Sadaharu Oh and josh Gibson

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Posted By: howard

There is no question that the quality of play in the United States is and has been superior to that in Japan. The number of players who thrived Japan after they could no longer hit American pitching or young players who NEVER could hit in America is a long one. Roberto Petagine, Randy Bass, Orestes Destrade, Tuffy Rhodes, Charlie Manuel, Leron Lee and Leon Lee were all among the greatest hitters in Japanese baseball. As a group they were worse than mediocre in the States. Has there been an unsuccessful Japanese hitter that came to America and suddenly thrived? No, they have all been less productive in the American major leagues, even Ichiro.

One of my favorite players growing up was Roy White. In his best season in the USA he hit twenty-two HRs. After he was washed up in 1979 he went to Japan and hit thirty HRs in his first season. There are plenty of examples like this.