NPB Players

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NPB Players

The purpose of this thread is to find out more about who plays in the NPB. It is also a place to answer questions such as where do the most players come from, how has the average player changed in the past 70 years, how much experience do foreign players have before playing in the NPB. The idea for this came from this article at Hard Ball Times. What is below is a "first draft" of something that, with feedback, I would like to eventually put on the Research section of the site.

A quick note: The time period covered is from 1936 through 2004, and all years indicate debut years unless noted.

Birthplaces

In this first section, we'll take a look at the birthplaces of NPB players.

Where in the world do these players come from?

Birthplaces by Region, All Years (1)

Region        Number  Percent
Japan           4172   83.9%
United States    591   11.9%
Asia              61    1.2%
Latin America    126    2.5%
Other             20    0.4%

It comes as no surprise that the overwhelming majority of players come from Japan, and that Americans comprise the largest contingent of foreign players.

However, I did find it surprising that players from Latin America outnumber those from Asia by a ratio of two to one. I would have thought that the close proximity to Japan to these nations would have led to more players coming from other Asian countries, much like the MLB and Canada.

Let's look at the birthplaces of players more in-depth by separating the players by their debut years into five-year sets.

Birthplaces by Region, Numerical, 5-Year Sets (2)

Years       Japan  U.S.A.  Asia  Latin Amer.  Other
1936-1939    299     16     11       0          1
1940-1944    192      1      4       0          0
1946-1949    167      2      7       0          1
1950-1954    514     24      7       0          1
1955-1959    463      9      2       2          1
1960-1964    375     35      5       0          1
1965-1969    319     19      3       4          1
1970-1974    313     41      0       6          0
1975-1979    203     47      0       5          0
1980-1985    289     51      4       2          2
1985-1989    299     47      5       9          0
1990-1994    215     70      3       9          2
1995-1999    108     92      4      35          4
2000-2004    18     113      5      35          4

Birthplaces by Region, Percentage, 5-Year Sets (2)

Years       Japan  U.S.A.   Asia  Latin Amer.  Other
1936-1939  91.44%   4.89%  3.36%     0.00%     0.31%
1940-1944  97.46%   0.51%  2.03%     0.00%     0.00%
1946-1949  94.35%   1.13%  3.95%     0.00%     0.56%
1950-1954  94.14%   4.40%  1.28%     0.00%     0.18%
1955-1959  97.06%   1.89%  0.42%     0.42%     0.21%
1960-1964  90.14%   8.41%  1.20%     0.00%     0.24%
1965-1969  92.20%   5.49%  0.87%     1.16%     0.29%
1970-1974  86.94%  11.39%  0.00%     1.67%     0.00%
1975-1979  79.61%  18.43%  0.00%     1.96%     0.00%
1980-1985  83.05%  14.66%  1.15%     0.57%     0.57%
1985-1989  83.06%  13.06%  1.39%     2.50%     0.00%
1990-1994  71.91%  23.41%  1.00%     3.01%     0.67%
1995-1999  44.44%  37.86%  1.65%    14.40%     1.65%
2000-2004  10.29%  64.57%  2.86%    20.00%     2.29%

Despite having a nearly continuous presence in the NPB, players from Asia have never held more than a hand full of roster spots in the NPB. On a percentage basis they have never reached the numbers that they reached in the first years of the league.

On the other hand, the first player from Latin America (Cuban Chico Barbon) debuted in 1955, and most Latin American players (65%) have debuted in the NPB in the last decade.

The NPB's foreign player restrictions often cause comparisons to be made between the MLB and the NPB in terms of "internationalization," but are the comparisons justified? Let's compare the percentage of "national" (3) players in the NPB and MLB.

Players by "Nationality", MLB and NPB, All Years

                 MLB                NPB
Region     Players  Percent   Players  Percent
National     8274    86.3%      4172    83.9%
Foreign      1312    13.7%       798    16.1%

Another surprise is that over the same time period (1936-2004), the MLB had less "foreign" players than the NPB, despite the NPB's foreign player restrictions.

Do these totals hide any trends? Let's breakdown the years into five-year sets:

"National" Players, MLB and NPB, Percentage, 5-Year Sets

Years            MLB        NPB
1936-1939      98.21%      91.44%
1940-1944      95.10%      97.46%
1945-1949      95.70%      94.35%
1950-1954      92.91%      94.14%
1955-1959      90.38%      97.06%
1960-1964      88.96%      90.14%
1965-1969      88.66%      92.20%
1970-1974      88.31%      86.94%
1975-1979      89.79%      79.61%
1980-1985      87.55%      83.05%
1985-1989      86.12%      83.06%
1990-1994      81.43%      71.91%
1995-1999      74.59%      44.44%
2000-2004      72.92%      10.29%

In the MLB we see a steady decline 1936 to 1959, then a leveling-off from the 1960s through the 1980s and then another steady decline.

In the NPB we see an initial influx of foreign players, than a rise due to World War II. After the war there is a steady decline through the 1970s; in the late 1950s there is a sharp increase, likely due to the first foreign player restriction in 1952.

Starting in the 1980s, there is a sharp decline in the number of Japanese NPB players (I am disregarding the 1995-1999 and 2000-2004 data sets). This may be due to the abolishment of the organizational foreign player limit in 1997 and the increasing pressure that is on these players to perform immediately.

Where do Japanese players come from? Let's take a look:

All Prefectures, Numerical, 5-Year Sets

Rank  Prefecture  Total  36-39  40-44  46-49  50-54  55-59  60-64  65-69  70-74  75-79  80-85  85-89  90-94  95-99  00-04
  1   Osaka        307     19     18     14     31     32     29     17     24     16     25     21     23     12      1
  2   Aichi        274     37     32     17     46     30     21     18      9      6     16     12      8      3      1
  3   Hyogo        262     27     13     17     27     29     23     19     14     16     18     16     12      5      3
  4   Tokyo        229     21     15     11     21     25     15     17     21      5      8     23     16      6      3
  5   Fukuoka      221      3     13      7     32     14     30     16     25     14     17     10      8      4      1
  6   Hiroshima    201     22      9     11     34     22     24     17      9     11     13      8      7      4      0
  7   Kanagawa     142     10      3      4      9     19     10     11     14      7      7     11      7      8      1
  8   Wakayama     141     17     12     11     16     16      7     10      8      7      6     12      6      3      1
  9   Kumamoto     140      9      2      7     16     18      3     13     10      6     13     17      6      3      0
 10   Kyoto        125     12      6     12     27     15      9      6      4      0      4      4      5      2      2
 11   Chiba        124      3      2      5      5      8      9      9     15     10     16     15      7      4      1
 12   Shizuoka     124     11      3      5     23     14     11      6     14      6     12      4      8      1      0
 13   Ehime        114     18      4      1     17      9     11     14      8      7      6      5      2      2      0
 14   Yamaguchi    101      5      2      1     13     15      9      5     15      9      9      3      3      3      1
 15   Saitama       95      3      0      2     12      7      6      3      9      3     12     11      8      7      0
 16   Oita          90      6      0      2      5     14     13     12     10      7      3      4      3      0      0
 17   Okayama       83      3      3      1      9     15      8     13      4      7      2      5      2      4      0
 18   Gumma         78      5      5      2     15     13      6      1      8      1      5      5      3      3      0
 19   Nagano        75      8     10      7     12      8      8      5      4      1      3      3      2      0      0
 20   Kagawa        73      9      7      2     17      7      5      4      5      3      4      4      2      1      0
 21   Ibaraki       69      0      0      2      8     12      4      3      6      6      5     14      2      1      0
 22   Tokushima     68      0      0      2      6      3     13      7      6      2      8      6      5      2      0
 23   Kagoshima     66      3      3      0      7      6      4      8      5      4      4      3      8      0      1
 24   Miyagi        64      1      1      2      2     10      9      6      9      1      8      4      4      3      0
 25   Hokkaido      61      4      0      1     11      7      5      3      4      6      4      5      7      3      0
 26   Miyazaki      60      0      0      0      2      6      6     10      4      3      6      8      3      4      0
 27   Saga          56      2      5      2     11      4      3      4      4      1      2      5      6      2      0
 28   Tochigi       56      3      1      0     11      8     10      3      3      1      4      7      3      0      0
 29   Kochi         55      3      0      1      4      8      7      8      5      3      4      7      2      0      0
 30   Nagasaki      54      4      4      2      6      7      8      3      2      3      4      4      3      0      0
 31   Mie           53      5      1      0      6      6      6      4      4      4      2      5      3      2      1
 32   Gifu          52      0      6      3     13      7      3      4      2      0      3      3      1      3      0
 33   Yamanashi     49      2      1      1      5      6      5      6      0      3      7      2      4      0      0
 34   Akita         47      2      2      3      1      3      7      5      1      4      3      4      4      2      0
 35   Nara          46      1      1      1      4      3      3      4      5      3      5      1      3      1      0
 36   Tottori       43      6      3      0      7      6      4      4      2      2      3      2      0      1      0
 37   Fukushima     42      0      0      2      2      8      3      1      6      4      2      2      8      1      0
 38   Shimane       41      3      2      0      3      6      4      9      2      3      2      2      1      1      0
 39   Iwate         29      3      0      1      2      4      3      3      1      1      2      2      2      0      0
 40   Okinawa       25      0      0      0      1      0      0      1      0      1      3      8      1      3      0
 41   Aomori        24      4      1      0      1      2      4      0      2      2      1      0      3      0      0
 42   Fukui         22      3      0      0      2      3      2      3      1      0      3      1      0      0      0
 43   Ishikawa      21      0      0      1      4      1      0      1      1      2      1      4      2      1      0
 44   Shiga         17      1      1      2      2      3      1      0      1      1      2      2      0      0      0
 45   Niigata       16      0      1      1      2      1      2      0      3      1      2      2      0      0      0
 46   Toyama        15      0      0      0      1      2      0      3      1      0      0      2      1      3      0
 47   Yamagata      13      0      0      0      3      1      2      0      3      0      0      1      1      0      0

Most players come from the major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, Nagoya, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka.

The prefectures on the Sea of Japan in the Chubu and Tohoku regions have the least amount of players. (Is it rainier there than the rest of Japan due to the sea?)

Below is a color-coded map of Japan's prefectures based on NPB players' birthplaces. (4)

What about Americans? Here are the top 10 states:

Top 10 States, All Years

Rank  State       Players
   1  California    140
   2  Hawaii         45
   3  Texas          37
   4  Illinois       32
   5  New York       31
   6  Florida        30
   7  Ohio           23
   8  Pennsylvania   19
   9  Massachusetts  14
T-10  New Jersey     13
T-10  Georgia        13

Much like the Japan, the largest states produce the most players. The exception is Hawaii, which is second despite being one of the least populated states. A likely reason for this is the large percentage of Japanese-Americans in the state, 16.7% in 2000 census. Starting in the 1970s, California has led all states with 121 players.

To see where in the United States players come from, let's divide the country into four regions.

United States Regions, Numerical, 5-Year Sets (5)

Region  Total  36-49  50-54  55-59  60-64  65-69  70-74  75-79  80-85  85-89  90-94  95-99  00-04
East      96      0      4      0      9      2      7      8      7      8     14     15     15
North    109      0      3      1     11      4      9      5      5     11     14     17     27
South    160      0      0      0      7      9     13     17     11     11     14     34     38
West     224     19     17      8      8      4     12     17     28     16     28     26     33

United States Regions, Percentage, 5-Year Sets (5)

Region  Total   36-49  50-54  55-59  60-64  65-69  70-74  75-79  80-85  85-89  90-94  95-99  00-04
East    16.3%    0.0%  16.7%   0.0%  25.7%  10.5%  17.1%  17.0%  13.7%  17.4%  20.0%  16.3%  13.3%
North   18.5%    0.0%  12.5%  11.1%  31.4%  21.1%  22.0%  10.6%   9.8%  23.9%  20.0%  18.5%  23.9%
South   27.2%    0.0%  00.0%   0.0%  20.0%  47.4%  31.7%  36.2%  21.6%  23.9%  20.0%  37.0%  33.6%
West    38.0%  100.0%  70.8%  88.9%  22.9%  21.1%  29.3%  36.2%  54.9%  34.8%  40.0%  28.3%  29.2%

The West has produced the most players for the NPB first 60 years, but in the last decade the South has produced most of the players.

From 1936 to 1949, all 19 US-born NPB players were from the West; 15 from Hawaii, 3 from California, and 1 from Washington.

From 1936 to 1959, Hawaiian-born players accounted for over two-thirds of US-born players (35 out of 52). During this same time period, over half of "foreign players" were of Japanese descent.

For comparison, the birthplaces of United States-born MLB players over the same time period.

United States Regions-MLB, Percentage, 5-Year Sets (5)

Region  Total  36-49  50-54  55-59  60-64  65-69  70-74  75-79  80-85  85-89  90-94  95-99  00-04
East    20.7%  26.8%  26.2%  25.7%  25.5%  20.4%  17.0%  18.1%  18.6%  17.9%  18.7%  18.5%  11.0%
North   25.6%  30.0%  34.6%  30.0%  31.1%  25.6%  25.9%  24.1%  20.2%  20.2%  23.1%  23.2%  18.4%
South   29.7%  30.5%  27.0%  29.4%  28.2%  26.5%  28.5%  27.1%  26.5%  31.0%  30.0%  30.8%  37.4%
West    23.9%  12.7%  12.3%  14.9%  15.1%  27.6%  28.5%  30.8%  34.6%  31.0%  28.2%  27.5%  33.2%

For much of its history the NPB has had more players than the MLB from the West and fewer from from the North.

Other Nations

Birthplace          Players  Notes
Dominican Republic      56   First Player in 1971, 3 players in 1974, 1975, and 1976; 1990-2004, 41
Taiwan                  37   1936-1950, 21; 1951-1979, 1 (1967); 1980-2004, 14)
Puerto Rico             25   First Player in 1968
Venezuela               14   1936-1996, 2; 1997-2004, 12
Mexico                   9   First Player in 1993
Canada                   8   First Player in 1948, second in 1959, third in 1993
Cuba                     8   First Player in 1965
Panama                   8   First Player in 1967
South Korea              8   First Player in 1967, second in 1997
Manchuria                7   Modern-day northeast China
Korea                    5   Japanese-occupied from 1910-1945
Australia                3
Brazil                   3
China                    3
Italy                    2
West Germany             2   Existed from 1945-1991; part of modern-day Germany
American Samoa           1
Colombia                 1
Curaco                   1
Nicaragua                1
Palau                    1
Paraguay                 1
Philippines              1
Russia                   1
The Bahamas              1

Notes
(1) Regions of the World

Japan: Japan

United States: United States

Asia: China, Korea, Manchuria, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan

Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Venezuela

Other: American Samoa, Australia, Canada, Curacao, Italy, Palau, Russia, The Bahamas, West Germany

(2) From 1995-2004 most players do not have any biographical information, which is the cause of the low percentage for Japan.

(3) "National" Players
For the MLB, I used just the 50 states and federal district of the United States (sorry Toronto and Montreal). For the NPB, I used Japan.

(4) The blank map is from [here> http://aoki2.si.gunma-u.ac.jp/map/map.html], and is in the public domain according to [this> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Japan_aichi_map_small.png]

(5) Regions of the United States

West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

North: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin

East: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

South: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia

Sometime next week I am planning on posting about the "pre-NPB" experience of players.

Michael Eng

[Map added on Aug 25, 2005 9:05 AM]

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Comments

Re: NPB Players "Sociology" - Research

[ Author: mijow | Posted: Aug 24, 2005 8:44 PM | HT Fan ]

- Most players come from the major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, Nagoya, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka.

This is all very interesting, but what struck me was the poor showing of Tokyo compared with Osaka-Hyogo (roughly the same population).

Reply to this post

Re: NPB Players "Sociology" - Research

[ Author: Guest: Michael Eng | Posted: Aug 25, 2005 1:51 AM ]

Player Rates

All Prefectures, Player Rates, All Years (Birth Years)

Prefecture  Player Rate  Total Births Rank
Wakayama        43.90            36
Hiroshima       27.71            12
Kagawa          23.26            37
Tottori         22.87            47
Hyogo           22.48             5
Kumamoto        21.82            17
Ehime           21.55            24
Yamaguchi       21.54            28
Tokushima       21.44            40
Aichi           20.58             4
Kyoto           20.46            18
Kochi           20.24            44
Oita            20.24            32
Osaka           19.87             2
Fukuoka         18.92             6
Saga            16.88            38
Yamanashi       16.75            45
Nara            16.11            46
Okayama         16.07            25
Miyazaki        15.53            34
Gumma           15.10            22
Shimane         14.25            42
Chiba           14.16            11
Shizuoka        14.01             9
Kanagawa        12.58             7
Nagano          11.84            16
Miyagi          11.15            19
Mie             10.81            26
Tochigi         10.64            23
Ibaraki          9.98            14
Saitama          9.82             8
Akita            9.73            31
Nagasaki         9.70            21
Tokyo            9.35             1
Gifu             9.25            20
Kagoshima        8.93            15
Okinawa          7.03            41
Fukui            6.93            43
Ishikawa         6.13            35
Shiga            5.96            39
Fukushima        5.89            13
Iwate            5.56            29
Aomori           4.71            27
Hokkaido         4.36             3
Toyama           3.72            33
Yamagata         2.96            30
Niigata          1.79            10

All Prefectures, Player Rates, 5-Year Sets (Birth Years)

Prefecture  00-04  05-09  10-14  15-19  20-24  25-29  30-34  35-39  40-44  45-49  50-54  55-59  60-64  65-69  70-74  75-79  80-84  85-89
Aichi         0.0    0.0   20.6   78.2   62.0   26.0   53.4   40.9   23.2   28.3   14.1   15.0   17.9   14.7    6.8    3.0    2.5    1.4
Akita         0.0    5.4    4.7    4.2   10.7    7.0    3.1   12.3   21.2   16.0    8.8    4.0   36.5   18.0   19.5    0.0    0.0    8.0
Aomori        0.0    0.0    4.7   12.9    3.8    0.0    7.0    9.3    6.9    0.0    5.5   10.4    4.1    4.2    4.4    4.7    5.1    0.0
Chiba         0.0    3.7    0.0    9.4   12.0   10.7   14.0   25.1   13.2   37.6   27.5   38.5   42.2   23.2    9.2    1.4    5.0    1.8
Ehime         0.0    4.4   14.8   32.3   23.5    6.5   45.5   31.5   46.4   38.4   24.0   27.8   34.0   14.3    5.0    4.8    5.6   12.5
Fukui         0.0    6.9   12.0    0.0    5.8    0.0    6.5   25.2    7.1   12.8    5.9    8.1   27.8    0.0    0.0    0.0   10.2    0.0
Fukuoka       0.0    0.0    2.5   11.5   44.0   12.1   32.8   40.2   29.5   36.2   19.1   32.5   17.0   22.6    8.3    4.7    6.9    1.9
Fukushima     0.0    0.0    0.0    3.0    0.0    4.8   11.6   11.1    8.9    8.0    3.6   10.0   12.5   25.2    3.8    0.0    0.0    0.0
Gifu          0.0    0.0    0.0    6.9   24.9   18.4   21.1   20.9   12.0   12.0    3.0    8.2    4.2   14.3   10.5    0.0    0.0    0.0
Gumma         0.0    4.5    0.0   19.1   26.5   19.0   27.1   38.1   14.3   11.2   11.0    7.6   28.4   24.9   15.3    0.0   17.4    4.7
Hiroshima     3.1    3.2   26.3   60.3   33.3   16.2   63.9   54.5   55.7   39.8   22.7   38.8   35.3   29.8   12.7    2.4    2.9    0.0
Hokkaido      4.0    0.0    0.0    7.1    2.8    2.6    9.5    7.8    5.6    3.8    4.9    4.7    6.6    6.2    7.7    1.3    0.0    0.0
Hyogo         0.0    5.0   18.6   32.6   51.8   13.6   36.1   48.5   34.9   35.0   21.3   41.0   22.3   29.6    5.0    6.4    9.6    5.3
Ibaraki       0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0   11.3    5.5   13.1   31.2    9.5    8.8   18.6   10.8   34.0   19.7    2.9    2.7    0.0    3.3
Ishikawa      0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    5.1   16.2   10.8    0.0    5.3    9.5   13.4   29.9    6.9   12.4    0.0    7.3    8.2
Iwate         0.0    0.0   15.4    9.2    3.7    0.0   13.8    0.0   12.7    5.9    2.8   10.8    4.5    9.7    5.3    0.0    0.0    6.4
Kagawa        0.0   11.8   15.5   20.6   53.0   10.5   78.2   35.1   29.1   16.3   35.6   14.6   35.6   16.9   15.4    0.0   16.8    0.0
Kagoshima     0.0    0.0    5.9    2.7   15.0    4.7   14.4    6.8    9.4   15.9   11.0   13.9   18.4    8.0   28.8    0.0    4.6    0.0
Kanagawa      0.0    0.0   15.8   29.0   18.7    7.7   25.1   37.8   17.2   33.4   14.4   21.0   17.6   14.0    6.2    3.7    3.5    1.3
Kochi         0.0    0.0   14.1    6.6    5.9    0.0   23.7   41.8   60.0   58.9   15.8   22.2   47.8   49.0   19.1    0.0    0.0    0.0
Kumamoto      0.0    0.0    0.0   35.8   29.3    5.5   33.4   51.6   20.3   24.9   24.1   25.7   36.9   65.8   27.6    4.4    4.6    0.0
Kyoto         9.5   14.5   11.3   35.1   24.2   38.2   61.8   47.1   28.5   14.6    6.0    4.4   20.7   12.7   13.7    8.3   13.7    3.9
Mie           0.0    0.0    0.0   18.3   10.5    3.4    6.6   26.3   27.6   10.2   16.6    4.8   20.1   25.6    8.7    4.3    0.0   11.1
Miyagi        0.0    0.0    4.3    3.9    6.6    0.0   11.8   22.3   29.1   23.1   16.1    9.6   27.6   16.3    7.6    6.8    3.6    0.0
Miyazaki      0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    5.1    9.6   29.6   31.7   28.0   17.8    9.4   68.4   32.9   14.0    6.3    6.6    0.0
Nagano        0.0    3.4    9.0   20.1   29.2   16.5   15.7   20.5   20.8   16.8    7.5   10.2    7.7   10.9    0.0    0.0    8.1    0.0
Nagasaki      0.0    0.0    0.0    8.2   24.4    9.5   19.4   11.7   26.0   10.1    4.5   14.0   13.4   15.8    0.0    4.4    0.0    0.0
Nara          0.0    0.0    0.0    7.1    6.8   21.3    7.3   43.3   15.0   35.1   26.4   36.9   39.8   15.7   12.7    6.1   34.4    0.0
Niigata       0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    1.9    1.8    1.8    3.4    1.9    5.4    0.0    4.6   11.6    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0
Oita          0.0    0.0    0.0   36.6    4.1    7.7    8.0   53.3   54.5   52.4   44.0    4.7   25.1   12.9   19.9    0.0    6.9    0.0
Okayama       0.0   13.9    0.0    3.9    6.8   10.3   27.3   52.0   32.0   40.0   21.9   17.4   14.2   18.2    7.9    7.3    8.9    0.0
Okinawa       0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    7.8    0.0    0.0    6.9    n/a    n/a    n/a    n/a    n/a    n/a    0.0    5.3    5.2
Osaka         0.0    0.0   14.7   31.9   47.5   29.0   38.1   36.5   33.1   25.0   33.6   25.8   32.7   24.0   10.1    1.5    2.0    4.4
Saga          0.0    7.2   12.2   17.5   48.1    0.0   28.2   26.7   23.1   14.3   16.3    5.4   27.8   57.1   26.2    0.0    0.0    0.0
Saitama       0.0    0.0    0.0    6.0   11.4    5.2   18.2   25.9    7.6   22.0   13.6   27.7    8.2   17.0   13.4    4.6    1.4    0.0
Shiga         0.0    0.0    0.0    6.0   17.9    0.0   24.0   11.6    0.0    0.0    5.8   24.3    8.8    8.1    0.0    0.0    0.0    7.3
Shimane       7.2    0.0    6.7   12.8    5.7    5.5   17.6   20.8   42.4   37.5   14.4   21.7   17.6   20.4   11.0    0.0    0.0    0.0
Shizuoka      0.0    0.0   11.0   22.7   15.8    8.0   34.7   34.3   18.9   23.5   12.1   26.6   14.4   14.6    9.6    0.0    0.0    2.5
Tochigi       0.0    0.0    0.0    7.8   20.5    6.3   21.8   26.6   28.2    5.6    2.6   10.8   32.1    4.5   20.5    0.0    0.0    0.0
Tokushima     0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0   21.7    5.4   15.6   31.0   81.4   32.0   29.5   20.3   45.8   55.6   58.2    0.0   10.5    0.0
Tokyo         0.0    6.4   13.9   22.3   22.4    9.0    9.8   16.4   14.0   13.8    8.8    7.5   13.8    9.2    5.9    1.2    5.5    0.0
Tottori      12.7    0.0   10.6   50.2   44.5    8.4   35.0   59.5   27.9   26.0   16.3   33.0   40.5   14.1   14.7    0.0    0.0    0.0
Toyama        0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    4.6    0.0    0.0    9.3    0.0    9.3    8.9    0.0    0.0   14.1   25.9    0.0    0.0    0.0
Wakayama      0.0    0.0   39.9   55.2   65.1   77.5   66.3   86.2   40.0   54.2   61.9   14.1  115.2   57.7   25.3    0.0    0.0    9.1
Yamagata      0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    6.8    0.0    0.0   12.4    0.0    0.0    9.2    0.0    5.5   12.4    0.0    0.0    6.6    0.0
Yamaguchi     0.0    0.0    4.3   24.6   15.0    7.1   30.6   60.3   32.3   38.2   54.5   25.7   25.0    9.7   23.6    0.0    5.6    0.0
Yamanashi     0.0    0.0    0.0   13.9    6.1    0.0   35.8   40.1   22.8   40.2   11.6   38.8   28.5   36.6   18.4    0.0    0.0    0.0

Notes: Players Rate = players per 10000 births, 1945-1975 Okinawa data unavailable

I tried to see just how far down Tokyo ranks in terms of producing players; overall its 34th. However, the five-year sets show that in the early years Tokyo was in the upper third of prefectures, but started to slip in the 1930s (1950s debuts) and is now in the bottom third.

This might have a parallel with cities in the northeastern United States, how at the beginning of the MLB they produced the most players, but then as time went by there have been fewer players from these cities.

Reply to this post

Pre-NPB Experience

[ Author: Guest: Michael Eng | Posted: Sep 15, 2005 8:38 AM ]

Pre-NPB Foreign Players' Experience (Since 1980)

Total Number of Foreign Players (not from Japan): 496 (19.8 debuts per year)

Top Level Reached by Players, Pre-NPB, by Country of Birth

Country            Players  MLB  AAA  MILB  Domestic  Amateur  Drafted  Academy  Unknown
American Samoa        1      1    0     0      0         0        0        0        0
Australia             2      2    0     0      0         0        0        0        0
Brazil                1      0    0     0      1         0        0        0        0
Canada                5      4    1     0      0         0        0        0        0
Cuba                  2      1    0     0      0         1        0        0        0
Curacao               1      1    0     0      0         0        0        0        0
Dominican Republic   41     28    2     0      0         0        0       10        1
Italy                 1      0    0     0      1         0        0        0        0
Mexico                8      7    1     0      0         0        0        0        0
Nicaragua             1      1    0     0      0         0        0        0        0
Panama                6      5    0     1      0         0        0        0        0
Paraguay              1      0    0     0      0         0        1        0        0
Puerto Rico          20     18    2     0      0         0        0        0        0
South Korea           7      0    0     0      6         1        0        0        0
Taiwan               14      0    0     0      3        10        1        0        0
United States       373    335   21     7      0         2        1        0        7
Venezuela            10     10    0     0      0         0        0        0        0
West Germany          2      2    0     0      0         0        0        0        0

Table Notes:
MLB = Major League Baseball
AAA = Triple-A baseball (the highest level of Minor League Baseball)
MILB = other levels of Minor League Baseball (AA, A, Rookie, independent leagues, etc.)
Domestic = professional or semi-pro leagues in the country (CPBL, KBO, TML, Cuban League, etc.)
Amateur = amateur competition, including the Olympics, World Cup, college, and high school
Drafted = drafted by an NPB team
Academy = played in the Carp's Dominican Academy

What percentage of foreign players play in the Major Leagues before playing in the NPB? AAA?
MLB Percentage: 85.9%
AAA or Higher Percentage: 91.5%

For MLB draft eligible players (United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada)
MLB Percentage: 92.5%
AAA or Higher Percentage: 98.7%

The average MLB player played in 288 games in 5 seasons prior to playing in the NPB.

This seems to reinforce the notion that most foreign players today are "four-A" players or better.

Draft

Drafted Players by Type, Numerical
Year   H.S.  Univ.  Indl.  Other  Unsigned
1965    84    16     29      3       81
1966.1  77     0     22      0       63
1966.2  17    22      5      0       22
1967    83    17     43      0       67
1968    68    20     46      1       52
1969    59    16     40      1       37
1970    58     6     40      3       35
1971    48    15     50      1       30
1972    40     8     37      1       23
1973    36    11     22      2       32
1974    33    10     26      1       15
1975    34    12     25      0       12
1976    40    10     21      0       20
1977    40    17     15      0       11
1978    24     3     16      1        4
1979    26    10     12      0        4
1980    24    10     14      0        3
1981    34     9     29      0        8
1982    34    16     20      2        5
1983    42     9     19      1        1
1984    35    12     20      1        5
1985    42    11     17      0        4
1986    42    11     13      1        2
1987    47     6     17      0        0
1988    37    10     23      1        1
1989    33    18     21      0        2
1990    31    15     21      3        1
1991    47    19     17      9        1
1992    33    15     29      1        0
1993    31    13     20      0        0
1994    28    13     21      1        0
1995    31    17     20      0        1
1996    23    25     23      1        1
1997    34    19     24      2        0
1998    30    21     20      4        1
1999    32    19     21      4        0
2000    35    23     24      4        1
2001    35    24     25      3        0
2002    36    33     18      3        0
2003    28    25     13      5        0
2004    24    30     27      1        0

Drafted Players by Type, Percentage
Year    H.S.   Univ.  Indl.  Other  Unsigned
1965    63.6%  12.1%  22.0%  2.3%    61.4%
1966.1  77.0%   0.0%  22.0%  0.0%    63.0%
1966.2  37.8%  48.9%  11.1%  0.0%    48.9%
1967    58.0%  11.9%  30.1%  0.0%    46.9%
1968    50.4%  14.8%  34.1%  0.7%    38.5%
1969    50.9%  13.8%  34.5%  0.9%    31.9%
1970    54.2%   5.6%  37.4%  2.8%    32.7%
1971    42.1%  13.2%  43.9%  0.9%    26.3%
1972    46.5%   9.3%  43.0%  1.2%    26.7%
1973    50.7%  15.5%  31.0%  2.8%    45.1%
1974    47.1%  14.3%  37.1%  1.4%    21.4%
1975    47.9%  16.9%  35.2%  0.0%    16.9%
1976    56.3%  14.1%  29.6%  0.0%    28.2%
1977    55.6%  23.6%  20.8%  0.0%    15.3%
1978    53.3%   6.7%  35.6%  2.2%     8.9%
1979    54.2%  20.8%  25.0%  0.0%     8.3%
1980    50.0%  20.8%  29.2%  0.0%     6.3%
1981    47.2%  12.5%  40.3%  0.0%    11.1%
1982    47.2%  22.2%  27.8%  2.8%     6.9%
1983    59.2%  12.7%  26.8%  1.4%     1.4%
1984    51.5%  17.6%  29.4%  1.5%     7.4%
1985    60.0%  15.7%  24.3%  0.0%     5.7%
1986    62.7%  16.4%  19.4%  1.5%     3.0%
1987    67.1%   8.6%  24.3%  0.0%     0.0%
1988    52.1%  14.1%  32.4%  1.4%     1.4%
1989    45.8%  25.0%  29.2%  0.0%     2.8%
1990    44.3%  21.4%  30.0%  4.3%     1.4%
1991    51.1%  20.7%  18.5%  9.8%     1.1%
1992    42.3%  19.2%  37.2%  1.3%     0.0%
1993    48.4%  20.3%  31.3%  0.0%     0.0%
1994    44.4%  20.6%  33.3%  1.6%     0.0%
1995    45.6%  25.0%  29.4%  0.0%     1.5%
1996    31.9%  34.7%  31.9%  1.4%     1.4%
1997    43.0%  24.1%  30.4%  2.5%     0.0%
1998    40.0%  28.0%  26.7%  5.3%     1.3%
1999    42.1%  25.0%  27.6%  5.3%     0.0%
2000    41.2%  27.1%  28.2%  4.7%     1.2%
2001    40.2%  27.6%  28.7%  3.4%     0.0%
2002    40.0%  36.7%  20.0%  3.3%     0.0%
2003    39.4%  35.2%  18.3%  7.0%     0.0%
2004    29.3%  36.6%  32.9%  1.2%     0.0%

The percentage of draftees out of high school have been steadily dropping, as have players from the industrial leagues, although not as rapidly. University players have closed the gap that has been created.

The number of unsigned players has drastically dropped since the early years of the draft. These drops coincide with changes in the draft system. After the "Lottery System" was introduced in 1978 unsigned players dropped 6.4%. Following the institution of the "Reverse Draft" in 1993 only 4 players have gone unsigned, and 3 were later re-drafted and signed.

Multiple Drafts
139 players have been drafted two times.
9 players have been drafted three times.
2 players have been drafted four times.
1 player (Kimiya Fujisawa) was drafted five times.

Koshien and the Draft

29% of all draftees played in a Koshien tournament. (791 out of 2,724)
34% of high school draftees played in a Koshien tournament. (448 out of 1,304)

Amateur Teams

Top High Schools (over 15 players)
Chukyo Shogyo H.S.       51
Kumamoto Kogyo H.S.      46
PL Gakuen H.S.           43
Matsuyama Shogyo H.S.    37
Waseda Jitsugyo H.S.     37
Naniwa Shogyo H.S.       33
Kakuei Shogyo H.S.       32
Hiroshima Shogyo H.S.    29
Heian H.S.               26
Kochi Shogyo H.S.        24
Tohoku H.S.              24
Shizuoka Shogyo H.S.     22
Gifu Shogyo H.S.         20
Takamatsu Shogyo H.S.    20
Choshi Shogyo H.S.       19
Koryo H.S.               19
Tokushima Shogyo H.S.    19
Yokohama H.S.            19
Naruto H.S.              18
Kurashiki Kogyo H.S.     17
Heian Chugakkou          16
Tsukumi H.S.             16
Higashikuni Shogyo H.S.  15
Shimonoseki Shogyo H.S.  15

Top Universities with League (over 10 players)
Meiji (Tokyo Big6)        136
Hosei (Tokyo Big6)        112
Waseda (Tokyo Big6)        91
Rikkyo (Tokyo Big6)        72
Keio (Tokyo Big6)          61
Chuo (Tohto)               54
Nihon (Tohto)              52
Senshu (Tohto)             51
Kansai (Kansai)            46
Komazawa (Tohto)           40
Kinki (Kansai)             38
Ritsumeikan (Kansai)       32
Doshisha (Kansai)          28
Tokai (Shiyuto)            23
Kanagawa (Kanagawa)        22
Toyo (Tohto)               19
Asia (Tohto)               17
Aoyama Gakuin (Tohto)      13
Arizona State (USA-Pac10)  13
Chukyo (Aichi)             11
Kokushikan (Tohto)         11
Tohoku Fukushi (Sendai)    11

Top Industrial League Teams (over 10 players)
Moji Tetsudo Kanrikyoku     29
Kawai Musical Instruments   24
Nihon Sekiyu                24
Toshiba                     23
Kumagai-gumi                20
Prince Hotels               19
Yawata Seitetsu             19
Tokyo Tetsudo Kanrikyoku    18
Dai Showa Seishi            15
Sumitomo Kinzoku            15
Nissan Motors               14
Nittetsu Futase             14
Columbia                    13
Toyo Koatsu Omuta           13
Hitachi Seisakusho          12
Isuzu Motors                12
Nikko Hitachi               12
Mitsubishi Motors Kawasaki  11
Nihon Seimei                11
Nihon Tsuun                 10
Rikka                       10
Sankyo Seiki                10
Seino Unyu                  10

Other
Carp Academy       10
Hawaii Asahi Club   8
Hawaii Red Sox      8
Fresno Asahi Club   1
Honolulu Asahi      1
LA Nippons          1

Note: Multiple team players were not counted.

Debut Age

Average Debut Age by Birthplace, 5-Year Sets

Debut Year  All  Japan  Foreign
1936-1939  21.98  21.63  25.96
1940-1944  20.45  20.41  24.00
1946-1949  24.85  24.84  25.00
1950-1954  22.73  22.54  25.84
1955-1959  20.86  20.73  26.55
1960-1964  22.10  21.30  30.03
1965-1969  22.08  21.28  31.81
1970-1974  23.34  22.24  30.60
1975-1979  24.39  22.82  30.48
1980-1985  23.93  22.83  29.31
1985-1989  23.77  22.47  30.13
1990-1994  25.08  23.08  30.21
1995-1999  27.07  23.84  29.60
2000-2004  29.26  24.28  29.83
All Years  23.31  22.09  29.56

The lowest average debut age was 19.0 in 1944 followed by 19.6 in 1943, due to the war. The highest average debut age was 25.7 in 1950, likely due to expansion.

It is not a surprise that foreign players debut around 5 years later than Japanese players.

While the average debut age for Japanese players has been rising since the 1950s, the average debut age of foreign players has stayed constant for the past 45 years.

Youngest Rookie
Player              Age  Year  
Michio Nishizawa     16  1937
Masakatsu Takahashi  16  1954
17 Players           17   n/a
167 Players          18   n/a
680 Players          19   n/a

Oldest Rookie
Player          Age  Year  Notes
Yoshio Yuasa     48  1950  Manager
Shinji Hamasaki  46  1947  Manager
Fumio Ono        44  1949
Haruyoshi Mano   41  1948  Assistant Manager
Genzaburo Okada  41  1937  Manager
Larry Doby       39  1962
Goose Gossage    39  1990
Bubba Morton     39  1970
Makoto Yamamoto  39  1986

Reply to this post

Re: Pre-NPB Experience

[ Author: Guest: John Brooks | Posted: Sep 15, 2005 3:29 PM ]

I went through all of the 2005 NPB players who had either MLB or AAA experience and found:

                    MLB   AAA
Player             Games Games  Notes
Domingo Martinez       8     0  
Luis Martinez          4    19  
Tryone Woods           0   N/A  1,2
Alex Ochoa           807   192  
Dicky Gonzalez        20    74  
Adam Riggs            61   726  
Alex Ramirez         135   446  
Dan Miceli           579    28  
Brian Sikorski        10    58  
Tuffy Rhodes         225   477  
Gabe Kapler          742    35  
Jaime Brown            4    55  
Jeff Williams         37   147  
Darwin Cubillan       56   203  
Andy Sheets          356   566  
Shane Spencer        538   416  
Mike Romano            3   144  
John Bale             27    82  
Greg LaRocca          39   546  
Marc Kroon            26    68  
Mike Holtz           350   105  
Cedrick Bowers         0   121  
Kevin Witt           127   541  
Christopher Wright     0     9  
Jose Fernandez        21   483  3
Alex Cabrera          31    21  4,5
Pedro Feliciano       51    79  
Lindsay Gulin          0    42  
Jolbert Cabrera      561   338  
Julio Zuleta          79   175  
Tony Batista       1,179    90  
Brandon Knight        11   132  
Fernando Sequignol   178   326  
Erick Almonte         39   334  
Sherman Obando       177   201  
Dan Serafini         101    68  
Matt Franco          661   641  
Seung-Yeop Lee         0     0  6
Val Pascucci          32   247  
Benny Agbayani       383   484  
Gary Rath              8   110  7
Aaron Myette          47   122  
Kevin Hodges          13    19  8
Luis Lopez            52   630  
Kevin Beirne          46    69  
Jeremy Powell         35    16  
Jose Parra            82   166  9,10,11
Randall Simon        514   468  
Cliff Brumbaugh      488   507  12
Karim Garcia         488   507  


Michael Nakamura      31    77  
Takashi Kashiwada     35    14  
Kaz Sasaki           228     3  13
Tsuyoshi Shinjo      303    36  
Satoru Komiyama       25    17  
Mac Suzuki           117   102  
Masato Yoshii        162     0  

Bobby Valentine    2,189   N/A  14
Bobby Valentine      639   486  15
Trey Hillman         N/A   N/A

Notes

1-AAA games not known
2-Played in the KBO(1998-2002)
3-Played in the KBO(2002)
4-Played 220 games in Mexico(1997-98)
5-Played in the CPBL(1999)
6-Played in 1,143 games in the KBO(1995-2003)
7-Played in 29 games in the KBO(2004)
8-Played in 30 games in the KBO(2004)
9-Played in 60 games in the KBO(1998)
10-Played in 57 games in Mexico(2001)
11-Played in 10 games in the CPBL(2001)
12-Played in 132 games in the KBO(2004)
13-Rehab assignment
14-As a manager
15-As a player

http://kbo.hyperboards2.com/index.cgi?action=display&cat=Baseball&board=archive&thread=1114107683
http://www.japanesebaseball.com/forum/thread.jsp?forum=76&thread=5724
http://kbo.hyperboards2.com/index.cgi?action=display&cat=Baseball&board=archive&thread=1114107482
http://kbo.hyperboards2.com/index.cgi?action=display&cat=Baseball&board=archive&thread=1114108675
http://kbo.hyperboards2.com/index.cgi?action=display&cat=Baseball&board=archive&thread=1048518876
http://www.baseball-reference.com/
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/index.jsp?cid=milb
http://www.geocities.com/s_borisov/jb2005/index.html
http://baseballguru.com/andrewwong/koreanbaseballprimer.html

Reply to this post

Vitals

[ Author: Guest: Michael Eng | Posted: Sep 26, 2005 12:14 AM ]

Vitals

Handedness
Hand       Bats          Throws   
Right  72.73%  2926   82.37%  3687      
Left   24.46%   984   17.58%   787
Both    2.81%   113    0.04%     2

MLB Comparison
Hand       Bats          Throws   
Right  66.06%  9893   80.08%, 12195   
Left   27.40%  4103   19.92%,  3034   
Both    6.54%  980     0.00%,     0

NPB players are more likely to be right-handed than their MLB counterparts. This could indicate a bias toward right-handedness; however more study and data (especially national data) would be need before a conclusion could be made.

Height/Weight

Note: All heights are in inches and weights are in pounds.

All Players, Average Height/Weight

Debut Year  Height  Weight
1936-1939    67.6   143.3
1940-1944    67.6   145.1
1946-1949    67.7   143.0
1950-1954    67.8   148.1
1955-1959    69.1   157.2
1960-1964    69.9   164.4
1965-1969    69.7   167.8
1970-1974    70.4   170.5
1975-1979    70.8   173.8
1980-1985    71.2   175.9
1985-1989    71.1   178.2
1990-1994    71.5   180.9
1995-1999    72.5   186.6
2000-2004    73.3   197.2
Unknown      71.0   180.4

In the past 70 years, the average NPB player has grown over five inches and gained 40 pounds.

All Players, Average Height/Weight, By Birthplace

                Japan          Foreign
Debut Year  Height  Weight  Height  Weight
1936-1939    67.4   143.8    68.4   139.9
1940-1944    67.6   145.1     -       -
1946-1949    67.7   142.9    67.7   144.0
1950-1954    67.7   147.2    68.8   158.4
1955-1959    69.0   156.6    71.1   172.4
1960-1964    69.4   160.8    72.8   186.2
1965-1969    69.8   165.4    69.4   186.2
1970-1974    70.0   167.5    72.0   183.4
1975-1979    70.3   169.1    72.5   187.8
1980-1985    70.8   173.2    72.6   186.3
1985-1989    70.7   174.9    73.0   192.5
1990-1994    70.8   174.6    73.5   196.8
1995-1999    71.1   171.9    73.6   198.1
2000-2004    71.5   183.2    73.5   198.8
Unknown      70.8   175.2    73.4   193.3

NPB players have always been, on average, taller than the average male. The upward trend in this table matches the trends seen across post-war Japan and the United States. Americans have gained about an inch since 1950. The average Japanese 17 year old has gained about 3.5 inches and 24 pounds since 1950. (1)

Outliers

Switch Pitcher
Toyotoshi Chikada played for the 1988 Nankai Hawks, and pitched one inning.

Shortest Players

Height  Player             Debut
 5'1"   Shinji Hamasaki    1947
 5'1"   Tadaharu Hamasaki  1947
 5'1"   Kazutomo Ueki      1969
 5'2"   Kenichi Isoda      1950
 5'3"   Sadayuki Minagawa  1937
 5'3"   Kiyoharu Sakata    1944
 5'3"   Kikuichi Minami    1952
 5'4"   19 Players         n/a
 5'5"   22 Players         n/a

Shinji Hamasaki and Tadaharu Hamasaki are brothers.

Tallest Players
Height  Player          Debut
 6'10"  Eric Hillman    1995
 6' 9"  Terry Bross     1995
 6' 9"  Jason Turman    2002
 6' 8"  Takeshi Yasuda  1972
 6' 8"  Nate Minchey    1998
 6' 7"  10 Players      n/a
 6' 6"  13 Players      n/a

Tallest Japanese Players
Height  Player         Debut
 6'8"   Takeshi Yasuda       1972
 6'7"   Yutaka Tagawa        1946
 6'6"   Tadashige Matsumoto  1948
 6'6"   Fumio Ozawa          1955
 6'6"   Shohei Baba          1957

Lightest Players
Weight     Player             Debut  Height
110 lbs.   Shinji Hamasaki    1947    5'1"
116 lbs.   Tadaharu Hamasaki  1947    5'1"
116 lbs.   Tokinobu Watanabe  1942    5'4"
116 lbs.   Mitsuo Murokawa    1950    5'6"
118 lbs.   Jiro Miyazaki      1946    5'6"
123 lbs.   14 Players         n/a     n/a
127 lbs.   7 Players          n/a     n/a

Heaviest Players
Weight     Player           Debut  Height
260 lbs.   Joey Meyer        1990   6'3"
260 lbs.   Nate Minchey      1998   6'8"
255 lbs.   Frank Howard      1974   6'7"
250 lbs.   Carlos Castillo   n/a    6'2"
245 lbs.   David West        1997   6'5"
242 lbs.   Erik Schullstrom  1998   6'5"

Heaviest Japanese Players
Weight     Player            Debut  Height
240 lbs.   Hideki Irabu       1988   6' 4"
230 lbs.   Koichi Yahagi      1989   5'10"
220 lbs.   Satoshi Takahashi  1987   6' 4"
218 lbs.   Shin Nakagomi      1990   6' 0"
217 lbs.   Tomoshi Aoki       n/a    6' 1"
217 lbs.   Tsutomu Yamada     1987   6' 2"

Notes
(1) MEXT Report - Japan's Education at a Glance 2004; Social Education, Sports, Culture [Link (PDF)]

That is about all the information that I have on NPB Players. I will probably repost this thread in the Research section of the Pro Yakyu Wiki within the next few weeks after I clean up the thread and information, add charts, make it less table-heavy, etc.

Michael Eng

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