November 26, 2004
Second Baseman from the Land of the Rising Sun
By Brian Walton
It’s that dead period when everyone is waiting to see which players are non-tendered on December 7. The top free agents haven’t seen their best deals yet and are in no hurry to act. The hot stove rumor mill percolates along with the latest news and if there is none, no problem. With a few keystrokes, a whole new set of possibilities are presented to the eager baseball world as if they are fact.
Rather than rehash the same old names, I’m looking at some new, unfamiliar ones. Yesterday, it was Korean outfielder Jong-Soo Shim. Today, it is a player from the island of Japan about whom I first reported right here one year ago, second baseman Tadahito Iguchi. He is recognized as the strongest of a small crop who hope to head from Japan to the US in 2005.
Iguchi has been a shortstop and second baseman for the 2003 Pacific League Champion Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. While the right-handed Iguchi came into 2003 as only a career .259 hitter, he had a breakout season that year, hitting .340 with 27 home runs and 109 RBI. That season, Iguchi led the league with 42 stolen bases and 112 runs scored. It was his second stolen base crown. Iguchi has been selected as an All-Star four times and finished fourth in MVP voting in 2003.
At 29, the same age as last year’s prime Japanese middle infield free agent Kazuo Matsui, the lesser-known Iguchi could actually be a better choice for US teams. Comparing stats from the 2003 season, their last together in Japan, Iguchi stood out as the superior offensive player.
Matsui whiffed 124 times in 140 games, while Iguchi struck out only 81 times. Iguchi also had a much better on-base percentage than Matsui (.438 to .365) and a higher slugging percentage (.573 to .549). The biggest question was whether or not Iguchi could maintain his new-found success in 2004.
Well, he came through again. This season, Iguchi hit .333 with 24 home runs and 89 RBI during a season when Japanese baseball was in turmoil. First there was a corruption scandal, then debt problems, which spawned a contraction proposal that led to a first-ever players strike. Still, Iguchi didn’t let it bother him. One standout season might be called a fluke or a career year, but two in a row looks more like a trend.
Twelve months ago, Iguchi's family sought the advice of coaches and executives around the Japan League on the feasibility of him moving to America. It was reported that Iguchi met with the Daiei Hawks’ team president and asked that a prior agreement between them that would allow Iguchi to be put up to bid to American teams be honored. However, his request was denied.
Now, a year later, Iguchi has completed his contract commitment and is a true free agent, with no compensation required to the Daiei Hawks. Usually, Japanese players wanting to come to the US must go through a posting process which requires payment to the former team in addition to the player himself. For example, four years ago, to acquire Ichiro Suzuki, the Seattle Mariners’ winning bid required them to pay the Orix Blue Wave $13 million for the exclusive rights to negotiate with Ichiro for his initial MLB contract.
In Japan, Iguchi only earned about $1 million per season. What he might make in America remains to be seen, but a comparison point is the three-year, $20 million deal Matsui extracted from the Mets a year ago. The lesser-known Iguchi will likely command less and could be a great addition to a team in need of a reasonably-priced second baseman. Can anyone think of such a team?
After all, this year’s second base free-agent population is very thin. Certainly Houston's Jeff Kent is the premier player available. After that, the Phillies’ Placido Polanco and the Cardinals’ Tony Womack get mention. So do Pokey Reese of the Red Sox and Miguel Cairo of the Yankees. The Cubs’ Todd Walker and Mark Grudzielanek are also possibilities. Others may become available after December 7, the deadline for teams to offer arbitration.
Now that Iguchi has thrown his hat into the ring, why shouldn’t Walt Jocketty try it on for size?
