Sunday Notes: Yusei Kikuchi Feels Takeya Nakamura Deserves More Respect

Takeya Nakamura is atypical among NPB hitters. The 40-year-old Seibu Lions infielder not only has 478 career home runs — ninth-most in Japan’s top league — he has fanned 2,118 times. Ingloriously, that is the highest strikeout total in Japanese baseball history.

How is the Adam Dunn-like slugger looked upon in a baseball culture that favors contact over power? I asked that question to Toronto Blue Jays southpaw Yusei Kikuchi, who played alongside Nakamura with the Seibu Lions for eight seasons.

“He’s a former teammate of mine and I really respect him as a player and a human being,” said Kikuchi through translator Yusuke Oshima. “There aren’t a lot of hitters with pop over there. I think those kind of players should be more respected in Japan, because it’s natural for home run hitters to strike out a lot. It’s a tradeoff. He’s said that he’s not worried about it. People should be more open-minded when it comes to those things.”

Kikuchi added that there aren’t a lot of hitters like Nakamura in Japan because “coaches over there tend to frown upon striking out a lot.” Moreover, the statistical categories that are valued most are hits, batting average, runs scored, and RBIs. Pitchers are viewed in a traditionally-similar manner. Much as it once was stateside, wins are what matter most.

“I feel like Japan is a little bit behind in understanding which stats are really important,” Kikuchi told me. “If OPS was valued more, players like [Nakamura] would be valued more. But most players have idolized and looked up to the way Ichiro played. His style was obviously to put the bat on the ball, run the bases, and play solid defense. I think everyone has kind of tried to model their game after him. That’s what the style is like over there in Japan.”

Might that begin to change? Shohei Ohtani is an international sensation, and two years ago Munetaka Murakami slugged 56 home runs for the Yakult Swallows, putting him on the radar of MLB scouts while he was wowing fans in his homeland. In Kikuchi’s opinion, there are people taking notice.

“Some guys there who are envisioning themselves playing overseas, so they’re trying to gain some more power and hit more home runs,” said Kikuchi. “So maybe the game is changing a little bit. They are starting to use some more data over there, compared to before when they were just going old-school Japanese style. Hopefully there will be some change going forward in NPB.”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Whit Merrifield is 10 for 25 against Carlos Rodón.

Alan Trammell went 9 for 13 against Jerry Reuss.

Bubba Trammell went 8 for 12 against Kelvim Escobar.

Steve Whitaker went 7 for 18 against Dave Boswell.

Lou Whitaker went 6 for 10 against Juan Berenguer.

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If you read the excellent piece Ben Clemens penned this past Thursday — and perhaps even if you didn’t — you know that Cade Smith has a highly-effective fastball. Thanks in large part to the unique qualities of the offering, the Cleveland Guardians rookie right-hander has been one of the top relievers in MLB.

My colleague cited Smith’s low arm slot and elite extension — the latter ranks in the 99th percentile — as contributory reasons behind his heater’s potency. As
chance would have it, I talked to the 25-year-old Abbotsford, British Columbia native about his delivery earlier this season. What I learned is that he’s made an especially-impactful adjustment since the Guardians signed him as an amateur free agent following the truncated 2020 draft.

“My mechanics have completely shifted,” said Smith, who played his college ball at the University of Hawaii. “I stripped them down to the basics, minimizing the moving parts. I needed to understand how I’m going to best create force and velocity, because I’m not a hyper-flexible guy. I also have super long arms and legs, and had to figure out how to control them, how to function properly in the timing and sequencing in order to be efficient down the mound. I started building that foundation in 2021, and I’ve build more things on top of it in the years since.”

Another notable adjustment the 6-foot-5 righty has made is pitch-specific. Prior to last season, Smith modified his splitter grip.

“I moved the fingers closer together,” he explained. “Because my hands are so big I was able to go super wide, but that made it very slow. It was also popping out of my hand and kind of floating. It didn’t look like a fastball, so nobody was fooled by it. Now it looks like a fastball, but then ends up 10 to 15 inches underneath where my fastball would be, with a little tumble. I’d say it’s my best [secondary pitch].”

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A quiz:

Tony Gwynn is the San Diego Padres all-time leader in numerous categories, including plate appearances, hits, singles, and doubles. Which former Padre ranks second to Gwynn in those four categories? (A hint: he led the National League in triples three times while playing for another team.)

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

The full schedule for this year’s national SABR convention, which will be held in Minneapolis from August 7-11, has been released. It can be found here.

John Schuerholz and the late Cedric Tallis were formally inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame on Friday. Schuerholz was the team’s general manager from 1981-1990. Tallis served in that role from 1968-1974.

Orlando Cepeda, a Hall of Fame first baseman who logged a 131 wRC+ and 50.3 WAR in a big-league career that spanned the 1958-1974 seasons, died on Friday at age 86. A seven-time All-Star known as The Baby Bull, Cepeda won NL Rookie of the Year honors with the San Francisco Giants in 1958 and was voted NL MVP with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1967. He led the senior circuit in home runs (46) and RBIs (142) with the Giants in 1961.

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The answer to the quiz is Garry Templeton, who played for the Padres from 1982-1991. He led the senior circuit in triples each year from 1977-1979 while with the St. Louis Cardinals.

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David Hamilton was playing in the Milwaukee Brewers system when he was first featured here at FanGraphs in May 2021. Then with the Midwest League’s Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the 2019 eighth-round pick out of the University of Texas was a low-profile middle infield prospect whose wheels were his carrying tool. By season’s end, he had 52 stolen bases to go with a credible, yet nothing special, .761 OPS.

Three years later, Hamilton is doing more than just playing the role of a jackrabbit. A pleasant surprise on a Red Sox team that is itself exceeding most expectations, Hamilton is slashing .272/.322/.432 with five home runs and a 108 wRC+ on the year, and since the beginning of May those numbers are .290/.333/.468 with four home runs and a 120 wRC+. Boston acquired Hamilton from the Brewers in December 2021 as part of the trade that sent Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee.

Prior to his May-onward surge, Hamilton was just 12-for-71 (.169) since debuting with the Red Sox last summer, and at age 26 with seemingly limited power he was looking like anything but a productive member of a big-league batting order.

To what does the speedy infielder attribute his newfound success?

“I think it starts with the prep work,” Hamilton told me recently. “I’m going into that with a little more focus. I don’t really know the right word for it. Maybe concentration when I’m doing my work? It’s not that I didn’t do that before, but maybe I kind of flip-flopped things around instead of sticking with the same routine every day. I think that probably plays into it.”

Asked if a light bulb went off, alerting him to the idea that he needed to start producing or else, he admitted there was maybe a grain of truth to that. He hadn’t been playing regularly, nor particularly well, so adding conviction to his efforts could only help. Queried about any mechanical adjustments he might have made, Hamilton said that while he’s been trying to be more direct to the ball, there has been “nothing major.”

As for whether he’s at all surprised to be playing so well at baseball’s highest level, that question prompted an answer preceded by a pregnant pause.

“It just kind of feels like normal,” shrugged Hamilton, whose offensive contributions include 21 steals in 22 attempts.” “I don’t know. It’s weird. I just feel like I’m playing and doing my thing.”

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Robinson Canó is slashing .456/.506/.686 with 11 home runs in 251 plate appearances for the Mexican League’s Diablos Rojos del Mexico. The 41-year-old infielder has 3,429 professional hits, including 2,639 in MLB.

Nomar Mazara is slashing .291/.348/.497 with seven home runs in 210 plate appearances for the Mexican League’s Sultanes de Monterrey, The 29-year-old outfielder’s last MLB action came with the San Diego Padres in 2022.

Hiroshima Carp right-hander Daichi Ohsera hasn’t allowed a run in his last 35-and-a-third innings. The 33-year-old veteran of 11 NPB seasons is 4-0 with an 0.80 ERA over 79 innings in the current campaign.

Iori Yamasaki is 6-1 with a 1.53 ERA in 82-and-a-third innings for the Yomiuri Giants. The 25-year-old right-hander is 21-11 with a 2.55 ERA since making his NPB debut in 2022.

De Jesus Enmanuel is 9-4 with a 3.35 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 91-and-a-third innings for the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. The 27-year-old southpaw appeared in two games for the Miami Marlins last year.

Yeong Hyun Park is 5-2 with a 5.50 ERA in 36 innings with the KT Wiz. The 20-year-old right-hander’s 28.8% strikeout rate is third-highest in the KBO behind erstwhile big-leaguers Drew Anderson (32.9%) and Charlie Barnes (29.9%).

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Dave Machemer homered in his first big-league plate appearance, taking Minnesota’s Geoff Zahn deep to lead off the game on June 21, 1978. It was the only home run of his MLB career. Twenty-seven years old when he debuted with the California Angels, Machemer appeared in 10 games that season, then was taken by the Detroit Tigers in that winter’s Rule-5 draft. The Central Michigan University product proceeded to play in 19 games with the Tigers in 1979, primarily as a second-string second baseman behind Lou Whitaker. All told, Machemer recorded 11 hits in 48 career at-bats, after which managed in the minors for two dozen seasons.

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It is often said that you never know what you might see when you watch a baseball game, and a rare play took place a week ago today when the Guardians hosted the Blue Jays. In the first inning, Toronto’s Justin Turner took off for second base on a pitch in the dirt, only to be tagged out by Cleveland’s Daniel Schneemann before he reached the bag… or so it appeared. Turner’s helmet had come off — he was sliding headfirst — and it was the disengaged helmet that was contacted by Schneemann’s glove, not Turner himself. After a review, the out call was reversed. If you missed the oddball occurrence, or would like to see it again, the video is here.

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On a related note — this is an official-scoring dictum as opposed to an umpire’s rulebook call — any time a runner over-slides a base and is put out before returning to the base or reaching the next base safely, the runner is not considered to have secured the base. Therefore, he is not credited with a stolen base even if he has contacted the bag (typically the second base bag) and continued on to third where he is tagged out. Moreover, he is charged with a caught stealing, even though the out was recorded one base beyond the bag he was attempting to pilfer.

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FARM NOTES

Hogan Windish went 4-for-4 with four home runs — including a grand slam — and a walk for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers on Tuesday. The 25-year-old infielder in the Seattle Mariners system has seven home runs and a .724 OPS on the season.

Kleimer Lemos slashed .484/.535/.855 with four home runs and a 241 wRC+ in 71 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League before being promoted to the Arizona Complex League earlier this week. The 19-year-old, switch-hitting infielder was signed by the Texas Rangers out of the Dominican Republic in January 2022.

Aron Estrada is slashing .283/.346/.430 with seven home runs and a 128 wRC+ in 269 plate appearances for the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds. The 19-year-old, switch-hitting infielder/outfielder was signed out of Venezuela by the Baltimore Orioles in January 2022.

Jesus Made is slashing .323/.432/.581 with three home runs and a 157 wRC+ in 74 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League. The 17-year-old, switch-hitting infielder was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers out of the Dominican Republic this past January.

Zac Lowther is 4-0 with a 2.82 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 54-and-a-third innings for the independent Atlantic League’s Gastonia Baseball Club. The 28-year-old former Baltimore Orioles southpaw threw six hitless and scoreless innings on June 22 against a Charleston team whose lineup included erstwhile big-leaguers Phil Ervin and Clint Frazier.

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Which pitcher should start for the American League in next month’s All-Star Game? I asked that question in a Twitter poll this week, with the four options being Tanner Houck, Seth Lugo, Tarik Skubal, and “other.” The results, which I’ll get to a moment, weren’t particularly close. Here is a snapshot of the pitchers’ respective numbers at the time the poll ran:

Houck: 103.1 innings, 7-5 record, 2.18 ERA, 2.20 FIP, 3.6 WAR.
Lugo: 110 innings, 10-2 record, 2.29 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 2.4 WAR.
Skubal: 97 innings, 9-3 record, 2.32 ERA, 2.69 FIP, 2.8 WAR.

The lowest percentage of votes went to “other,” with Ronel Blanco, Corbin Burnes, Garrett Crochet, and Logan Gilbert among the high-performers who were listed as options. As for those who were, Lugo garnered just 7.9%, while Houck got 17.3% Skubal won going away with a hefty 67.6%,.

My inclination would have been to go with Houck in a close call over Skubal. That said, The Red Sox right-hander had his worst outing of the year yesterday, surrendering eight runs in just four-and-a-third innings, lifting his ERA and FIP to 2.68 and 2.56 respectively. As of the moment, the Tigers southpaw may well be most deserving of the honor.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

The Athletic’s Sam Blum went to federal prison to talk to former Los Angeles Angels communications director Eric Kay, who was convicted for his role in the drug overdose death of Tyler Skaggs (subscription required).

The New York Post’s Steve Serby talked to Jose Iglesias about the veteran infielder’s hit song and the winding journey that brought him to the Mets.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins addressed members of the Toronto media on Thursday. Keegan Matheson has the story at MLB.com.

Royals Review’s Matthew LaMar feels the fanbase needs to recalibrate its standards for what they want the Royals to be.

Do the Colorado Rockies have the most reliable starter on the trade market? Patrick Lyons looked into the question at Just Baseball.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

The 1-3-5 triple play that the Philadelphia Phillies recorded against the Detroit Tigers this past Monday was the first of that ilk since the Tigers turned the trick against the Boston Red Sox on July 11, 1929.

Jurickson Profar is 5-for-5 with two doubles, a pair of grand slams, and 17 RBIs with the bases loaded this season.

Martín Maldonado has 10 hits in 117 at-bats for an .085 batting average. The 37-year-old Chicago White Sox catcher is a .203/.278/.341 hitter over 14 seasons.

Ronel Blanco is 8-3 with a 4.42 FIP.
Reese Olson is 2-8 with a 2.89 FIP.

Wade Boggs, George Brett, and Cecil Cooper went a combined 2-for-36 against Kevin Hickey.

Sandy Koufax threw 2,324.1 innings and had a 131 ERA+.
Dizzy Dean threw 1,967.1 innings and had a 131 ERA+.
Harry Brecheen threw 1,907.2 innings and had a 133 ERA+.

An extra Brecheen fact, The left-hander pitched in seven World Series games with the St. Louis Cardinals (between 1943, 1944, and 1946) and went 4-0 with a 0,83 ERA. In 1946, “Harry The Cat” was the winning pitcher in games 2, 6, and 7.

On today’s date in 1992, the Texas Rangers banged out 20 hits on their way to a 16-13 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Kevin Brown got the win despite surrendering eight runs over seven turbulent innings to raise his record to 12-4. The right-hander finished the season with an AL-best 21 wins.

The Detroit Tigers swept a double-header from the St. Louis Browns on today’s date in 1935, winning by scores of 18-1 and 11-6. Tigers leadoff hitter Pete Fox went 8-for-11 with a pair of home runs, eight runs scored, and nine RBIs in the two games.

Players born on today’s date include Jeff Kobernus, an infielder/outfielder whose big-league career comprised 28 games and 44 plate appearances with the Washington Nationals across the 2013-2014 seasons. The Cal-Berkeley product logged 10 hits, including a home run off of Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee.

Also born on today’s date was Pompeyo Davalillo, a shortstop who played in 19 games for the Washington Nationals in 1953. The brother of longtime outfielder/pinch-hitter Vic Davalillo, “Yo-Yo” had seven hits in his first 13 at-bats before going onto finish 17-for-58 in his brief MLB career.