Was Sasaki Over-Hyped?

[packs]

Nomo will always be influential but I said Ichiro was the definitive “I belong here” player from Japan. Nomo's peak was brief despite his incredible rookie season and a slew of less effective players followed up in the years between his debut and Ichiro’s.

This is in context of having a nation on your shoulders, An idea I don’t think has really been on people’s minds since Ichiro so thoroughly dominated MLB play. The idea of playing with a nation on your shoulders would suggest that people aren’t sure you can hack it. I don’t think anyone has had that sentiment since Ichiro. I can definitely understand the pressure an individual puts on themself though and how it may feel like that to them.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by packs

but I said Ichiro was the definitive “I belong here” player from Japan.

This is in context of having a nation on your shoulders

I'm aware of what you said and I disagree, it's OK. But Nomo ABSOLUTELY had the pressure of the nation on his shoulders, perhaps more than any other player in history since he was the first "real" Japanese major leaguer, as Murakami was still under Japanese control when he played and was not allowed to stay in MLB.

Nomo-Mania was MASSIVE in Japan, and not insignificant here. If he had failed I think there's a real chance you never even see Ichiro and the other late 90's Japanese influx.

[packs]

There’s a 19 year old playing for Stanford now named Rintaro Sasaki who is a lot like Nomo. He was the number 1 high school player in Japan but chose to skip NPB and instead enroll in a Division 1 school here.

[Peter_Spaeth]

1 run in 4 innings today, 3 hits.

[BobbyStrawberry]

I watched the game - his first inning was REALLY bad. He was lucky to give up only 1. He got some favorable calls on balls too, but overall he was much better

[bk400]

I think he's a bust.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by bk400

I think he's a bust.

I think 8 starts is a little soon to call him a bust. He certainly hasn't put up the numbers that he did in Japan, but he wouldn't be the first Japanese pitcher to struggle in MLB before turning into a successful pitcher. I'm not surprised that he's also currently injured as adjusting to a different number of days between starts and a different baseball can cause problems to the shoulder and elbow.