Apr 17, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of baseballs prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
The Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Organization is the MLB of Japan. As the popularity of the league rises, more and more former major league players are joining in an attempt to revitalize their careers. Many have already found success.
This year alone, eight former MLB players have made their debut for one of the 13 teams in the Nippon league. There were already dozens of former major leaguers playing in Japan, and the number will only continue to grow.
It’s no surprise that players head to the NPB, as the league is full of talent. In the three World Baseball Classics that have occurred, the Japanese have won two powered by players who play in the Nippon league. In the other, they finished third.
This is also the league that MLB greats Hideki Matsui and Ichiro Suzuki played in for a long time. Many people who have been around both leagues describe the NPB as “Quadruple-A”, more competitive than Triple-A, but not quite at MLB level. There are some small differences in gameplay between the organizations, but for the most part the game is played the same way.
Though the NPB cannot live up to MLB, they are comfortably in position as the second best baseball league in the world.
It might be interesting to look at former MLB players having success in the Japanese league. Some had decent careers here in America, while others struggled throughout their tenure.
For the purpose of this list, all NPB players with MLB experience that started in the NPB and grew up in Japan have been disregarded. This way, all players on the list were ones who moved to Japan for baseball purposes only.
Here are the MLB-turned-NPB players that are best for their teams in Japan.
Next: The Honorables
Honorable Mentions
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Though there are over 30 players who have MLB experience playing in the NPB, not all made the cut. A good half had such brief MLB careers that they were not worth mentioning. Some have little to no experience in the NPB league and have not proved themselves there yet. Here are the ones that were close to making the list but could not due to their limited time in Japan:
SP Felipe Paulino, Saitama Seibu Lions: 470 ERA in 9 games
SP Kyle Davies, Yakult Swallows: 3.96 ERA in 13 games
RP Steve Delabar, Hiroshima Carp: Just recently signed
IF Brent Morel, Orix Buffaloes: .683 OPS in 94 games
OF Jonny Gomes, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles: .526 OPS in 18 games
OF Garrett Jones, Yomiuri Giants: .262/.338/.507 with 22 HR in first season
OF Dayan Viciedo, Chunichi Dragons: .272/.349/.487 with 21 HR in first season
A veteran of nine MLB seasons, Jose Lopez was an everyday starter for the Mariners and even a one-time All Star. After bouncing around in his post-Seattle days, he found himself out of a job after 81 ugly games in 2012.
He then turned to the NPB and started with a bang, batting .303 in his first year with the Yomiuri Giants.
Lopez had very inconsistent power in MLB. He topped out with 25 homers in 2009 (24.52 AB/HR), and followed that with 10 in 2010 (59.3 AB/HR). In both years he had over 590 AB.
Now in Japan, Lopez has found some consistency with his home run swing. His AB/HR has been 23.8, 17.0, 20.6 and 17.7 in his four Japanese seasons, respectively.
At 32 years old, the Venezuelan infielder will most likely not appeal to another MLB team in the future. He had his solid run there and is most likely happy contributing in the NPB.
Unlike Lopez, Brad Eldred was a major flop in MLB. After being drafted in the sixth round, Eldred tore apart the minor leagues in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He hit a combined 38 home runs with 137 RBI in his first complete season in the minors. Needless to say, big things were expected of him.
The next year, Eldred was promoted midseason and hit for a poor average (.221), but also slugged 12 home runs in only 55 games.
The following year he was unable to match his previous production in AAA and also dealt with injuries. After seven more long years of bouncing around, Eldred only had 299 MLB plate appearances to show for it.
So, in 2013, he signed with the Hiroshima Carp. After a part-time role that year, Eldred burst onto the Japanese scene with 37 home runs in only 118 games.
Ever since, he has been a steady contributor in the Carp lineup, capable of going deep at any time. This is likely what Pirates fans imagined in 2004-2005. Alas, Eldred was unable to produce in the majors but was able to rediscover his minor league stroke somewhere else.
Eldred is now 36 years old and has an almost zero percent chance of finding his way in the majors again. Still, he must be happy that he was able to find somewhere to play baseball after struggling for so long.
For some MLB fans, the name Brandon Laird may not even ring a bell. No, he is not related to longtime former catcher Gerald Laird either.
To others, he is the failed power-hitting former Yankees prospect. In 2010, Laird was named Eastern League (AA) MVP for the Yankees affiliate in Trenton. There, he hit 23 home runs in only 107 games, while also batting .291.
Never able to replicate that production, Laird hit .197 in very limited MLB work with the Yankees and Astros from 2011-2013.
Instead of continuing to flounder around in the minors, Laird bolted for Japan. In his first year with the Nippon Ham Fighters, Laird hit 34 home runs, leading his team.
He has already surpassed that number this year with 35 after only 124 games. Laird is another guy, like Eldred, that just could not seem to figure it out in MLB. He flashed his potential in the minors, but could never hit against major league pitching.
At 28 years old, Laird could still have a future in MLB. Contract info is hard to find for the NPB, but in most cases it is not too hard to find for the majors. It remains to be seen if a team would be interested in Laird, or if Laird is interested in leaving.
After all, it must be fun being the leading home run hitter on a respected team like the Nippon Ham Fighters.
A name younger baseball fans may not know, Hector Luna was a consistent contributor for the St. Louis Cardinals in the mid-2000s. Luna was the definition of a utility player, fielding at least five different positions in his each of his first three years in the league.
After he was traded to the Indians in mid 2006, his career fell off track. He later bounced around to the Blue Jays, Marlins and Phillies, but never found the same success as he had in St. Louis.
After accumulating only 134 at-bats from 2007-2012, Luna grew tired of attempting to make it back to the majors. He signed with the Chunichi Dragons of the NPB in 2013 and has bounced around in Japan ever since. Overall, he has hit an impressive .311.
He is able to contribute all over the field as he hit 17 home runs in 2014, surpassing his MLB career total of 15. Luna also has stolen 17 bases the past two years combined without getting caught.
At 36 years of age, Luna’s MLB hopes are all but over. Though he is not getting World Series playing time like he did in 2004, his success in the NBP must be rewarding for a player who has been at it so long professionally.
Wladimir Balentien is by far the most successful NPB player that was first a major leaguer. Since joining the Swallows in 2011, Balentien is a four-time All-Star.
More impressively, Balentien broke the NPB all-time single season home run record in 2014 with 60. He has hit at least 30 in every full season with Yakult.
His power did not come out of nowhere, though. Balentien hit an impressive 147 homers in his minor league career. He saw somewhat extensive time in the majors between 2007-2009, but was unable to impress either the Mariners or the Reds.
He struggled with plate discipline and contact with the Mariners as he hit .209 and only got on base at a .260 clip.
After being traded to the Reds, Balentien finally showed some promise. In a small sample size of 110 AB, he hit to a .779 OPS and had a solid BB-to-K ratio of 15 to 27. For whatever reason, the Reds never felt he was worthy of the majors after that.
He played the entirety of the next season for the Louisville Bats, the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. There, he slugged 25 home runs and hit to a .873 OPS.
Since he did not get the promotion he deserved, Balentien moved to Japan and has had a historic six-year career thus far. As a one-time MVP and three-time home run leader, Balentien is a star in the NPB.
While he is only 32 years old, it would be very surprising to see Balentien test his luck in the unforgiving major leagues. This especially considering he would have to leave a league where he is a premier star.
All stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com unless otherwise noted.
