1902 [league redacted] LEAGUE SEASON PREVIEW
(Report Date - 2/22/02)
LEAGUE PREVIEW
Code:
1901 STANDINGS
Pacific League
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Chiba Lotte Marines 84 62 .575 - 87-59
Tohoku Rakuten Ninjas 81 65 .555 3.0 82-64
Nippon Fighters 80 66 .548 4.0 82-64
Seibu Lions 70 76 .479 14.0 62-84
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 69 77 .473 15.0 68-78
Orix Buffaloes 54 92 .370 30.0 59-87
Team To Watch: Chiba Lotte Marines
- After their 1st Pacific League title last year, and the best combined record in the league over the 1st 2 seasons, Chiba Lotte is still the pick to win the PL. Despite losing 2 historical greats in the off-season (Cy Young via retirement, Jake Beckley via FA), Chiba Lotte replaced them with the younger SP Brickyard Kennedy, who gives them the Ace #1 pitcher the didn't have last year, and CF Takamasa Kawaii, who slides in as their cleanup hitter, bringing his 31 hr/92 rbi season avg to an already fierce lineup featuring John McGraw (.374 avg), Seika Ichimonji (23 hr) and 2 100+ rbi men in formey ROY Morihiro Katagiri & SS Shunso Matsumura.
Pitcher To Watch: SP Christy "Big Six" Mathewson (FUK)
- Mathewson was the #1 overall pick in the MLB 1900 rookie draft. Thru a stunning turn of events, he was let go by Philadelphia and landed with the Hawks. Now in his 1st full season in the ***, Christy is read to make a big impact. He only made 7 starts with Philly in the MLB but posted a 1.86 era in 48.1 ip with a 3-2 record and 33 k. He got in 3 games in relief with Fukuoka, but this year he is slotted in as the #1 SP. That says alot, since their rotation features reigning Cy Young winner, Pascual Maynez. With ratings of 9/20/16, Big Six has reached his full potential at the age of 21 yo and easily has the best combined rankings of any SP in Japan.
Hitter To Watch: 3b Tae-seon Cho (SEI)
- The 26yo South Korea native was selected to his 1st All-Star game last year and posted season stats of .282, 24 hr, 84 rbi, 80 runs in his 2nd season in Japan. This year, Cho is looking for much bigger things. Reaching his max potential of 13 contact, 13 power, 13 eye, he is a triple threat at the plate. On paper, he ranks near the top in Japan in all 3 ratings, and should greatly improve on last year's All-star season.
Rookie To Watch: SP Nobuatsu Yamamoto (NIP)
- The 9th overall pick in the draft looks like the one of the best SP prospects of the bunch. With potential ratings of 8/11/7, the 18yo out of Japan looks to have great movement on his 4 pitches and above avg stuff and control. He also posses solid enduarance (14/20) however his major lacking point is holding runners on (2/20), which could cause him some problems. He is probably atleast a year away from cracking Nippon's rotation, but he has pitched adequately this spring with a 3.00 era in 6 ip in relief.
Code:
1901 STANDINGS
Central League
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Yomiuri Giants 90 56 .616 - 90-56 - Champs
Yakult Swallows 79 67 .541 11.0 80-66
Chunichi Dragon 70 76 .479 20.0 74-72
Hiroshima Toyo Carp 69 77 .473 21.0 73-73
Hanshin Tiger 66 80 .452 24.0 59-87
Yokohama Bay Stars 64 82 .438 26.0 63-83
Team To Watch: Yomiuri Giants
- The defending league Champs will also be considered a team to watch and while only making 1 major move in the off-season, they look to have really strenthened their lineup, acquiring 1b Jake Beckley, who has .300 potential for a very expendable middle RP and cash in a trade. He will add to a solid lineup featuring a former MVP (Shohei Heida) and 30 hr/100 rbi man Kei Nishida. But the major strength of the Giants is pitching, and they have plenty of that. With the reigning Cy Young winner (Mifune), reigning ROY (Iwahashi) and saves leader, closer Nishiyama, they have a great base to their pitching staff. The retirement of 21 game winner Masashige Kubo will hurt, but MLB imports Reyes Mayoly & Daniel Sifuentez should make up his production and then some.
Pitcher To Watch: SP Mike Ohler (HIR)
- The major cog the Carp got in return when dealing away Nap Lajoie, Ohler will open the season on the mound marking his 1st full season in Japan. It is already known Ohler is a Cy Young caliber pitcher, going 31-12 with a 2.81 era in 56 career starts with the Mets in the MLB, including going 21-8 in 1900. The question is how much he will dominate in Japan. When you compare his ratings to other SPs in Japan, it's like day and night. 15/14/16 ranks him with the #1 stuff by a large margin and in the top 10 in the other 2 rankings. And at only 25 yo, he could conceiveably improve despite maxing out his potential ratings. He made 6 starts for Hiroshima after the trade, going 1-2 with a 4.83 era but he was adjusting to playing baseball in a new league & country. He could be a .500 pitcher, but odds are more likely he will win 20+ and be walking away with the Cy Young come season end.
Hitter To Watch: SS Ed "Big Ed" Delahanty (HAN)
- Even at 35 yo and as a reigning MVP, Delahanty proved you can get better. Going from a 19 to 20 in contact and from a 6 to 8 in power, Hanshin's stud SS might improve from last year's MVP season. He did lose a step on the basebath's, dropping to an 18 in speed, but after swiping 31 last year, even a drop off to 20-25 wouldn't be that bad for Big Ed. Expect Hanshin to struggle again as they did little to improve in the off-season, but Delahanty should excel and put up league leading numbers across the board in his 2nd full season in the ***.
Rookie To Watch: C Dan O'Boylan (CHU)
- O'Boylan has the potential ratings to be one of the best catchers in all of Japan, not bad for the 5th overall pick by the Dragon. With potential ratings of 9/20 in contact and 10/20 in power, as well as gold glove caliber defense and team leader quality, he looks like a sure-bet *** star down the road. At 21 yo, he will likely start the year on the reserve roster, but currently he is penciled in as the #3 catcher on the depth chart so an injury or demotion here or there and Dan might see time as early as this season for Chunichi.