing beginning pitchers from the NPB, we determined to have a look at the instant impression some star Japanese pitchers have had in the USA .
Hideo Nomo
Rookie of the 12 months
Two Cy Younger Award winners at 4th place
All-Star starter
Coming off a few mediocre campaigns, the Dodgers had been in search of a lift earlier than the 1995 season, they usually discovered one, after which some, in Nomo.
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Picture credit score ought to learn JEFF HAYNES/AFP through Getty Photographs
The righty took a minute to get going, however he was phenomenal in June of that 12 months, delivering six straight begins of eight innings or extra with a complete of 60 strikeouts. Nomo allowed simply 5 earned runs in 50⅓ innings.
By the top of his first marketing campaign, Nomo had already been established because the ace of the Dodgers. He began the All-Star Sport, gained Nationwide League Rookie of the 12 months, and completed fourth within the Cy Younger voting.
Nomo progressed nicely in his second season, once more ending fourth for the Cy Younger, however was unable to maintain that degree of success. Nevertheless, he discovered his method again to the Dodgers for 2 productive years in 2003 and 2004.
Nomo pitched 12 years in MLB for seven totally different groups. His 123 wins are probably the most by a Japanese-born pitcher.
Hiroki Kuroda
Succeed regardless of a late arrival
In contrast to the opposite names on this listing, Kuroda got here to MLB already in his 30s, however that didn't cease him from carving out a really strong profession in America.
Kuroda was part of the profitable 2008-09 Dodger groups that made back-to-back NLCS appearances, posting a 3.74 ERA (110 ERA+) in 300⅔ innings between the 2 seasons.
One of many issues that marked Kuroda's total tenure within the massive leagues was his consistency. For context, his 3.44 ERA in 4 years with the Dodgers was practically similar to his 3.45 mark in two campaigns with the Yankees.
Kuroda was elected to the Japan Baseball Corridor of Fame in January.
Yu Darvish
2nd and ninth in Cy Younger Award voting in first 2 seasons
All-Star in first 3 seasons
The Dodgers weren't blown away like Ron Washington's contending Rangers had been again when Yu Darvish signed to be the ace in Texas. Nevertheless, equally, each circumstances carry weapons within the mid-20s delivered to shock a longtime World Collection contender.
The Rangers had been by no means in a position to return to the World Collection after Darvish's arrival, but it surely wasn't for an absence of manufacturing from the Japanese righty. In 2013 (Darvish's second MLB season), he led the league in strikeouts with 277 and completed second in Cy Younger voting.
Darvish produced excellent outcomes throughout most of his Rangers tenure, making three straight All-Star appearances earlier than he missed all of 2015 following Tommy John surgical procedure. Possessing a few of the greatest pure means of any arm alive, Darvish remains to be going sturdy, presently close to the highest of the Padres rotation.
Darvish is probably the most corresponding to Yamamoto, with each debuting in MLB on the age of 25. Darvish's birthday is August sixteenth, Yamamoto was born on August seventeenth. Darvish has been stateside for a decade, the size of Yamamoto's contract with the Dodgers. Darvish has a 3.59 ERA and 117 ERA+ in 1,624⅓ innings over these 12 years, and his 1,929 strikeouts are probably the most in MLB by a participant born in Japan, passing Nomo for that file final August.
Masahiro Tanaka
2 All-Star appearances
seventh in Cy Younger voting in 2016
Tanaka got here to the Yankees in a transition interval, set as much as lead the employees within the Bronx, and he did very nicely.
The righty made the All-Star recreation with a sub-3.00 ERA in 136⅓ innings of labor as an MLB rookie in 2014, even at age 25 in his first 12 months as Yamamoto. The Yankees missed the playoffs, however within the following years Tanaka would construct a very good popularity for his work in October.
In 2017, the Yankees didn't make the World Collection after a seven-game battle with the Astros, however not due to the efforts of Tanaka, who pitched 20⅓ innings in these playoffs and allowed simply two runs. Within the majors, Tanaka had a 3.33 ERA in 10 postseason begins in his profession.
Kodai Senga
All-Star
2nd in NL Rookie of the 12 months voting
seventh in Cy Younger voting
Nothing has labored for the Mets in 2023. Nicely, apart from Kodai Senga's excellent pitching of their rotation.
Senga, 30, got here in so as to add to a rotation with two future Corridor of Famers and have become the final man standing on the finish of the 12 months, as Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander had been dealt to the Rangers and Astros, respectively.
After a tricky April, with a WHIP above 1,500, Senga discovered a groove that positioned him second within the NL Rookie of the 12 months voting (Corbin Carroll didn't give anybody a lot of an opportunity, successful the award unanimously ).
The brand new Mets ace has secured 202 strikeouts in 166⅓ innings with a 2.98 ERA. And with a median of $15 million per 12 months over his five-year contract, if Senga can preserve something near the numbers he put up in his first 12 months at Citi Discipline, it will likely be a cut price for New York.
