5 Asian Baseball Players Who Are Must-Sees
Here are five Asian baseball players who are definitely worth your time to watch play. From countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, these athletes bring a lot of excitement and skill to the game.
Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro Suzuki is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played 28 seasons combined in top-level professional leagues. He spent the bulk of his career with two teams: nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and 14 with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Seattle Mariners He played primarily as a right fielder but also saw time as a center fielder and Left fielder After winning seven batting titles in NPB, Ichiro joined the Mariners in 2001 and won two more batting titles in the MLB to become the first and only player to win nine professional batting titles in a career.
Ichiro collected 10 or more hits in 15 consecutive games, an MLB record he set in 2009; his 262 hits that season marked an MLB single-season record for foreign-born players, as did his total of Suzuki also had at least 200 hits in 10 consecutive seasons, another MLB record he currently shares with Hank Aaron and George Sisler; his streak of 10 200-hit seasons is also an NPB record. Suzuki is ranked 18th all-time in MLB history with 3,089 hits and holds numerous NPB records, including most hits (1,278), most singles (889), most stolen bases (504), most batting titles (ten), most All-Star Appearances (15), and the only player to have won both a Rookie of the Year Award and Most Valuable Player Awardin either league.
Hideo Nomo
One of the most popular Asian baseball players ever, Hideo Nomo is a right-handed pitcher who played for several MLB teams throughout his career. He was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1968, and began playing professionally there in the late 1980s. In 1995, Nomo made headlines by becoming the first Japanese player to be posted to an MLB team, the Los Angeles Dodgers He went on to have a successful Major League career, earning two All-Star selections and throwing a no-hitter in 1996. Nomo retired from MLB in 2008 but continued to play professionally in Japan until 2013.
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Daisuke Matsuzaka, who goes by the nickname Dice-K, played for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 to 2012. He was an integral part of their 2007 World Series winning team starting and winning two games in the Series. He also pitched a no-hitter in his first season with the Red Sox Matsuzaka is now back in Japan pitching for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Yu Darvish
Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish is one of the most talented and popular players in Major League Baseball today. Darvish was born in Habikino, Osaka, Japan, in 1986. He began playing baseball at a young age and quickly developed into a top pitcher. In 2005, Darvish was drafted by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, a Japanese professional baseball team He made his debut with the Fighters in 2006 and quickly became one of the team’s best pitchers.
In 2011, Darvish signed a contract with the Texas Rangers becoming the first Japanese player to sign with a Major League Baseball team. He made his MLB debut in 2012 and had an immediate impact, finishing the season with a 16-9 record and 3.90 ERA. Darvish has continued to be one of the Rangers’ best pitchers, making four All-Star teams and winning two World Series titles.
In 2018, Darvish was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers He’s currently in his second season with the team and looking to help them win their first World Series title since 1988.
Kenta Maeda
Kenta Maeda is a right-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers He was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1988. Maeda was drafted by the Hiroshima Carp in 2007 and made his professional debut in 2008. He played for the Carp for eight seasons, winning a Central League MVP Award in 2010 and two Sawamura Awards as the league’s best pitcher (in 2010 and 2015). In 2016, he signed with the Dodgers. In his first season with the team, he was named an All-Star and finished the year with a 16-11 record and 3.48 ERA.
