On October 31, 2010 Brandon Siefken will release the first Japanese baseball almanac entitled “NPB Japanese Baseball Almanac: 2010.” The almanac will be 100 pages of Japanese baseball team reviews, player grades and team stats all in English. The price will be $29.99 after October 31st, but pre-orders will receive a $10 discount for the price of $19.99. To order, write Brandon at brandon@japanball.com or contact Bob Bavasi at the www.japanball.com site.
Below are the ad, a sample of a pitch and hit grade analysis and the pdf downloadable table of contents of the almanac.
All rotation starters, main middle relief pitchers, closers and hitters will be graded like this:
Download the table of contents in pdf format here:
http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/2010_almanac_toc.pdf
The almanac table of contents:
PREFACE
1 Chunichi Dragons
1.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
1.02 ERA Leaders
1.03 Win Leaders
1.04 WHIP Leaders
1.05 Complete Game Leaders
1.06 Shut Out Leaders
1.07 Hold Leaders
1.08 Save Leaders
1.09 Hold Leaders
1.10 K/9 Leaders
1.11 H/9 Leaders
1.12 BB/9 Leaders
1.13 HR/9 Leaders
1.14 K/BB Leaders
1.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
1.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
1.17 Batting Average Leaders
1.18 Hits Leaders
1.19 Doubles Leaders
1.20 Triples Leaders
1.21 Home Run Leaders
1.22 RBI Leaders
1.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
1.24 Bunt Leaders
1.25 Stolen Base Leaders
1.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
1.27 Slugging % Leaders
1.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
1.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
1.30 OPS Leaders
1.31 Error % Leaders
1.32 Strike Out % Leaders
1.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
1.34 Extra Base Leaders
2 Hanshin Tigers
2.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
2.02 ERA Leaders
2.03 Win Leaders
2.04 WHIP Leaders
2.05 Complete Game Leaders
2.06 Shut Out Leaders
2.07 Hold Leaders
2.08 Save Leaders
2.09 Hold Leaders
2.10 K/9 Leaders
2.11 H/9 Leaders
2.12 BB/9 Leaders
2.13 HR/9 Leaders
2.14 K/BB Leaders
2.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
2.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
2.17 Batting Average Leaders
2.18 Hits Leaders
2.19 Doubles Leaders
2.20 Triples Leaders
2.21 Home Run Leaders
2.22 RBI Leaders
2.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
2.24 Bunt Leaders
2.25 Stolen Base Leaders
2.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
2.27 Slugging % Leaders
2.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
2.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
2.30 OPS Leaders
2.31 Error % Leaders
2.32 Strike Out % Leaders
2.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
2.34 Extra Base Leaders
3 Hiroshima Toyo Carp
3.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
3.02 ERA Leaders
3.03 Win Leaders
3.04 WHIP Leaders
3.05 Complete Game Leaders
3.06 Shut Out Leaders
3.07 Hold Leaders
3.08 Save Leaders
3.09 Hold Leaders
3.10 K/9 Leaders
3.11 H/9 Leaders
3.12 BB/9 Leaders
3.13 HR/9 Leaders
3.14 K/BB Leaders
3.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
3.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
3.17 Batting Average Leaders
3.18 Hits Leaders
3.19 Doubles Leaders
3.20 Triples Leaders
3.21 Home Run Leaders
3.22 RBI Leaders
3.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
3.24 Bunt Leaders
3.25 Stolen Base Leaders
3.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
3.27 Slugging % Leaders
3.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
3.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
3.30 OPS Leaders
3.31 Error % Leaders
3.32 Strike Out % Leaders
3.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
3.34 Extra Base Leaders
4 Tokyo Yakult Swallows
4.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
4.02 ERA Leaders
4.03 Win Leaders
4.04 WHIP Leaders
4.05 Complete Game Leaders
4.06 Shut Out Leaders
4.07 Hold Leaders
4.08 Save Leaders
4.09 Hold Leaders
4.10 K/9 Leaders
4.11 H/9 Leaders
4.12 BB/9 Leaders
4.13 HR/9 Leaders
4.14 K/BB Leaders
4.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
4.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
4.17 Batting Average Leaders
4.18 Hits Leaders
4.19 Doubles Leaders
4.20 Triples Leaders
4.21 Home Run Leaders
4.22 RBI Leaders
4.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
4.24 Bunt Leaders
4.25 Stolen Base Leaders
4.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
4.27 Slugging % Leaders
4.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
4.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
4.30 OPS Leaders
4.31 Error % Leaders
4.32 Strike Out % Leaders
4.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
4.34 Extra Base Leaders
5 Yokohama Bay Stars
5.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
5.02 ERA Leaders
5.03 Win Leaders
5.04 WHIP Leaders
5.05 Complete Game Leaders
5.06 Shut Out Leaders
5.07 Hold Leaders
5.08 Save Leaders
5.09 Hold Leaders
5.10 K/9 Leaders
5.11 H/9 Leaders
5.12 BB/9 Leaders
5.13 HR/9 Leaders
5.14 K/BB Leaders
5.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
5.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
5.17 Batting Average Leaders
5.18 Hits Leaders
5.19 Doubles Leaders
5.20 Triples Leaders
5.21 Home Run Leaders
5.22 RBI Leaders
5.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
5.24 Bunt Leaders
5.25 Stolen Base Leaders
5.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
5.27 Slugging % Leaders
5.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
5.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
5.30 OPS Leaders
5.31 Error % Leaders
5.32 Strike Out % Leaders
5.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
5.34 Extra Base Leaders
6 Yomiuri Giants
6.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
6.02 ERA Leaders
6.03 Win Leaders
6.04 WHIP Leaders
6.05 Complete Game Leaders
6.06 Shut Out Leaders
6.07 Hold Leaders
6.08 Save Leaders
6.09 Hold Leaders
6.10 K/9 Leaders
6.11 H/9 Leaders
6.12 BB/9 Leaders
6.13 HR/9 Leaders
6.14 K/BB Leaders
6.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
6.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
6.17 Batting Average Leaders
6.18 Hits Leaders
6.19 Doubles Leaders
6.20 Triples Leaders
6.21 Home Run Leaders
6.22 RBI Leaders
6.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
6.24 Bunt Leaders
6.25 Stolen Base Leaders
6.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
6.27 Slugging % Leaders
6.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
6.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
6.30 OPS Leaders
6.31 Error % Leaders
6.32 Strike Out % Leaders
6.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
6.34 Extra Base Leaders
7 Chiba Lotte Marines
7.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
7.02 ERA Leaders
7.03 Win Leaders
7.04 WHIP Leaders
7.05 Complete Game Leaders
7.06 Shut Out Leaders
7.07 Hold Leaders
7.08 Save Leaders
7.09 Hold Leaders
7.10 K/9 Leaders
7.11 H/9 Leaders
7.12 BB/9 Leaders
7.13 HR/9 Leaders
7.14 K/BB Leaders
7.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
7.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
7.17 Batting Average Leaders
7.18 Hits Leaders
7.19 Doubles Leaders
7.20 Triples Leaders
7.21 Home Run Leaders
7.22 RBI Leaders
7.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
7.24 Bunt Leaders
7.25 Stolen Base Leaders
7.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
7.27 Slugging % Leaders
7.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
7.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
7.30 OPS Leaders
7.31 Error % Leaders
7.32 Strike Out % Leaders
7.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
7.34 Extra Base Leaders
8 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
8.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
8.02 ERA Leaders
8.03 Win Leaders
8.04 WHIP Leaders
8.05 Complete Game Leaders
8.06 Shut Out Leaders
8.07 Hold Leaders
8.08 Save Leaders
8.09 Hold Leaders
8.10 K/9 Leaders
8.11 H/9 Leaders
8.12 BB/9 Leaders
8.13 HR/9 Leaders
8.14 K/BB Leaders
8.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
8.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
8.17 Batting Average Leaders
8.18 Hits Leaders
8.19 Doubles Leaders
8.20 Triples Leaders
8.21 Home Run Leaders
8.22 RBI Leaders
8.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
8.24 Bunt Leaders
8.25 Stolen Base Leaders
8.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
8.27 Slugging % Leaders
8.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
8.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
8.30 OPS Leaders
8.31 Error % Leaders
8.32 Strike Out % Leaders
8.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
8.34 Extra Base Leaders
9 Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
9.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
9.02 ERA Leaders
9.03 Win Leaders
9.04 WHIP Leaders
9.05 Complete Game Leaders
9.06 Shut Out Leaders
9.07 Hold Leaders
9.08 Save Leaders
9.09 Hold Leaders
9.10 K/9 Leaders
9.11 H/9 Leaders
9.12 BB/9 Leaders
9.13 HR/9 Leaders
9.14 K/BB Leaders
9.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
9.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
9.17 Batting Average Leaders
9.18 Hits Leaders
9.19 Doubles Leaders
9.20 Triples Leaders
9.21 Home Run Leaders
9.22 RBI Leaders
9.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
9.24 Bunt Leaders
9.25 Stolen Base Leaders
9.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
9.27 Slugging % Leaders
9.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
9.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
9.30 OPS Leaders
9.31 Error % Leaders
9.32 Strike Out % Leaders
9.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
9.34 Extra Base Leaders
10 Orix Buffaloes
10.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
10.02 ERA Leaders
10.03 Win Leaders
10.04 WHIP Leaders
10.05 Complete Game Leaders
10.06 Shut Out Leaders
10.07 Hold Leaders
10.08 Save Leaders
10.09 Hold Leaders
10.10 K/9 Leaders
10.11 H/9 Leaders
10.12 BB/9 Leaders
10.13 HR/9 Leaders
10.14 K/BB Leaders
10.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
10.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
10.17 Batting Average Leaders
10.18 Hits Leaders
10.19 Doubles Leaders
10.20 Triples Leaders
10.21 Home Run Leaders
10.22 RBI Leaders
10.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
10.24 Bunt Leaders
10.25 Stolen Base Leaders
10.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
10.27 Slugging % Leaders
10.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
10.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
10.30 OPS Leaders
10.31 Error % Leaders
10.32 Strike Out % Leaders
10.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
10.34 Extra Base Leaders
11 Saitama Seibu Lions
11.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
11.02 ERA Leaders
11.03 Win Leaders
11.04 WHIP Leaders
11.05 Complete Game Leaders
11.06 Shut Out Leaders
11.07 Hold Leaders
11.08 Save Leaders
11.09 Hold Leaders
11.10 K/9 Leaders
11.11 H/9 Leaders
11.12 BB/9 Leaders
11.13 HR/9 Leaders
11.14 K/BB Leaders
11.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
11.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
11.17 Batting Average Leaders
11.18 Hits Leaders
11.19 Doubles Leaders
11.20 Triples Leaders
11.21 Home Run Leaders
11.22 RBI Leaders
11.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
11.24 Bunt Leaders
11.25 Stolen Base Leaders
11.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
11.27 Slugging % Leaders
11.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
11.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
11.30 OPS Leaders
11.31 Error % Leaders
11.32 Strike Out % Leaders
11.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
11.34 Extra Base Leaders
12 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
12.01 Team Data, Pitcher and Hitter Analysis
12.02 ERA Leaders
12.03 Win Leaders
12.04 WHIP Leaders
12.05 Complete Game Leaders
12.06 Shut Out Leaders
12.07 Hold Leaders
12.08 Save Leaders
12.09 Hold Leaders
12.10 K/9 Leaders
12.11 H/9 Leaders
12.12 BB/9 Leaders
12.13 HR/9 Leaders
12.14 K/BB Leaders
12.15 Wild Pitch (WP/9) Leaders
12.16 Average Innings Pitched Leaders
12.17 Batting Average Leaders
12.18 Hits Leaders
12.19 Doubles Leaders
12.20 Triples Leaders
12.21 Home Run Leaders
12.22 RBI Leaders
12.23 Hit By Pitch Leaders
12.24 Bunt Leaders
12.25 Stolen Base Leaders
12.26 On Base % (OPB) Leaders
12.27 Slugging % Leaders
12.28 Scoring Position Average (SPA) Leaders
12.29 Game Winning Runs Leaders
12.30 OPS Leaders
12.31 Error % Leaders
12.32 Strike Out % Leaders
12.33 Bases on Balls % Leaders
12.34 Extra Base Leaders
13 NPB Rankings – Japanese Baseball Starting Pitchers
14 NPB Rankings – Japanese Baseball Relief Pitchers
15 NPB Rankings – Japanese Baseball Hitters
16 Author Biography
The following is a Japanese baseball pitcher profile that appeared along with many others in the last issue of the Japan Baseball News Weekly newsletter. Today’s profile is Masahiro Tanaka of the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Tanaka’s max velocity is 155 km per hour and his pitches include horizontal slider, fastball, slider, 2-seam fastball (shuto), cutter, curve and change-up.
Each pitch is graded with A being the best and G being the worst.
The NPB Japanese Baseball 2010 Almanac will be out October 31, 2010. Order a copy now and save $10
Japanese Baseball ERA Leaders (Starters)
By · CommentsThe following are the Japanese pro baseball NPB ERA leaders for starting pitchers. The stats are as of 6/30 and the players inbold are newcomers (rookies or FAs on a new team).
| Lg | Team | Pitcher | G | W | L | IP | ERA | WHIP | H/9 | K/9 | BB/9 |
| P | Nippon Ham | Yu Darvish | 14 | 7 | 4 | 108 | 1.50 | 1.12 | 7.17 | 9.67 | 2.83 |
| C | Hiroshima | Kenta Maeda | 15 | 9 | 3 | 118 | 1.60 | 0.92 | 6.33 | 7.32 | 1.68 |
| C | Yomiuri | Shun Tohno | 13 | 9 | 2 | 86 2/3 | 2.39 | 1.25 | 8.10 | 8.62 | 2.60 |
| P | Rakuten | Hisashi Iwakuma | 15 | 5 | 4 | 117 2/3 | 2.52 | 1.02 | 7.88 | 6.58 | 1.07 |
| P | Nippon Ham | Bobby Keppel | 13 | 10 | 1 | 86 | 2.72 | 1.21 | 7.33 | 5.02 | 2.93 |
| P | Rakuten | Masahiro Tanaka | 14 | 8 | 5 | 111 | 2.76 | 1.30 | 9.08 | 6.00 | 2.35 |
| P | Seibu | Hideaki Wakui | 15 | 10 | 3 | 117 | 2.77 | 1.21 | 7.85 | 7.77 | 2.62 |
| C | Yomiuri | Tetsuya Utsumi | 12 | 7 | 2 | 74 2/3 | 2.89 | 1.10 | 8.08 | 8.08 | 1.57 |
| C | Yomiuri | Shugo Fujii | 13 | 6 | 1 | 77 2/3 | 2.90 | 0.97 | 6.14 | 7.18 | 2.32 |
| P | Seibu | Takayuki Kishi | 14 | 9 | 4 | 96 2/3 | 2.98 | 1.04 | 7.45 | 8.94 | 1.68 |
| P | Seibu | Kazuyuki Hoashi | 15 | 7 | 6 | 98 2/3 | 3.01 | 1.22 | 8.30 | 6.11 | 1.82 |
| C | Yokohama | Shigeru Kaga | 12 | 2 | 5 | 61 1/3 | 3.08 | 1.29 | 9.39 | 4.70 | 1.47 |
| P | Nippon Ham | Masaru Takeda | 14 | 5 | 5 | 84 1/3 | 3.09 | 1.07 | 7.90 | 5.23 | 1.60 |
| C | Hanshin | Yasutomo Kubo | 14 | 7 | 4 | 101 2/3 | 3.10 | 1.18 | 8.32 | 6.02 | 1.77 |
| C | Hanshin | Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi | 10 | 4 | 4 | 55 | 3.11 | 1.49 | 10.31 | 4.75 | 2.78 |
| C | Chunichi | Kazuki Yoshimi | 12 | 7 | 3 | 77 1/3 | 3.26 | 1.23 | 9.19 | 5.82 | 1.40 |
| C | Yokohama | Hayato Terahara | 8 | 3 | 2 | 41 | 3.29 | 1.34 | 7.90 | 6.80 | 3.95 |
| P | SoftBank | Tsuyoshi Wada | 14 | 10 | 4 | 90 1/3 | 3.39 | 1.11 | 7.27 | 9.37 | 2.59 |
| P | Lotte | Yoshihisa Naruse | 15 | 7 | 7 | 108 2/3 | 3.40 | 0.99 | 7.54 | 8.20 | 1.33 |
| P | Rakuten | Satoshi Nagai | 14 | 4 | 5 | 98 2/3 | 3.47 | 1.32 | 8.12 | 6.39 | 3.56 |
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He currently provides services to a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in The New York Times, ESPN, Bloomberg, The Japan Times, the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook and Media Guide and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon has appeared on Will Carroll’s Baseball Prospectus radio show ( http://www.baseballprospectus.com/radio/audio/bpr_100316_1.mp3 ) and is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site. Brandon has also authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A Pitch-by-Pitch Scouting Report. Scouting Japanese Pitchers by Pitch Velocity and Location.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly”( http://www.japanball.com/weekly.htm ) newsletter with updated weekly stats for every player and weekly scouting analysis from April to October. Brandon also publishes the “NPB Japanese Baseball Almanac.” Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
Brandon Siefken Quoted on ESPN
By · Comments
Japan Baseball News writer and scout Brandon Siefken was quoted on ESPN today regarding the success and past of Mets pitcher Hisanori Takahashi.
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/5462/takahashi-worthy-of-watching
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He currently provides services to a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in The New York Times, ESPN, Bloomberg, The Japan Times, the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook and Media Guide and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon has appeared on Will Carroll’s Baseball Prospectus radio show ( http://www.baseballprospectus.com/radio/audio/bpr_100316_1.mp3 ) and is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site. Brandon has also authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A 315 Pitch Scouting Report.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly”( http://www.japanball.com/weekly.htm ) newsletter with updated weekly stats for every player and weekly scouting analysis from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
oOPS.. I did it Again: NPB Japanese Baseball OPS Leaders
By · CommentsOPS is a stats that adds on base percentage and slugging percentage to tell you not only how often the hitter gets on base, but also how far he goes. OPS is a measure of power and on base percentage. The following is a list of OPS leaders with a minimum of 100 at bats. The stats are as of 6/22/10.
Leaders (new players for that team are in bold):
|
Lg |
Team |
Batter |
AVG |
AB |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
OPS |
|
|
P |
Orix |
|
Alex Cabrera |
.377 |
138 |
52 |
7 |
1 |
10 |
31 |
1.131 |
|
C |
Chunichi |
|
Kazuhiro Wada |
.349 |
229 |
80 |
16 |
1 |
17 |
44 |
1.098 |
|
C |
Yomiuri |
|
Michihiro Ogasawara |
.340 |
215 |
73 |
11 |
0 |
16 |
48 |
1.058 |
|
C |
Yomiuri |
|
Shinnosuke Abe |
.305 |
220 |
67 |
12 |
2 |
21 |
45 |
1.053 |
|
C |
Chunichi |
|
Masahiko Morino |
.353 |
252 |
89 |
25 |
0 |
8 |
35 |
.971 |
|
P |
Seibu |
|
Hiroyuki Nakajima |
.337 |
205 |
69 |
14 |
1 |
9 |
36 |
.964 |
|
C |
Hanshin |
|
Craig Brazell |
.296 |
226 |
67 |
8 |
0 |
22 |
46 |
.959 |
|
P |
Nippon Ham |
|
Yoshio Itoi |
.339 |
227 |
77 |
19 |
1 |
6 |
29 |
.947 |
|
P |
SoftBank |
|
Hitoshi Tamura |
.329 |
243 |
80 |
18 |
0 |
13 |
35 |
.937 |
|
P |
Lotte |
|
Tsuyoshi Nishioka |
.341 |
273 |
93 |
16 |
6 |
7 |
28 |
.935 |
Bottom dwellers (new players for that team are in bold):
|
Lg |
Team |
Batter |
AVG |
AB |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
OPS |
|
|
C |
Chunichi |
|
Dionys Cesar |
.208 |
130 |
27 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
.510 |
|
C |
Hiroshima |
|
Yoshinori Ogata |
.198 |
126 |
25 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
20 |
.548 |
|
C |
Yomiuri |
|
Yoshiyuki Kamei |
.187 |
139 |
26 |
8 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
.554 |
|
P |
Nippon Ham |
|
Dai-Kang Yang |
.214 |
103 |
22 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
.571 |
|
P |
Seibu |
|
Takahiko Sato |
.202 |
129 |
26 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
13 |
.581 |
|
P |
Orix |
|
Keiji Obiki |
.217 |
138 |
30 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
15 |
.582 |
|
P |
SoftBank |
|
Katsuki Yamazaki |
.226 |
159 |
36 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
16 |
.583 |
|
C |
Yakult |
|
Shinya Miyamoto |
.236 |
216 |
51 |
11 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
.585 |
|
C |
Hiroshima |
|
Soichiro Amaya |
.199 |
171 |
34 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
14 |
.589 |
|
P |
SoftBank |
|
Yuya Hasegawa |
.244 |
197 |
48 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
16 |
.602 |
Alex Cabrera continues year after year to lead in this stat. His home run totals are down from previous years, indicating his power is on the down side, but he still has a good eye to make contact and get on base. His .377 batting average is among tops in Japan and his career.
Hiroyuki Nakajima is continuing to put up all-star numbers and could be leading his team back to the championship this year.
It is fair to say the Chunichi Dragons are not getting the return on investment they expected from Dionys Cesar. When they signed him in the off season it made big news in Japan, but unfortunately the only news he has made on the field is the wrong kind.
Team losers on this ranking are Hiroshima and Yakult. Hiroshima has two players on the bottom and none on the top while Yakult has one player on the bottom and none on the top.
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly”( http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1543 ) newsletter with updated weekly stats for every player and weekly scouting analysis from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
NPB Japanese Baseball: Picking All-Stars - Pitchers
By · CommentsIt is that time of year again. Time to pick all-stars as the mid-season match-up approaches. The following are my picks for the NPB All-Star game. My apologies if these are not the popular picks, I am basing these only on how good the player is and how valuable he is to his team (even if he does not play for Yomiuri). As for fielders, I will give them later. Today we focus on pitchers, and the Pacific League is about 100 notches better than the Central League.
Starting pitchers:
Central
Kenta Maeda – Hiroshima
8-2, 1.52
Shugo Fujii - Yomiuri
4-1, 2.92
Shun Tohno - Yomiuri
8-1, 2.21
Naoyuki Shimizu - Yokohama
6-3, 3.12
No others worth selecting from CL
Pacific
Takayuki Kishi – Seibu
8-3, 2.63
Yoshihisa Naruse – Lotte
7-5, 2.93
Hisashi Iwakuma – Rakuten
4-3, 2.76
Kazuyuki Hoashi – Seibu
6-4, 2.12
Yu Darvish – Nippon Ham
4-4, 1.67
Masahiro Tanaka - Rakuten
8-3, 2.59
Relief pitchers:
Central
Kyuji Fujikawa – Hanshin
12 saves, 0.72 ERA
Takuya Asao - Chunichi
19 holds, 0.76 ERA
Akifumi Takahashi - Chunichi
14 holds, 2.30 ERA
Daisuke Ochi - Yomiuri
8 holds, 1.47 ERA
No others worth selecting from CL
Pacific
Naoki Miyanishi – Nippon Ham
10 holds, 0.89 ERA
Taiyo Fujita - Seibu
10 holds, 1.69 ERA
Hiroyuki Kobayashi - Lotte
11 saves, 0.46 ERA
Brian Falkenborg - SoftBank
16 holds, 0.66 ERA
Tadashi Settsu - SoftBank
18 holds, 1.91 ERA
Brian Sikorski - Seibu
19 saves, 2.10 ERA
Takuhiro Mahara - SoftBank
15 saves, 0.77 ERA
I am sure there are some players that may deserve to be on this list and are not (Sugiuchi, etc.) but this list is based purely on how the players are performing and contributing to their teams. Right now this my list for All-Star candidates.
I certainly would like to get your feedback as well. Hitters in next issue!
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He currently provides services to a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Japan Times, the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook and Media Guide and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon has appeared on Will Carroll’s Baseball Prospectus radio show ( http://www.baseballprospectus.com/radio/audio/bpr_100316_1.mp3 ) and is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site. Brandon has also authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A 315 Pitch Scouting Report.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly”( http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1543 ) newsletter with updated weekly stats for every player and weekly scouting analysis from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
The following is a list of extra base hit leaders in Japanese baseball, followed by the most at bats with no extra base leaders. The stats are as of 6/1/10. For the bottom list, a minimum of 80 at bats is required to qualify. “EXTB” is the category for extra base hits. An extra base hit is a hit that is anything more than a single.
Leaders (new players for that team are in bold):
|
Lg |
Team |
Batter |
AVG |
AB |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
OPS |
EXTB |
|
|
C |
Chunichi |
|
Masahiko Morino |
.381 |
202 |
77 |
23 |
0 |
8 |
27 |
1.056 |
31 |
|
C |
Yomiuri |
|
Hayato Sakamoto |
.332 |
214 |
71 |
14 |
3 |
12 |
33 |
.964 |
29 |
|
C |
Yomiuri |
|
Alex Ramirez |
.265 |
200 |
53 |
8 |
0 |
18 |
58 |
.871 |
26 |
|
P |
Lotte |
|
Tsuyoshi Nishioka |
.355 |
220 |
78 |
14 |
5 |
7 |
23 |
.990 |
26 |
|
P |
SoftBank |
|
Jose Ortiz |
.261 |
203 |
53 |
10 |
0 |
16 |
46 |
.871 |
26 |
|
C |
Yomiuri |
|
Shinnosuke Abe |
.288 |
170 |
49 |
11 |
2 |
12 |
32 |
.980 |
25 |
|
P |
SoftBank |
|
Hitoshi Tamura |
.310 |
197 |
61 |
17 |
0 |
8 |
25 |
.864 |
25 |
|
C |
Chunichi |
|
Kazuhiro Wada |
.358 |
176 |
63 |
9 |
1 |
14 |
35 |
1.131 |
24 |
|
C |
Chunichi |
|
Tony Blanco |
.279 |
197 |
55 |
12 |
0 |
12 |
37 |
.879 |
24 |
|
P |
Lotte |
|
Tadahito Iguchi |
.317 |
186 |
59 |
19 |
1 |
4 |
41 |
.964 |
24 |
Bottom dwellers (new players for that team are in bold):
|
Lg |
Team |
Batter |
AVG |
AB |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
OPS |
EXTB |
|
|
P |
Rakuten |
|
Naoto Watanabe |
.213 |
136 |
29 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
.537 |
1 |
|
C |
Chunichi |
|
Hirokazu Ibata |
.279 |
147 |
41 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
.664 |
3 |
|
C |
Yomiuri |
|
Edger Gonzalez |
.216 |
88 |
19 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
.597 |
3 |
|
C |
Chunichi |
|
Dionys Cesar |
.175 |
120 |
21 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
.433 |
4 |
|
C |
Yakult |
|
Kazuki Fukuchi |
.257 |
105 |
27 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
.611 |
4 |
|
P |
Nippon Ham |
|
Shinji Tsuruoka |
.191 |
89 |
17 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
.443 |
4 |
|
P |
Rakuten |
|
Andy Phillips |
.198 |
81 |
16 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
.579 |
4 |
|
P |
SoftBank |
|
Yuya Hasegawa |
.245 |
163 |
40 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
.609 |
5 |
|
C |
Hiroshima |
|
Jeff Fiorentino |
.235 |
102 |
24 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
13 |
.649 |
5 |
|
P |
Orix |
|
Keiji Obiki |
.225 |
102 |
23 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
12 |
.600 |
5 |
Chunichi, Yomiuri, SoftBank and Lotte are the only teams represented on the top list. Not surprisingly, those teams all rank in the top three of their current division standings. Masahiko Morino and Kazuhiro Wada have been absolutely clobbering the ball this season. Chunichi and Yomiuri are setting up for a club-fest Central League finals showdown at the end of the season.
Rakuten is the only team with two players on the bottom list and none on the top. Naoto Watanabe should get an award for his feat of having 136 at bats and 29 hits with only 1 extra base hit.
I believe the Giants and Dragons had a little more in mind when they brought over Edger Gonzalez and Dionys Cesar. 208 at bats with only 7 extra base hits combined is not getting it done at all.
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He is currently provides services to a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Japan Times, the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook and Media Guide and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon has appeared on Will Carroll’s Baseball Prospectus radio show ( http://www.baseballprospectus.com/radio/audio/bpr_100316_1.mp3 ) and is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site. Brandon has also authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A 315 Pitch Scouting Report.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly”( http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1543 ) newsletter with updated weekly stats for every player and weekly scouting analysis from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
Crack That Whip… NPB Japanese Baseball WHIP Leaders
By · CommentsA pitchers WHIP is the number of runners he puts on base by either walking them or allowing them to hit for each inning he pitches. Some feel WHIP is the best measure of how much command a pitcher has. The stats are of 5/24/10 and the minimum avg. innings pitched is 5.
|
Lg |
Team |
Pitcher |
CG |
SO |
W |
L |
IP |
ERA |
WHIP |
H/9 |
K/9 |
BB/9 |
IPA |
|
|
C |
Yomiuri |
|
Shugo Fujii |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
50 |
2.34 |
0.92 |
5.76 |
7.56 |
2.34 |
6.25 |
|
C |
Hiroshima |
|
Kenta Maeda |
2 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
79 |
1.59 |
0.92 |
6.38 |
7.75 |
1.71 |
7.90 |
|
P |
Seibu |
|
Takayuki Kishi |
2 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
64 |
2.39 |
0.94 |
6.47 |
8.58 |
1.55 |
7.11 |
|
P |
Rakuten |
|
Hisashi Iwakuma |
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
78 2/3 |
2.63 |
0.95 |
7.09 |
7.09 |
1.26 |
7.87 |
|
P |
Lotte |
|
Yoshihisa Naruse |
3 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
74 |
3.28 |
1.04 |
7.66 |
8.03 |
1.58 |
7.40 |
|
P |
Seibu |
|
Kazuyuki Hoashi |
1 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
69 1/3 |
1.30 |
1.05 |
6.75 |
6.36 |
||