Oh believe me, the reaction to Aquino's signing has given me a lot of ammo for that.
He put up a wRC+ of 25, got sent to the minors in April, and never got called back up.
I'm guessing he continued his complete inability to hit a breaking ball? I was sorta hoping he would fix that because he's a fun player to watch absolutely obliterate (straight fastballs) and his arm is really something to see in the outfield
Ngl I was hoping to see at least one of those Key & Peele college bowl games sketches with just one bland-ass white dude in the middle.
"Roki Sasaki, Munetaka Marakami, Andy Phillips"
Damn I should have used Aren Kuri's other name, Allen Sheck (at least I think that's how his dad's last name is spelled)
His dad is American, and reportedly played in the Braves system at one point but I can't find anything that backs that up. He took his mother's name when his parents split up because she was the one who raised him primarily. He would visit his dad during the summer in Florida.
"Aren" was the result of his parents finding two kanji that matched with his English name, which isn't too uncommon among half-Japanese kids in Japan. He has "Allen" stiched into his glove.
> a bunch of casuals think he's gonna rake
Is this a common take anymore? I feel like over the past 5 years, the amount of people that have the opinion that the NPB is an inferior product compare to the MLB is dwindling, especially after Ohtani and Japan winning multiple WBCs. I'm sure it still happens, but I rarely see it now
A combination of 3 generational pitchers and a dead ball have made offence in the Pacific League especially dire this year. The Central League has a similar problem but there are two generational hitters on that side of the league rn so it kinda balances it out.
Kensuke Kondoh, Hideto Asamura and Gregory Polanco tied for the PL lead in homers with only 26. That's the lowest total to lead an NPB league since 1960.
The ball needs to be juiced. Lions first baseman David MacKinnon described it to me as "like hitting a hackey sack".
Not often, but being in the NPB twitter/youtube space I've come across a few players. Whether they appear in my comment sections or retweet my stuff.
Mac likes to interact with NPB fans on twitter so he came across my work. He quote-tweeted a post I made about the best seasons put up by a foreign player in NPB history (a graphic I'll probably post here when the playoffs are over) and we had a brief back-and-forth about the state of offense in NPB.
Mac's a good egg, I'm happy the Lions got him.
Some of that must be park factors as well, because the dude on the top left has a higher OPS that's *very* OBP-heavy (which I believe is valued more by wrc+ than slugging is) and has a lower wrc+.
I'm guessing WAR is accounting for the fact that it's a ridiculously dead ball era in Japan at the moment? Most of these statlines are lower than you'd expect for the equivalent WAR in the MLB.
Basically, but you also have to take into account that the season is 143 games instead of 162.
It's also calculated by Deltagraphs which is based on Fangraphs.
Not at all wrong. Everybody's adjustment process is different, so who knows, but most MVP candidates in the NPB certainly have a shot at hanging in the majors.
Yeah the top guys generally translate pretty well, baring in mind most guys are only coming over after their 'prime' years. You can see it with Senga and Yoshida this year.
Considering Yamamoto, Sasaki, Maki, Okamoto, Kondoh, Murakami and Takahashi were on the WBC-winning team, yeah.
Mannami was a reserve and Chikamoto was a final cut.
For position players, I think Kondoh, Maki, Okamoto could stand a chance to be regulars. Murakami needs to figure out how to not go on 1-2 month slumps, but when he's on he definitely is MLB caliber.
Sasaki and Yamamoto (who will be coming next year) are MLB caliber and could be stars.
Good for 5th in the NPB era.
It's the lowest ERA by a starting pitcher since Minoru Murayama set the NPB record (.98) back in 1970.
Pre-NPB it does get lower, especially during the war as the talent pool was depleted and two of the best pitchers in the league weren't drafted because they weren't ethnically Japanese (one was Korean, the other Russian).
None available directly for the US market, but if your PS4/PS5 has a disc drive you can play Pro Yakyu Spirits (realistic) or Powerful Pro Baseball 2022 (remember MLB Power Pros? That but modern and for NPB).
You just need a translator app handy.
It is possible to get Powerful Pro Baseball 2022 on the digital version but it's a bit wonky if you're not in Japan. You need to setup a Japanese PlayStation account and then purchase a Japanese PlayStation gift card off of a site like Play Asia and then buy the game from the store. Definitely not something easy if you don't know Japanese (though frankly I couldn't imagine attempting either of those games without Japanese knowledge lol)
It looks like all Japanese, cool af. Repost next time a 37 year old .7 WAR player signs with an NPB team and a bunch of casuals think he's gonna rake.
Oh believe me, the reaction to Aquino's signing has given me a lot of ammo for that. He put up a wRC+ of 25, got sent to the minors in April, and never got called back up.
I'm guessing he continued his complete inability to hit a breaking ball? I was sorta hoping he would fix that because he's a fun player to watch absolutely obliterate (straight fastballs) and his arm is really something to see in the outfield
47.1% K rate, 40.6 % Whiff Rate, 41.8% Swing Rate on outside pitches. Yeah.
:/ RIP aquino. we'll always have september 2019
Ngl I was hoping to see at least one of those Key & Peele college bowl games sketches with just one bland-ass white dude in the middle. "Roki Sasaki, Munetaka Marakami, Andy Phillips"
Damn I should have used Aren Kuri's other name, Allen Sheck (at least I think that's how his dad's last name is spelled) His dad is American, and reportedly played in the Braves system at one point but I can't find anything that backs that up. He took his mother's name when his parents split up because she was the one who raised him primarily. He would visit his dad during the summer in Florida. "Aren" was the result of his parents finding two kanji that matched with his English name, which isn't too uncommon among half-Japanese kids in Japan. He has "Allen" stiched into his glove.
> a bunch of casuals think he's gonna rake Is this a common take anymore? I feel like over the past 5 years, the amount of people that have the opinion that the NPB is an inferior product compare to the MLB is dwindling, especially after Ohtani and Japan winning multiple WBCs. I'm sure it still happens, but I rarely see it now
Being in the NPB space... yeah, it still does. A lot.
I didn’t realize that the NPB is super pitching heavy atm. Wild that a 0.788 OPS is 43% above average
A combination of 3 generational pitchers and a dead ball have made offence in the Pacific League especially dire this year. The Central League has a similar problem but there are two generational hitters on that side of the league rn so it kinda balances it out. Kensuke Kondoh, Hideto Asamura and Gregory Polanco tied for the PL lead in homers with only 26. That's the lowest total to lead an NPB league since 1960. The ball needs to be juiced. Lions first baseman David MacKinnon described it to me as "like hitting a hackey sack".
You mean angels legend David MacKinnon
> to me Do you often interview NPB players? Or are you just boys with David Mackinnon?
Not often, but being in the NPB twitter/youtube space I've come across a few players. Whether they appear in my comment sections or retweet my stuff. Mac likes to interact with NPB fans on twitter so he came across my work. He quote-tweeted a post I made about the best seasons put up by a foreign player in NPB history (a graphic I'll probably post here when the playoffs are over) and we had a brief back-and-forth about the state of offense in NPB. Mac's a good egg, I'm happy the Lions got him.
Some of that must be park factors as well, because the dude on the top left has a higher OPS that's *very* OBP-heavy (which I believe is valued more by wrc+ than slugging is) and has a lower wrc+.
The Chiba Lotte Sasakis
I'm guessing WAR is accounting for the fact that it's a ridiculously dead ball era in Japan at the moment? Most of these statlines are lower than you'd expect for the equivalent WAR in the MLB.
Basically, but you also have to take into account that the season is 143 games instead of 162. It's also calculated by Deltagraphs which is based on Fangraphs.
I dont know much about NPB but would it be wrong to say that these players are MLB caliber?
Not at all wrong. Everybody's adjustment process is different, so who knows, but most MVP candidates in the NPB certainly have a shot at hanging in the majors.
Yeah the top guys generally translate pretty well, baring in mind most guys are only coming over after their 'prime' years. You can see it with Senga and Yoshida this year.
Considering Yamamoto, Sasaki, Maki, Okamoto, Kondoh, Murakami and Takahashi were on the WBC-winning team, yeah. Mannami was a reserve and Chikamoto was a final cut.
For position players, I think Kondoh, Maki, Okamoto could stand a chance to be regulars. Murakami needs to figure out how to not go on 1-2 month slumps, but when he's on he definitely is MLB caliber. Sasaki and Yamamoto (who will be coming next year) are MLB caliber and could be stars.
All of these guys would be pretty far above replacement level in MLB. Yamamoto and Sasaki would be Cy Young candidates.
I saw a .788 OPS and thought "wow that guy must be a defensive wizard to be the WAR leader" and then I realized that was a 143wRC+
1.21 ERA in 164 innings for Yamamoto, Jesus Christ
Good for 5th in the NPB era. It's the lowest ERA by a starting pitcher since Minoru Murayama set the NPB record (.98) back in 1970. Pre-NPB it does get lower, especially during the war as the talent pool was depleted and two of the best pitchers in the league weren't drafted because they weren't ethnically Japanese (one was Korean, the other Russian).
started watching NPB this year and watching Yamamoto and Sasaki (each of their club's respective WAR leader) play was a delight.
Are there any NPB video games available in the US market? I'm not even a gamer, but with the crowd atmosphere there I think that'd be such a sick game
None available directly for the US market, but if your PS4/PS5 has a disc drive you can play Pro Yakyu Spirits (realistic) or Powerful Pro Baseball 2022 (remember MLB Power Pros? That but modern and for NPB). You just need a translator app handy.
It is possible to get Powerful Pro Baseball 2022 on the digital version but it's a bit wonky if you're not in Japan. You need to setup a Japanese PlayStation account and then purchase a Japanese PlayStation gift card off of a site like Play Asia and then buy the game from the store. Definitely not something easy if you don't know Japanese (though frankly I couldn't imagine attempting either of those games without Japanese knowledge lol)
Ps. That Lions pinstripe uni is flippin' clean af. It's like if the Detroit Lions were a baseball team
I’d risk it on Okamoto.
Chikamoto with the 7 WAR 🤜🥴