Alfonso Soriano
I don't have any of my data books on me right now, so I'll rattle off what I remember of him.
Soriano came up through the Carp Acadamy in the Dominican Republic. It seems to me that Japanese language is one of the courses they learn there before coming to Japan. With Leo Gomez as the Carp's main power import, Soriano and a couple others were shuffled between 1 and 2-gun quite a bit between 1996 and 1998.
If I remember right, he was also a big jokester. I think that a playful attitude helps in breaking down the language barrier, which could be why he picked up Japanese so well. Whereas a lot of the foreign players come over just to do a job, he actually enjoyed mingling with his team mates.
I'm sure that somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but I also believe that Soliano was the first player to go to the Majors via the bidding system. Ichiro was the first "Japanese player" to go that route.
Well, Hosono-san. Don't be a stranger. It's always good to hear your tales of the glory days of Pro Yakyu. Take care.
OK, then, who was the first player posted? I was pretty sure it was a Carp, who came up through the Carp Acadamy, and signed on with Boston.
This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
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(aka westbaystars)
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"Hi, Michael. I'm back!!!
Seiyu Hosono from New York here.
I have a question about Alfonso Soriano.
Several days ago, I saw him on ESPN talking to Tomokazu Ohka in fluent Japanese. I also heard that he used to play in Japan. Could you please tell me more about his playing days in Japan? What kind of player was he?"