How competitive would Japanese teams be against MLB teams?

Mr. Baseball · 07-05-2015, 04:51 PM

Just something I was thinking about earlier. Say if you were to take the top team in the Nippon and have them play a season in MLB, how competitive do you they'd be? The main reason I was wondering is because I was browsing through Ichiro's stats in Japan and was curious how his statistics might translate here.

Any thoughts?

Bluenoser · 07-05-2015, 06:01 PM

It would be interesting to try it in OOTP. You'd have to control the Japanese team though, I would think, in order to keep the roster intact.

Would be fun to see the results.

dsvitak · 07-05-2015, 07:47 PM

I would say the BEST Japanese team would probably win 50 games. The depth simply isn't there. Their 1-2 starters would probably be competitive, but they aren't winning many MLB games with AA or AAA equivalent pitchers. Same with their hitters. 2-3 decent hitters wouldn't string enough hits together to score many runs.

50 wins might be optimistic.

RchW · 07-05-2015, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsvitak

I would say the BEST Japanese team would probably win 50 games. The depth simply isn't there. Their 1-2 starters would probably be competitive, but they aren't winning many MLB games with AA or AAA equivalent pitchers. Same with their hitters. 2-3 decent hitters wouldn't string enough hits together to score many runs.

50 wins might be optimistic.

Pretty well reflects my thoughts on this.

ThatSeventiesGuy · 07-05-2015, 10:24 PM

I think a bit more highly of the Japanese clubs. I think the best there would be about a .500 ballclub over here. Never underestimate the power of competitive desire.

Leo_The_Lip · 07-06-2015, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatSeventiesGuy

I think a bit more highly of the Japanese clubs. I think the best there would be about a .500 ballclub over here. Never underestimate the power of competitive desire.

Yes, that would motivate for awhile, similar to the Japanese women winning four years ago (the nuclear disaster effect, if you will) and then getting hammered last night. The longer the competition, the further down the standings the Japanese teams would fall. 162 games would likely prove a bit much.

Also, isn't Japanese baseball a tad different than MLB? Not so much apples to oranges different, but, perhaps pluots to plums different? MLB conditions would be different and require adjustments beyond jet lag.

Le Grande Orange · 07-06-2015, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo_The_Lip

Also, isn't Japanese baseball a tad different than MLB? Not so much apples to oranges different, but, perhaps pluots to plums different? MLB conditions would be different and require adjustments beyond jet lag.

Something to consider is that Japanese players are accustomed to more off days during the season. Both MLB and *** have a regular season about the same calendar length, approximately 182 days. But MLB plays 162 games over that period while *** plays only 143. That's 19 fewer contests.

Red14 · 07-13-2015, 03:47 AM

I did a report on this in high school just a few years ago. Japanball.com was an excellent tool to use. The best comparison I've ever heard is that the Nippon League is like the MLB in the 1950s. They only allow 5 foreign players per team at the moment so there's not nearly the diversity that the MLB offers. Also not all the owners over there are worried about winning games so much as theyre worried about turning profits at their day jobs (every team is owned by a major corporation, the Tokyo Giants are actually the Yomiuri Giants and Yomiuri is a media company). That being said most experts say they're about as good as AAA.

dsvitak · 07-13-2015, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatSeventiesGuy

I think a bit more highly of the Japanese clubs. I think the best there would be about a .500 ballclub over here. Never underestimate the power of competitive desire.

I would love to run a four minute mile. I have all the desire in the world to do so....

paul.m.w. · 08-01-2015, 08:05 PM

Being in Yokohama, I'd say the Bay Stars seem to be like upper tier triple a'. Though the SoftBank Hawks could compete for an mlb wildcard spot. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the pacific league.

jacknastyspartan · 08-02-2015, 09:25 PM

I feel they would have a disproportionate home/away record.

kingtut313 · 08-06-2015, 04:36 PM

Maybe 30-40. Maybe.

thorpegiovanni · 11-02-2019, 08:04 PM

It comes down to depth, the skill gap in the *** is just a lot greater than it is in the MLB (star veterans playing against some 18-year-olds straight out of HS).

But the best of the best, be it SoftBank or Seibu or Yomiuri, have a pretty solid core of players - many of which are at the very least borderline MLB caliber. Watching them throughout the year, I would say those 3 are at the very least better than Detroit, Baltimore, and Kansas City. If the teams added 5-6 established MLB players, they could all push 70+ wins.

whifflebird · 11-02-2019, 10:08 PM

I've always seen them referred to as AAAA, so the best Japanese teams would basically be on par with the Tigers/Orioles this year.

monkeyman576 · 11-03-2019, 01:30 PM

People said Japan would not be competetive in the World Baseball Classic, but they won two and placed third in the other two

whifflebird · 11-04-2019, 10:28 AM

The WBC is not representative though since it's a tournament, not a 162 game season, you don't get all of the best players and a lot of guys (especially pitchers) are going to be careful to avoid injury so as not incur a financial loss in their real league.

monkeyman576 · 11-04-2019, 12:09 PM

I'm not saying they would make the playoffs but I think a top tier Japanese team could get a .500 record. And then it would depend on if they had access to the MLB free agent/trade market.

ukhotstove · 11-04-2019, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

I'm not saying they would make the playoffs but I think a top tier Japanese team could get a .500 record. And then it would depend on if they had access to the MLB free agent/trade market.

That's what I've been thinking, what rules would they be under? As think its 4 non Japanese players allowed on a 25 man roster, I'm betting most if not all MLB teams have more than 4 non Americans on their 25 man roster, betting Blue Jay's have way more than 4 non Canadians on theres.

rudel.dietrich · 11-04-2019, 02:42 PM

So the rules have shifted to where a Japanese league team would be competitive if they were no longer a Japanese league team

I was coming at this question by thinking they take the top Japanese team as is and letting them play a MLB season.
If this was in OOTP injuries and transactions would be turned off.

ukhotstove · 11-04-2019, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

So the rules have shifted to where a Japanese league team would be competitive if they were no longer a Japanese league team

I was coming at this question by thinking they take the top Japanese team as is and letting them play a MLB season.
If this was in OOTP injuries and transactions would be turned off.

It would be an unfair scenario though, a Japanese team would pretty much be a Japanese born team but an MLB team would have an all world roster. Like I say I'd be surprised if theres one MLB team with 4 or less non Americans on their 25 man roster.

A Japanese team would finish .500 at best imo but more than likely lower than that depending what league and division they were in but it wouldn't be a level playing field.

07-05-2015, 04:51 PM	#1
Mr. Baseball All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Mequon, Wisconsin Posts: 1,020	How competitive would Japanese teams be against MLB teams? Just something I was thinking about earlier. Say if you were to take the top team in the Nippon and have them play a season in MLB, how competitive do you they'd be? The main reason I was wondering is because I was browsing through Ichiro's stats in Japan and was curious how his statistics might translate here. Any thoughts? __________________ Duluth Danger (HBL) Dynasty Report -- Online League Franchise Duluth - 1985/1989 North League Champions!

07-05-2015, 10:24 PM	#5
ThatSeventiesGuy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 3,421	I think a bit more highly of the Japanese clubs. I think the best there would be about a .500 ballclub over here. Never underestimate the power of competitive desire. __________________ https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...00&postcount=1

07-13-2015, 03:47 AM	#8
Red14 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Illinois Posts: 14	I did a report on this in high school just a few years ago. Japanball.com was an excellent tool to use. The best comparison I've ever heard is that the Nippon League is like the MLB in the 1950s. They only allow 5 foreign players per team at the moment so there's not nearly the diversity that the MLB offers. Also not all the owners over there are worried about winning games so much as theyre worried about turning profits at their day jobs (every team is owned by a major corporation, the Tokyo Giants are actually the Yomiuri Giants and Yomiuri is a media company). That being said most experts say they're about as good as AAA. Last edited by Red14; 07-13-2015 at 06:13 PM.

08-01-2015, 08:05 PM	#10
paul.m.w. Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 417	Being in Yokohama, I'd say the Bay Stars seem to be like upper tier triple a'. Though the SoftBank Hawks could compete for an mlb wildcard spot. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the pacific league. __________________ Using Tapatalk

08-06-2015, 04:36 PM	#12
kingtut313 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 163	Maybe 30-40. Maybe. __________________ Baseball statistics are like a girl in a bikini. They show a lot, but not everything. - Toby Harrah

07-05-2015, 06:01 PM	#2
Bluenoser Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In The Moment Posts: 13,680	It would be interesting to try it in OOTP. You'd have to control the Japanese team though, I would think, in order to keep the roster intact. Would be fun to see the results.

07-05-2015, 07:47 PM	#3
dsvitak Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 4,860	I would say the BEST Japanese team would probably win 50 games. The depth simply isn't there. Their 1-2 starters would probably be competitive, but they aren't winning many MLB games with AA or AAA equivalent pitchers. Same with their hitters. 2-3 decent hitters wouldn't string enough hits together to score many runs. 50 wins might be optimistic.

08-02-2015, 09:25 PM	#11
jacknastyspartan Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 26	I feel they would have a disproportionate home/away record.

11-02-2019, 08:04 PM	#13
thorpegiovanni All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 550	It comes down to depth, the skill gap in the *** is just a lot greater than it is in the MLB (star veterans playing against some 18-year-olds straight out of HS). But the best of the best, be it SoftBank or Seibu or Yomiuri, have a pretty solid core of players - many of which are at the very least borderline MLB caliber. Watching them throughout the year, I would say those 3 are at the very least better than Detroit, Baltimore, and Kansas City. If the teams added 5-6 established MLB players, they could all push 70+ wins. __________________

11-02-2019, 10:08 PM	#14
whifflebird Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: The D Posts: 37	I've always seen them referred to as AAAA, so the best Japanese teams would basically be on par with the Tigers/Orioles this year.

11-03-2019, 01:30 PM	#15
monkeyman576 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 2,939	People said Japan would not be competetive in the World Baseball Classic, but they won two and placed third in the other two

11-04-2019, 10:28 AM	#16
whifflebird Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: The D Posts: 37	The WBC is not representative though since it's a tournament, not a 162 game season, you don't get all of the best players and a lot of guys (especially pitchers) are going to be careful to avoid injury so as not incur a financial loss in their real league.

11-04-2019, 12:09 PM	#17
monkeyman576 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 2,939	I'm not saying they would make the playoffs but I think a top tier Japanese team could get a .500 record. And then it would depend on if they had access to the MLB free agent/trade market.

11-04-2019, 02:42 PM	#19
rudel.dietrich Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Zürich, Switzerland Posts: 8,608 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	So the rules have shifted to where a Japanese league team would be competitive if they were no longer a Japanese league team I was coming at this question by thinking they take the top Japanese team as is and letting them play a MLB season. If this was in OOTP injuries and transactions would be turned off.