Power Suketto

                      MLB      Japan
Player           Age   HR    G  HR  Avg  Year(s) Team
Frank Howard      38  382    1   0 .000  1974 TCL
Reggie Smith      38  314  186  45 .271  1983-4 YG
Larry Parrish     36  256  235  70 .260  1989 YS, 1990 HT
Lawrence Doby     38  253   72  10 .255  1962 CD
Jesse Barfield    34  241  104  26 .215  1993 YG
Douglas DeCinces  38  237   84  19 .244  1988 YS
Benjamin Oglivie  38  235  224  46 .306  1987-8 KB
Richard Stewart   35  227  208  49 .257  1967-8 TW
Robert Deer       34  226   70   8 .151  1994 HT
Kevin Mitchell    33  220   37   8 .300  1995 FDH
Joseph Pepitone   33  219   14   1 .163  1973 YS
Bob Horner        30  215   93  31 .327  1987 YS

CD:  Chunichi Dragons
CLM: Chiba Lotte Marines
FDH: Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
HT:  Hanshin Tigers
KB:  Kintetsu Buffaloes
TCL: Taiheiyo Crown Lighters
TW:  Taiyo Whales
YG:  Yomiuri Giants
YS:  Yakult Swallows

Players who hit 20 or more home runs the year before coming to Japan:

                     Previous Year in ML       First Year in Japan
Player (Team)       Year   G  HR RBI  Avg   Year Team  G  HR RBI  Avg
Horner (Braves)     1986 141  27  87 .273   1987 YS   93  31  73 .327
Deer (Tigers, RSox) 1993 128  21  55 .210   1994 HT   70   8  21 .151
J.Franco (WSox)     1994 112  20  98 .319   1995 CLM 127  10  58 .306
Mitchell (Reds)     1994  95  30  77 .326   1995 FDH  37   8  28 .300
Dingo (Brewers)     1999 115  21  62 .309   2000 CD   18   1  8  .180

Horner, the youngest of the big sluggers to have come over, did very well despite hating it here. Parrish did his job of hitting home runs, and Oglivie played full time for Kintetsu hitting for both power and average.

When the 33 year old Kevin Mitchell was signed by Daiei in 1995, there was a great deal of fanfare about how he was going to challenge his manager's (Oh) home run record. And when he hit a grand slam his first at bat on opening day at Fukuoka Dome, Hawk fans felt that they had a "real Major Leaguer." Unfortinately, Mitchell hurt his leg and claimed that it hurt too much to even show his face at the ball park in support of his team. But it wasn't hurt enough to not be seen drinking at local Fukuoka bars with some sailor friends while his team was across town at Fukuoka Dome. After 37 games and a lot of heat in the press, he packed up without telling anyone, left the windows open and front door to his house unlocked, grabbed a cab, and flew back to the States. (A typhoon came through two days later, but his interpreter took care of closing up after discovering Mitchell missing.) What I read on ESPNet (the predicessor of the current ESPN site) was that the Daiei staff abused Mitchell and wouldn't take his injury seriously. The huge gap between the ESPNet story and thet Japanese press is what drove me to start writing about Japanese baseball on the Internet back in 1995. Needless to say, Keven had all the potential, but not the back bone to make it in Japan.

The year before Mitchell, Rob Deer got a lot of hype as a "real Major Leaguer" from the Hanshin crowd. Unfortunately for him, it didn't take long for Japanese pitchers to find his weak spot. Teams would walk the bases loaded to face Deer. The only Tiger suketto to surpass Deer in disappointment value would probably be Mike Greenwell in 1997.

So, some former big name Major Leaguers have done fairly well in Japan, but about half don't even make it half a season. It's career minor leaguers like Tuffy Rhodes or Alex Cabrera who do well.

Batista is young, and I haven't heard of attitude problems like Mitchell. It would be interesting to see if this marks the start of quality MLB players moving to Japan.