Benny Agbayani

Benny is currently playing for the Omaha Royals in AAA. Unless the KC Royals lose a couple of outfielders to injuries, I bet Benny won't get called up anytime soon. I bet right now he wishes more than ever that he was in Japan. The Yomiuri Giants could've used him as a fourth outfielder or a right-handed bat off the bench in the Domingo Martinez role, but they signed Chris Latham instead.

Giants' manager Tatsunori Hara described Latham's pitching last night as "indefensible" [undefendable?]. He got smacked around the park a bit (Latham, not Hara).

I think you're referring to Cory Bailey, not Chris Latham. Chris Latham is an outfielder, not a pitcher.

Pitcher? I thought that Latham was supposed to be a versatile player who could play in the outfield and infield.

The last time I checked Chris Latham was an outfielder.

As so many pointed out, it was Bailey, not Latham, that gave up five runs in 1 1/3rd innings on the 6th. Latham didn't even appear in the game.

Ooops. Oh yeah. Sorry about that. Well, it just shows how much attention I pay to the Giants. Think I'll just leave well enough alone next time.

Benny A was a fan favorite in New York. He was promising, but didn't continue to develop. Personally, I think he would do very well in Japan as a power hitter. He is also a down to Earth guy and would fit in well.

This article [AsianWeek.com] is kind of old, but it's pretty interesting. Hopefully, we'll see Benny in NPB next season.

Interesting spin on the article and more interesting comments from Benny. Benny was a good player, but just not good enough. He had loads of opportunity with the Mets. Benny is also a small-town guy and his perspective is shaped from his particular life experience. Nothing wrong with small towns, mind you, but it can give you a particular perspective, sometimes myopic and in a perverse way, in a not so dissimilar fashion as expressed by the bozos cheering Rocker in Atlanta. Yes, fans can be rude, and history shows that Jackie Robinson was the target of some very vile and racist comments and threats from some fans.

Today, I think the fan razzing is mostly of the sophomoric variety. If a guy on the other team looks funny, people poke fun. There was one white guy in basketball on the Boston Celtics who opposing fans called "Lurch" (Frankenstein-like butler on an old U.S. TV show - The Addams Family). He did kind of look like him. If the Asian guy was short, some bozo would likely make fun of that, too. I wouldn't read a universal thread of racism into all of that. How is one to razz the other team's player that hurts the home team - Hey nice distinguished Japanese gentlemen?

Why are there so few Americans of Asian descent in baseball? People ask the same question of Americans who are Jewish, or why there are no great African-American swimmers or many ice hockey players from Florida? To answer that question in an ethnic perspective would require stereotyping which I don't want to indulge in. Maybe it's because some people don't want to go out for it, play it religiously from childhood, through high school, college team, etc. Perhaps there are other opportunities or vocations that are of greater interest.

Bottom line, if a player is good, he'll get the eye of some scout, but first, he or she must want to get there, and badly.

And I do hope that an NPB team signs Benny. He is a good guy and his game would shine in Japan.

We may just see Benny in NPB after all. It said in the sports paper today that Benny is scheduled to tryout with Lotte on the 12th of this month. This definitely makes sense for both parties. Benny probably does not want to spend another full season in Triple-A like he did this season with the Omaha Royals, and Bobby V. managed Benny with the Mets and knows what kind of player he is.

The only reservation that I would have if I was Bobby V. is the fact that he did not fare too well last time around with another one of his former players who was a power hitter. Pete Incaviglia didn't do jack with Lotte in '95.

Thanks for jogging my memory on Benny A. and his ties to Bobby V. What did Yogi Berra say, something like 90% of baseball is half mental? Playing top league baseball is tough enough. Playing where the cultural divide is great, like the U.S.A. and Japan is even tougher. American players who are decent at home can fail in Japan because they are not mentally prepared, don't have the flexibility, coping skills, or for a myriad of other reasons.

Benny is a small town guy from Hawaii, with a set of cultural values more akin to those of Japan than those of a mainlander. That's going to help him. If Benny can still swing a bat, and under Bobby V's watch, I think he can have a nice career in Japan. He can't stay in AAA because he is just too experienced (and too old) for that league at this point.

Question: Does Shinjo-san count as a "foreign" player under NPB because his last play was in the U.S., therefore eating up part of the foreigner quota?

- Question: Does Shinjo-san count as a "foreign" player under NPB because his last play was in the U.S., therefore eating up part of the foreigner quota?

No. Irabu, Yoshii, Mac Suzuki and other "returnees" from overseas are all regarded as Japanese players. It's not where you last played - basically it's your nationality (although there may be some complicated rules regarding long-term residency and the like).

What happened at Benny's November try-out for Lotte? He is playing in the Dominican right now, doing fairly well, .390+ OBP. I'm hoping he'll get a spring training invite or contract by the Mets for right field.