Japanese Players, and Closer Koji Uehara

I could have written this entire blog about Japanese players. Why not? Some of them are the best players baseball has seen. Most notably theirs Ichiro Suzuki, the Rookie of the Year and MVP candidate in 2001 with a career .320 batting average. Yu Darvish has fiddled with perfect games throughout this season, coming up short each time. Nevertheless, the 26 year old has a 2.64 ERA and a MLB best 207 strikeouts. Darvish might be the best Japanese starter right now, but there’s also Hiroki Kuroda and Hisashi Iwakuma. Kuroda has been the best Yankee this year, going 11-7 with a 2.33 ERA. Hisashi Iwakuma has also been dominant, going 10-6 with a 2.96 ERA and a 4.2 WAR.

Other good players coming out of Japan are Junichi Tazawa, Norichika Aoki, and Kyuji Fujikawa (currently on the 60-day DL). 

Historically, there have been some pretty good Japanese players. Three have won Rookie of the Year, including Hideo Nomo in 1995, Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000, and Ichiro. Daisuke Matsuzaka had some incredible stuff, and went 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 2008, but didn’t have much else after that. Kosuke Fukudome was said to be one of the greatest Japanese players in history, and played five years with the Cubs, Indians, and White Sox. Then there’s Yankee great Hideki Matsui, who won the World Series MVP in 2009. 

So yeah, there are some really good Japanese players. There are more out there that I believe teams should try to acquire. I would love to visit Japan to scout one day. 

Why do I mention all of this? Why do I love baseball players from Japan? Because of Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara. I play a game called Statis Pro Baseball (which you should play too), and found Koji in the 2011 set. He was one of the best relievers to offer, and I’m pretty sure he never gave up a run in that game. Why is that? Because his real stats in 2011 with Baltimore were off the charts. He posted a 1.72 ERA with an 11.9 K/9 ratio and a 7.75 K/BB ratio. 

At first I thought, ok maybe he just had a one-year deal and that was it. Then last year he posted a 1.75 ERA and a 14.33 K/BB ratio. Then I knew that this guy was real. 

Why such a high K/BB ratio? He never walks anyone. Last year with the Rangers, he walked only three in 37 games. In 54 games this year, he’s walked nine, making a 74/9 K/BB ratio. In fact, he has the best K/BB ratio in MLB history, a career 8.03 ratio. He also has a career .875 WHIP, including a .694 WHIP this year. He has a 1.35 ERA with a 2.5 WAR, the highest WAR for relievers in the AL. 

Red Sox fans should love him. This is his first year with the team, and he’s saved the bullpen from total collapse. Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey could not fulfill the role as closer because of injury, and Junichi Tazawa failed as closer (but he’s doing real well as set up man). I just waited for the Red Sox to make him a closer, and I knew it would be a good idea to do it. 

After being robbed for an all-star slot, and getting 3^rd on the “last chance” voting, Uehara has been unhittable. He’s yet to allow a run since the all-star break, posting a .45 WHIP and a .111 BAA. He has a .213 BABIP, usually is a fly ball pitcher, and has a deadly split-fingered fast ball (and yes that’s a type of pitch). 

The Red Sox assigned him to a one year deal, but it also included a $4.25 million option that vests with his next appearance, the 55^th of the season. It will go to $5 million if he reaches 35 games finished this year (he’s at 23 now, and will get it if he remains as a closer). Either way, they will have him back for next year, and Uehara is quite the deal.

The only problem is that he will turn 39 by the start of next season. Even with a guy like Uehara, that’s still old and could lose his stuff anytime. A lot of Japanese players usually don’t last too long in the MLB, excluding Ichiro. But hopefully Koji can still perform as well as he’s doing when he’s 39.

Like I said, I love Japanese players. Uehara should win the Rolaids Relief Award, even if Mariano Rivera retires this year and he gets the sympathy vote. 

Also, Uehara hands out high fives every time he has a quality appearance. Shane Victorino didn’t see his high five coming.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/shane-victorino-unprepared-koji-uehara-high-powered-high-104250956.html

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd