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Seiya Suzuki became the only player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to reach the homer when he took the field for the first time in five consecutive games.
An outfielder for Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Suzuki could make his mark if he signs with a Major League Baseball team out of this season in an unusual way: as the only player from Japan allowed to complete more than 30 calendar days of play. Agreement under the registration system, which is a mechanism by which NPB players hang onto MLB teams before their contractual free jump rights.
Suzuki’s post was the 34th since the system was created in 1998. This resulted in 21 player transfers, including high-profile transfers. Ichiro Suzuki with the Seattle Mariners in 2000 and Shohei Ohtani With the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.
Team owners in MLB enjoyed such a long period of working peace with the players that when the parties last experienced the collective bargaining stalemate in 1994, the assignment system with Japan was not yet in place. Signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995, Hideo Nomo became the first player to come from Japan in 30 years, only to take advantage of a gap in the agreements between the leagues.
After some mess around Acquisition of Hideki Irabu by the Yankees In 1997, the registration system was conceived as a way to issue orders to such transactions. However, as the current collective bargaining agreement signed in 2016 expires Wednesday at midnight Eastern time, Seiya Suzuki’s route to the United States could contain a pit if he does not sign by then.
MLB team owners lock playersAs expected, the 30-day negotiation window for the services of a published player will stop along with all other transactions. While some details will need to be finalized, the expectation is that Suzuki will have a standard 30 negotiation days total, with the clock pausing for the lockout and continuing a deal. As he was commissioned on November 22, 20 days to a decision.
This may not seem like a big concern, but a prolonged business interruption can influence the decision. Spring training in Japan begins on February 1, roughly three weeks before the current MLB schedule. Beyond players with health issues, latecomers are almost unheard of in Japan. If Suzuki has any thoughts of returning to Carp, he’ll probably want to do so with the rest of the group on Feb.
Since it’s a Suzuki 27, its contract is not subject to international bonus pool money restrictions. Carp receives a release fee from the signing team based on the total value of Suzuki’s contract, while being free to negotiate the best deal it can, with a sliding scale starting with 20 percent of the first $25 million guaranteed and then increasing.
Suzuki’s manager Joel Wolfe spoke to news media in Japan on Monday and told reporters that eight to 15 MLB teams have shown serious interest in Suzuki and some remote talks have taken place. Wolfe said the Suzukis did not feel pressured to make a decision ahead of a possible lockout, and he expects Suzuki will want to make site visits before making a final decision.
While Suzuki is a star outfielder at the professional level, he did not gain early fame as some prominent Japanese players such as former Yankees Hideki Matsui and Masahiro Tanaka gained by playing in the National High School Baseball Championship in Koshien. . Their team never progressed to the summer or spring editions of the showcase. However, Suzuki was a member of the team that won Japan. first Olympic gold medal in baseball At this summer’s Tokyo Games, a mission so important for the country that the NPB has suspended its season for 26 games so the top professional players can represent the nation.
Suzuki had a disappointing tournament with .167 hits, but all three of his hits came in his six innings against the United States in two games, including the gold medal competition. He hit the fourth in and played right field every inning of the tournament, single-handedly outpacing Anthony Carter, a former Chicago White Sox draft pick.
Nick Martinez, who defeated the United States in the gold medal match despite a six-inning round, delivered two singles in three innings to Suzuki. A former Texas Rangers pitcher, right-handed Martinez became familiar with Suzuki after playing four seasons in Japan with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
“Our preparation for him was to be a little more cautious,” Martinez said. “Japan had a stellar team. All eight hitters have major league potential, so being fourth on this roster is all you need to know about his talent.”
Suzuki was kicked out of high school in the second round by Carp in 2012, another high school student Ohtani in the same draft was picked up by the Fighters in the first round. Suzuki played and played on and off the field throughout high school, but played primarily on the right field for Hiroshima, apart from three games in 2014 where he played at third base and some duties where he occasionally played left and centre.
A five-time all-star, Suzuki has made 182 home runs in 902 NPB games, including six seasons with 25 or more home runs, but his strength is touching. His career average is .315 and he won batting titles in 2019 and 2021. 300 or better every year since 2016, earning four gold gloves.
After Carp announced they would honor Suzuki’s request to be appointed, he held a press conference and said he was inspired by Hiroki Kuroda, a longtime Hiroshima pitcher and former Yankee who rejoined the Carp rotation for the last two seasons of his career. in 2015.
“At birth,” Suzuki said when asked when he decided he wanted to play in the USA. He then continued: “No, to be honest, I would say when Kuroda San returns here. He would say to me, ‘Look at these players in the US major leagues. While playing the same baseball game, the level of their games was very different. It had a tremendous effect on me. I was not interested in the American game and never did until he convinced me. Once he did, it opened my eyes to the talent out there and inspired me to compete with them.”
Although it took longer than usual, now she is ready to take that chance.
Brad Lefton, St. She is a bilingual journalist based in St. Louis. It has covered baseball in Japan and the United States for over 20 years.
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