Shinjo Ham

Great post Westbay-san. I needed a laugh today, domo.

Well, I will fully support Shinjo to play with Nippon Ham. I hope that he can play well next season.

Gambatte! Shinjo!

He picked a great team that suits his personality - a real Ham!

OK, a ham is someone who acts comically or clownishly and over-reacts or over-acts to get attention and to cheer the audience.

I hope Shinjo-san can play every day. It was fun in New York and I wish him the best.

Here's an article in an American rag called the New York Times on The Ham Fighters [registration required to view]. Maybe the author doesn't know beans about NPB, but all the sophisticated marketing baloney was amuzing. I humbly submit that it's the caliber of play that's more important, not the logo. A bad team won't sell any merchandise even if it has the slickest look. Winning is the only thing that will disspell losing.

I Hope they do well in Hokkaido. I went to one of the Fighters' games and felt very sorry for the home fans, who were outnumbered by the Kintestsu Buffalos' fans who made the trip up to the Tokyo Dome.

"Lunch meat gladiators." Hmm. Makes me wish there was a team in the States called the Oscar Meyer "Winners."

There was an interesting article on the Nikkan Sports' website the other day describing how Shinjo's signing event may be held under tight security precautions. As I can understand that in light of recent events there is serious concern about terrorism in Japan now, does anybody actually think Al Qaeda is going to target Tsuyoshi Shinjo? (Granted, there is a possibility that some radical baseball fundamentalists may find his hair style, wardrobe, and overall attitude offensive. I mean, I can sort of picture how Shinjo could make someone like former Lotte GM Hirooka go beserk.)

Shinjo is probably the best defensive outfielder I've ever seen in Japanese baseball. He was great when he played for the Tigers. He was originally a pitcher, so not only is he a great glove man, he has a rifle arm from deep in the outfield.

I don't know if he still has the speed, though. He's been playing pro ball a long time.

The bigger question is whether he can still hit.

I pity the guy who he took the No. 1 from.

In his impromptu press conference, he said his sebango (back number) will be 1. Poor guy who had 1 already didn't know about it and was forced by management to give it up for Shinjo. I think who ever it was took 9.

Shinjo does have a good arm, but he can't hit. It seems he does best when he isn't neck deep in baseball details. Typical managers here like to constantly adjust the hitting stance, pitching form, etc. to the minute detail. I think he did pretty well when, during a Spring training with Nomura, he became a pitcher. It gave his head a rest on his hitting style and, for while, he did well (if I remember correctly). When Shinjo thinks too much he suffers.

- When Shinjo thinks too much he suffers.

Like on a recent show where he said that he didn't want to bat #8, "in front of the pitcher." The Pacific League (in which Nippon Ham resides) has the designated hitter, so he won't be batting in front of the pitcher. Can a professinal player, who'd played 10 years in Japan, not know that about the neighbor league?

No, thinking isn't one of Shinjo's strong points. I still remember an arguement with his manager in 1995 (when his mother stepped in and told Hanshin's manager off) when Shinjo, unable to find an arguement to counter with, stated that he had "no baseball sense." You don't become a professional without any baseball sense. Lacking common sense, sure. Or so I thought until now.

- [...] stated that he had "no baseball sense" [...]

Perhaps his little league/middle school/high school coach was the moron who taught hitting as the art of swinging the bat with your eyes closed while praying you make contact.

I'm starting to think he's a great defensive outfielder because he only has to think to get the ball towards a general direction, ie towards home base. If he stayed as a pitcher and had to think about his control, he'd be a host in some sleazy host club in Umeda.