You may recall that amidst all the hype about Daisuke Matsuzaka last off season, the Yankees paid for what they thought was a consolation prize in the Dice-K sweepstakes.Kei Igawa.
Between the posting fee and a five-year contract, Igawa turned out to be a $46 million dollar bust. When the dust had settled, Igawa 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP.
Why the late-breaking news, though? As is the case with most Japanese imports, we don't know much about the Dodgers' new signee, Hirokee Kuroda; without having seen him play, we can only go on stats. And if stats is what we're going on, the Dodgers may have signed another Kei Igawa.
The similarities are startling, and if you had to choose one based on their Japanese league stats alone, it would have to be Igawa. In six plus seasons with the Hanshin Tigers, Igawa was 89-60 (.589 winning percentage) with a 3.15 ERA. He consistently struck out 170-200 batters per season, and in 2003, he won the Central League MVP award and the Sawamura Award, the Japanese equivalent to the Cy Young.
In 11 seasons with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, facing the same hitters in the same league, Kuroda was 103-89 (.536 winning percentage) with a 3.69 ERA. Kuroda averaged between 130 and 160 strikeouts per season.
It's worth pointing out, however, that the two pitchers pitch with different styles. Igawa is a lefty who uses more finesse than power, and it may have been his inability to locate the offspeed stuff that led to his demise here in the states. Kuroda, by contrast, is a right-handed power pitcher whose fastball reportedly peaks at 96 mph, and who also features a slider and a forkball. Also, his nickname in Japan is "Mr. Complete Game."
Igawa is 28, and since the Yankees have him under contract anyway, they may as well continue to work with him. And who knows, maybe he'll regain his Sawamura Award form and become a bargain. Kuroda, though, is 32, so it's more likely that what the Dodgers see this season is what they'll get for the length of the three-year, $35.2 million deal.
Japanese pitcher Kuroda, Dodgers agree to 3-year deal (ESPN)
Kei Igawa (Japanesebaseball.com ~ Wikipedia)
Hiroki Kuroda (Japanesebaseball.com ~ Wikipedia)
1 comment:
Nice article, I look forward to seeing how the Dodgers fare with these free agent dips they've been making. I think picking up Andruw Jones for a short term deal that was less than $40 million is a great buy, but he did hit .228 last year. LA could still use another bat in their lineup though.
Their pitching staff is pretty good with or without Kuroda, but the key is if Penny can keep up his first half form the entire season. The NL West is looking like a great division in this upcoming season.
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