Lee Seung-yeop, who played for Chiba Lotte Marines for two years and transferred to the Yomiuri Giants, recorded a batting average of .323 in 2006 and ranked second in the Central League batting average. That year, he hit 41 home runs and put up 108 RBIs, finishing second in home runs and fourth in RBIs. Tyrone Woods, who was a member of the Chunichi Dragons, took first place in home runs (47) and RBI (144) that year.
Woods, who moved to Japan via the Doosan Bears, hit the home run champion twice with the Yokohama Baystars and once with Chunichi.
In the 2006 Pacific League, Alex Cabrera tied for first place in RBI (100). Cabrera, who was the core power of the Seibu Lions, ranked second in batting average (3.5%). Rick Short of the Rakuten Eagles followed in third (3.14).
Cabrera, a Venezuelan national, was the home run king (55) in 2002, and Short, an American national, ranked first in batting average (3.32) in 2008.
In the 2014 Central League, foreign hitters ranked first in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. Hanshin Tigers’ Matt Marton scored 3.38, Mauro Gomes of the same team had 109 RBIs, and Hiroshima Carp’s Bradley Eldred had 37 home runs.
hit Marton led the team in hits three times in 2010-2011 and 2013.
Like the KBO league, Japanese professional baseball also had a large share of foreign hitters. Powerful foreign hitters who lined up the center batting line of each team rose to the top of the main batting category.
However, a lot has changed in recent years. It is difficult to find foreign batters in various ranking tables. Compared to before, the presence has definitely decreased.
As of the 3rd, there are no foreign players within the top 5 in batting average, home runs, and RBIs in the Pacific League. Not even in the top 10 in batting average. Seibu’s David McKinnon is ranked 12th with a .251, which is the highest ranking among foreign players.
The Central League is similar. There is only one foreign hitter in the top 5 in major categories such as batting average, home run, and RBI. Jose Osuna of the Yakult Swallows hit 13 homers, tied for second in the category. It is 5 gaps with Kazuma Okamoto, the 4th hitter of Yomiuri, who leads the team alone.
Osuna is ranked 6th in RBIs (40). The only foreign hitter to rank in the top 10 in this category
are doing
Last year, there was only one foreign player in the top 10 in Central League batting. In the Pacific League, all 10 players were Japanese.
The primary cause of the decline of foreign players lies in their strong pitching power.
Following last year, both leagues this year are ‘to go tazer’ seasons. As of the 3rd, there are six 30% hitters in the Central League and only two in the Pacific League. Last season, there were 4 players in the Central League and 2 players in the Pacific League.
The level of the Japanese league is higher than before, especially the pitching power has become stronger. It has become a structure that makes it difficult for batters who are at the level of going back and forth between the minor leagues and the major leagues to achieve results.
Mel Rojas Jr., who was the best hitter in the KBO League during his KT Wiz days, played mainly as a pinch hitter, going back and forth between the 1st and 2nd divisions at Hanshin. In his two years, he batted 2.2 (82 hits in 372 at-bats) with 17 homers and 48 RBI.토토사이트 순위
Japan is no longer an attractive league for high-level hitters with long hitting power. While the average annual salary of the major leagues continues to rise, Nippon Professional Baseball is stagnant. The major leagues are good too.
There is a shortage of hitters, so demand is high. It is a story that there is no reason to fly all the way to Japan and play in an unfamiliar league.
Recently, foreign players in charge of KBO League clubs also complain that it is difficult to find good players.