Quote:
Originally Posted by jd1020
Like Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kei Igawa, Hideki Irabu, and countless others that have tried. If you want to make believe that a pitcher in a AAA league doesnt have any major effect on his first MLB contract, then you do you.
Gerrit Cole signed his contract at 4 years older and it still has a decent chance (practically a slam dunk to happen) of seeing another full years salary tacked on to the deal, now add another 4.
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Daisuke, Igawa and Irabu is the list. They're aren't countless others. The track record has been impressive since Hideo Nomo's debut in 1995.
Daisuke proved he could pitch in the majors. He had a 160 ERA+ and was fourth in the AL Cy Young race in 2008. Pitchers wear and tear so he's considered a bust, but it had nothing to do with coming over from Japan. Pitchers in general carry a higher risk of decline than position players, but I don't have to tell you that.
Igawa was the only total bust. Even Irabu was league average for two years as a starter and that was 25 years ago.
I think the jump of coming over from Japan has a slight impact on salaries, but the shrewd front offices know that investing in Japanese pitchers is a sound expenditure generally and the track record proves that. Stuff and command plays, and Japanese pitchers generally have it.