This is a list of Japanese batters who tried to transfer to the MLB seen through the lens of this data model. To compile this list I went through the list provided by Wikipedia on this page. Kosuke Fukudome is left off since he has his own post here as well as Hideki Matsui and Ichiro Suzuki, the latter two might be considered the only Japanese batters to have sustained success at the MLB level. Through these tables you can follow their careers through the Japan system and catch a glimpse as to what MLB might have seen in these players as potential prospects.
As we have seen with recent minor league successful call ups, it appears batters have a harder time making it in MLB than pitchers. Not sure if this is a recent phenomenon and don’t have enough historical data to determine this. Obviously batters do make it into MLB so they have to come from somewhere. The list of Japanese batters making the transfer is quite small compared to the list of Japanese pitchers.
Munenori Kawasaki
Not sure what scouts saw in Munenori where they thought he’d make a good MLB batter. They might have been enamored with his batting average. Batting average can’t tell the entire story. He didn’t do so well with Seattle or Toronto.
Year |
WAA |
BA/IP |
OBP/ERA |
PA/G |
RBI/W |
R/L |
Name_Tm |
BAT/PITCH |
2002 |
-0.5 |
0.232 |
0.259 |
122 |
8 |
13 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2003 |
-1.0 |
0.294 |
0.352 |
568 |
51 |
78 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2004 |
-2.9 |
0.303 |
0.359 |
633 |
45 |
87 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2005 |
-1.8 |
0.271 |
0.326 |
458 |
36 |
53 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2006 |
-0.8 |
0.312 |
0.364 |
513 |
27 |
69 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Softbank_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2007 |
1.5 |
0.329 |
0.381 |
427 |
43 |
57 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Softbank_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2008 |
-1.3 |
0.321 |
0.350 |
457 |
34 |
55 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Softbank_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2009 |
-4.0 |
0.259 |
0.325 |
640 |
34 |
73 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Softbank_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2010 |
-2.7 |
0.316 |
0.368 |
662 |
53 |
74 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Softbank_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2011 |
-1.1 |
0.267 |
0.310 |
655 |
37 |
71 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Fukuoka_Softbank_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2012 |
-0.7 |
0.192 |
0.257 |
115 |
7 |
13 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_SEA |
BAT |
2013 |
-0.7 |
0.250 |
0.400 |
81 |
3 |
9 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_Buffalo_Bisons_TOR_int |
BAT |
2013 |
-1.2 |
0.229 |
0.326 |
289 |
24 |
27 |
Munenori_Kawasaki_TOR |
BAT |
Tsuyoshi Nishioka
Here’s another case of focusing on batting average and not taking into account that might not work out so well with much better pitching the MLB has to offer.
Year |
WAA |
BA/IP |
OBP/ERA |
PA/G |
RBI/W |
R/L |
Name_Tm |
BAT/PITCH |
2003 |
0.1 |
0.333 |
0.455 |
11 |
1 |
3 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Chiba_Lotte_Marines_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2004 |
0.8 |
0.255 |
0.304 |
232 |
35 |
32 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Chiba_Lotte_Marines_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2005 |
2.0 |
0.268 |
0.320 |
493 |
48 |
80 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Chiba_Lotte_Marines_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2006 |
-1.6 |
0.282 |
0.358 |
485 |
27 |
58 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Chiba_Lotte_Marines_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2007 |
0.4 |
0.300 |
0.366 |
559 |
40 |
76 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Chiba_Lotte_Marines_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2008 |
1.3 |
0.300 |
0.357 |
522 |
49 |
78 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Chiba_Lotte_Marines_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2009 |
-0.6 |
0.260 |
0.360 |
531 |
41 |
70 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Chiba_Lotte_Marines_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2010 |
2.9 |
0.346 |
0.423 |
692 |
59 |
121 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Chiba_Lotte_Marines_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2011 |
0.2 |
0.333 |
0.467 |
15 |
1 |
4 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Fort_Myers_Miracle_MIN_fla |
BAT |
2011 |
-0.2 |
0.333 |
0.429 |
14 |
1 |
0 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Rochester_Red_Wings_MIN_int |
BAT |
2011 |
-2.3 |
0.226 |
0.278 |
240 |
19 |
14 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_MIN |
BAT |
2012 |
-2.2 |
0.258 |
0.315 |
431 |
34 |
42 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Rochester_Red_Wings_MIN_int |
BAT |
2012 |
-0.2 |
0.000 |
0.071 |
14 |
1 |
0 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_MIN |
BAT |
2013 |
-1.3 |
0.283 |
0.344 |
448 |
34 |
46 |
Tsuyoshi_Nishioka_Hanshin_Tigers_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
Akinori Iwamura
Year |
WAA |
BA/IP |
OBP/ERA |
PA/G |
RBI/W |
R/L |
Name_Tm |
BAT/PITCH |
1999 |
0.1 |
0.294 |
0.341 |
273 |
35 |
28 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2000 |
3.0 |
0.278 |
0.342 |
489 |
66 |
67 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2001 |
4.7 |
0.287 |
0.329 |
564 |
81 |
79 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2002 |
2.3 |
0.320 |
0.390 |
577 |
71 |
67 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2003 |
2.1 |
0.263 |
0.328 |
258 |
35 |
43 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2004 |
5.9 |
0.300 |
0.383 |
611 |
103 |
99 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2005 |
4.9 |
0.319 |
0.388 |
618 |
102 |
83 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2006 |
3.3 |
0.311 |
0.389 |
621 |
77 |
84 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2007 |
-2.1 |
0.285 |
0.359 |
559 |
34 |
82 |
Akinori_Iwamura_TBA |
BAT |
2008 |
-2.8 |
0.274 |
0.349 |
707 |
48 |
91 |
Akinori_Iwamura_TBA |
BAT |
2009 |
0.2 |
0.303 |
0.452 |
42 |
2 |
9 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Durham_Bulls_TBA_int |
BAT |
2009 |
-1.2 |
0.290 |
0.355 |
260 |
22 |
28 |
Akinori_Iwamura_TBA |
BAT |
2010 |
-0.5 |
0.264 |
0.404 |
203 |
16 |
26 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Indianapolis_Indians_PIT_int |
BAT |
2010 |
-2.0 |
0.182 |
0.292 |
193 |
9 |
18 |
Akinori_Iwamura_PIT |
BAT |
2010 |
-0.1 |
0.129 |
0.250 |
36 |
4 |
3 |
Akinori_Iwamura_OAK |
BAT |
2011 |
-2.0 |
0.183 |
0.258 |
197 |
9 |
9 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Tohoku_Rakuten_Golden_Eagles_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2012 |
-0.0 |
0.209 |
0.316 |
79 |
5 |
9 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Tohoku_Rakuten_Golden_Eagles_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2013 |
-0.5 |
0.246 |
0.314 |
159 |
17 |
11 |
Akinori_Iwamura_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
Kenji Johjima
Kenji is a catcher and they can be negative if they can call a game well
Year |
WAA |
BA/IP |
OBP/ERA |
PA/G |
RBI/W |
R/L |
Name_Tm |
BAT/PITCH |
1999 |
2.7 |
0.306 |
0.356 |
539 |
77 |
65 |
Kenji_Johjima_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2000 |
0.5 |
0.310 |
0.377 |
342 |
50 |
38 |
Kenji_Johjima_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2001 |
2.3 |
0.258 |
0.305 |
578 |
95 |
63 |
Kenji_Johjima_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2002 |
4.2 |
0.293 |
0.348 |
463 |
74 |
60 |
Kenji_Johjima_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2003 |
7.4 |
0.330 |
0.399 |
628 |
119 |
101 |
Kenji_Johjima_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2004 |
6.3 |
0.338 |
0.432 |
498 |
91 |
91 |
Kenji_Johjima_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2005 |
2.3 |
0.309 |
0.381 |
462 |
57 |
70 |
Kenji_Johjima_Fukuoka_Daiei_Hawks_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2006 |
0.3 |
0.291 |
0.332 |
542 |
76 |
61 |
Kenji_Johjima_SEA |
BAT |
2007 |
-1.4 |
0.287 |
0.322 |
513 |
61 |
52 |
Kenji_Johjima_SEA |
BAT |
2008 |
-3.2 |
0.227 |
0.277 |
409 |
39 |
29 |
Kenji_Johjima_SEA |
BAT |
2009 |
-0.2 |
0.286 |
0.286 |
14 |
0 |
2 |
Kenji_Johjima_Tacoma_Rainiers_SEA_pcl |
BAT |
2009 |
-1.7 |
0.247 |
0.296 |
258 |
22 |
24 |
Kenji_Johjima_SEA |
BAT |
2010 |
4.1 |
0.303 |
0.352 |
602 |
91 |
76 |
Kenji_Johjima_Hanshin_Tigers_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2011 |
-0.5 |
0.189 |
0.243 |
144 |
13 |
7 |
Kenji_Johjima_Hanshin_Tigers_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2012 |
0.2 |
0.179 |
0.214 |
42 |
5 |
4 |
Kenji_Johjima_Hanshin_Tigers_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
Kazuo Matsui
Year |
WAA |
BA/IP |
OBP/ERA |
PA/G |
RBI/W |
R/L |
Name_Tm |
BAT/PITCH |
1999 |
2.2 |
0.330 |
0.389 |
609 |
67 |
87 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Seibu_Lions_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2000 |
4.6 |
0.322 |
0.372 |
611 |
90 |
99 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Seibu_Lions_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2001 |
2.5 |
0.308 |
0.365 |
613 |
76 |
94 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Seibu_Lions_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2002 |
8.1 |
0.332 |
0.389 |
651 |
87 |
119 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Seibu_Lions_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2003 |
2.4 |
0.305 |
0.365 |
655 |
84 |
104 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Seibu_Lions_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2004 |
-1.7 |
0.272 |
0.331 |
509 |
44 |
65 |
Kazuo_Matsui_NYN |
BAT |
2005 |
-1.6 |
0.255 |
0.300 |
295 |
24 |
31 |
Kazuo_Matsui_NYN |
BAT |
2006 |
1.1 |
0.278 |
0.328 |
129 |
16 |
26 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Colorado_Springs_Sky_Sox_COL_pcl |
BAT |
2006 |
-1.9 |
0.200 |
0.235 |
139 |
7 |
10 |
Kazuo_Matsui_NYN |
BAT |
2006 |
1.2 |
0.345 |
0.392 |
126 |
19 |
22 |
Kazuo_Matsui_COL |
BAT |
2007 |
1.6 |
0.288 |
0.342 |
453 |
37 |
84 |
Kazuo_Matsui_COL |
BAT |
2008 |
-1.3 |
0.293 |
0.354 |
422 |
33 |
58 |
Kazuo_Matsui_HOU |
BAT |
2009 |
-2.9 |
0.250 |
0.302 |
533 |
46 |
56 |
Kazuo_Matsui_HOU |
BAT |
2010 |
-0.6 |
0.262 |
0.331 |
338 |
29 |
54 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Colorado_Springs_Sky_Sox_COL_pcl |
BAT |
2010 |
-1.4 |
0.141 |
0.197 |
78 |
1 |
4 |
Kazuo_Matsui_HOU |
BAT |
2011 |
-0.7 |
0.260 |
0.294 |
572 |
48 |
51 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Tohoku_Rakuten_Golden_Eagles_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2012 |
2.3 |
0.266 |
0.312 |
433 |
43 |
55 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Tohoku_Rakuten_Golden_Eagles_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2013 |
1.2 |
0.248 |
0.311 |
497 |
58 |
55 |
Kazuo_Matsui_Tohoku_Rakuten_Golden_Eagles_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
So Taguchi
Year |
WAA |
BA/IP |
OBP/ERA |
PA/G |
RBI/W |
R/L |
Name_Tm |
BAT/PITCH |
1999 |
1.2 |
0.269 |
0.308 |
569 |
56 |
77 |
So_Taguchi_Orix_Blue_Wave_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2000 |
-1.5 |
0.279 |
0.353 |
578 |
49 |
77 |
So_Taguchi_Orix_Blue_Wave_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2001 |
-1.4 |
0.280 |
0.343 |
524 |
42 |
70 |
So_Taguchi_Orix_Blue_Wave_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2002 |
0.2 |
0.400 |
0.471 |
19 |
2 |
4 |
So_Taguchi_SLN |
BAT |
2003 |
0.9 |
0.259 |
0.310 |
59 |
13 |
9 |
So_Taguchi_SLN |
BAT |
2004 |
0.1 |
0.291 |
0.337 |
206 |
25 |
26 |
So_Taguchi_SLN |
BAT |
2005 |
-0.1 |
0.288 |
0.322 |
424 |
53 |
45 |
So_Taguchi_SLN |
BAT |
2006 |
-1.3 |
0.266 |
0.335 |
361 |
31 |
46 |
So_Taguchi_SLN |
BAT |
2007 |
-0.6 |
0.290 |
0.350 |
340 |
30 |
48 |
So_Taguchi_SLN |
BAT |
2008 |
0.3 |
0.220 |
0.283 |
103 |
9 |
18 |
So_Taguchi_PHI |
BAT |
2009 |
-1.1 |
0.248 |
0.347 |
304 |
29 |
37 |
So_Taguchi_Iowa_Cubs_CHN_pcl |
BAT |
2009 |
-0.2 |
0.273 |
0.333 |
12 |
0 |
1 |
So_Taguchi_CHN |
BAT |
2010 |
-0.3 |
0.261 |
0.302 |
131 |
10 |
17 |
So_Taguchi_Orix_Buffaloes_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2011 |
-0.1 |
0.273 |
0.333 |
239 |
15 |
27 |
So_Taguchi_Orix_Buffaloes_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
Norichika Aoki
Year |
WAA |
BA/IP |
OBP/ERA |
PA/G |
RBI/W |
R/L |
Name_Tm |
BAT/PITCH |
2004 |
-0.3 |
0.200 |
0.250 |
16 |
0 |
1 |
Norichika_Aoki_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2005 |
-2.2 |
0.344 |
0.387 |
649 |
28 |
100 |
Norichika_Aoki_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2006 |
3.4 |
0.321 |
0.396 |
680 |
62 |
112 |
Norichika_Aoki_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2007 |
3.6 |
0.346 |
0.434 |
652 |
58 |
114 |
Norichika_Aoki_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2008 |
5.2 |
0.347 |
0.413 |
500 |
64 |
85 |
Norichika_Aoki_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2009 |
2.8 |
0.303 |
0.400 |
624 |
66 |
87 |
Norichika_Aoki_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2010 |
1.1 |
0.358 |
0.435 |
667 |
63 |
92 |
Norichika_Aoki_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2011 |
1.1 |
0.292 |
0.358 |
643 |
44 |
73 |
Norichika_Aoki_Yakult_Swallows_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2012 |
0.2 |
0.288 |
0.355 |
588 |
50 |
81 |
Norichika_Aoki_MIL |
BAT |
2013 |
-3.2 |
0.286 |
0.356 |
674 |
37 |
80 |
Norichika_Aoki_MIL |
BAT |
Tsuyoshi Shinjo
Year |
WAA |
BA/IP |
OBP/ERA |
PA/G |
RBI/W |
R/L |
Name_Tm |
BAT/PITCH |
1999 |
-0.7 |
0.255 |
0.303 |
507 |
58 |
53 |
Tsuyoshi_Shinjo_Hanshin_Tigers_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2000 |
3.8 |
0.278 |
0.321 |
549 |
85 |
71 |
Tsuyoshi_Shinjo_Hanshin_Tigers_XYZ_jcl |
BAT |
2001 |
-0.6 |
0.268 |
0.320 |
438 |
56 |
46 |
Tsuyoshi_Shinjo_NYN |
BAT |
2002 |
-1.5 |
0.238 |
0.294 |
398 |
37 |
42 |
Tsuyoshi_Shinjo_SFN |
BAT |
2003 |
-1.5 |
0.193 |
0.238 |
124 |
7 |
10 |
Tsuyoshi_Shinjo_NYN |
BAT |
2004 |
4.3 |
0.298 |
0.327 |
544 |
79 |
88 |
Tsuyoshi_Shinjo_Nippon_Ham_Fighters_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2005 |
2.0 |
0.239 |
0.274 |
406 |
57 |
54 |
Tsuyoshi_Shinjo_Nippon_Ham_Fighters_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |
2006 |
1.3 |
0.258 |
0.298 |
477 |
62 |
47 |
Tsuyoshi_Shinjo_Nippon_Ham_Fighters_XYZ_jpl |
BAT |