An international flavor
Five years in Asia leaves a mark
There is an international flair to my thought process today.
It isn’t a story that comes up very often — and it wouldn’t surprise me to see how many don’t know this about me — but I spent five years living in Southeast Asia, where I’d finish 8th-12th grades.
Long story short, my father traveled overseas often for work and eventually his company asked him (and us) to go overseas on assignment. We would spend three years in Singapore and then moved to Hong Kong for two more, where I would graduate high school. I returned to the US for college while my family continued their international travels with a move to Tokyo.
Those five years were truly an experience but I never really understood the rich history of international baseball while we were there (among other things). It’s one thing I look back and wish I could have done differently, but I have still found myself drawn to many of the Asian players who have come to the major leagues in the years since (for a point of reference, Ichiro Suzuki debuted with the Mariners the spring after I graduated high school).
Brief side story — The family was in Tokyo for a few days after school finished one summer doing touristy stuff before coming back to the US for a few weeks. We had done a ton and were all exhausted, but we had tickets to an NPB game at the Tokyo Dome. None of us could speak or read Japanese, which made figuring out where to go rather challenging once we got in the stadium. I’m fairly certain we found a spot where I could see the field for a batter or two, then left to return to our hotel. I’m still trying to figure out the date so I can dig up a box score as it is my only NPB game.
Anyway, in conjunction with the increased interest in Asian players coming to MLB, I’ve found myself trying to take more of an interest in the NPB and KBO (and CPBL to a much lesser extent). Unfortunately, watching these games is near impossible internationally (outside of the season’s worth of KBO broadcasts we got during the height of the Covid pandemic). English-language resources that reliably cover the leagues are also limited.
Having worked in the sports media industry for more than a decade, I have a pretty sound understanding of content strategy and what drives traffic. Certain stories/topics, no matter how interesting they may seem to the writer, just simply will never draw a ton of traffic. It just doesn’t happen in this world, no matter how strong the writing may be.
International baseball often falls in this bucket (I’ve written about it off and on for more than a decade) but that’s not an exclusive condition.
MLB fans knew about Shohei Ohtani’s potential on both sides before he came to MLB. Roki Sasaki is already a well-known name here in the US. MLB fans are already drooling at the very possibility of their team signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto this offseason (and rightfully so). These are all more recent examples though.
The international leagues are slowly gaining popularity in the US and I hope it continues. I’d love to see an outlet make the investment to properly cover these leagues but budgets are already stretched tight across the industry. It’s an ask that won’t happen anytime soon.
Yariel Rodríguez made a name for himself in last spring’s World Baseball Classic. The Cuban right-hander showcased a lethal repertoire on the mound working as a starter but has truly excelled as a late-inning option for the Chunichi Dragons the last few seasons.
Rodríguez defected following the WBC, would spend the season on the restricted list, and just recently was released by the Dragons — potentially opening the door to an MLB contract.
There are still obstacles to overcome — Rodríguez has to establish residency in the Dominican Republic, where he’s been training, before applying to MLB for free agency — but it seems the wheels are in motion.
Rodríguez held his first workout in front of pro scouts, according to Francys Romero on X, on Tuesday and at least 15 teams were in attendance.
Some early projections have suggested Rodríguez could get $50-70 million (over five years) once he’s declared a free agent but it’s unclear if those projections are based on Rodríguez being used as a starter or reliever. Either way, it will be interesting to see where he lands.
In other news relating to the NPB, Rintaro Sasaki finalized his decision to skip the NPB Draft and enroll in college in the US. The move had been rumored for the last few weeks — including the suggestion that Vanderbilt may be an early favorite to land him, something reports Tuesday reiterated.
What Sasaki is doing is rather unprecedented and he’s not doing so without risk. The first baseman was widely expected to be the first overall pick in the upcoming NPB Draft after shattering Japan’s high school home run record. He’s taking a big chance forgoing that opportunity to play in the NCAA instead, but it could make a massive difference in how soon he reaches MLB. Sasaki could be MLB draft-eligible in three years instead of waiting nine to become eligible for free agency in Japan (assuming his NPB doesn’t agree to post him before then).
There are questions Sasaki will need to address, of course. Japanese high school baseball is different than US high school ball and there will certainly be adjustments once Sasaki gets on campus. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel touched on some of this while sharing that scouts he’d spoken to feel Sasaki likely has “third-round draft prospect talent.”
The pressure Sasaki is going to feel will be huge but I hope he succeeds wherever he chooses to enroll. It would be a great story.