Ryota Igarashi will become the tenth player of Japanese descent to play for the Mets. Ted Berg of SNY mentioned the first nine to don a Mets uniform on Twitter. It’s an interesting list and I thought it would be fun to take a look at in no particular order.

Takashi Kashiwada – The 1997 Mets bullpen lacked a lefty specialist throughout the season. Sure, closer John Franco threw left handed, but who could you bring in to get a tough lefty batter out in the middle innings? The answer is no one, and that is why I still remember Mo Vaughn hitting the Shea scoreboard when the late Cory Lidle was summoned from the bullpen during the first ever interleague game in Mets history. Takashi Kashiwada was suppose to help, but lacked command and didn’t distinguish himself against left handed pitching, hence the Lidle/Vaughn scenario.

Hideo Nomo – The first hypothetical transaction I came up with that actually came to fruition. I remember listening to WFAN and hearing about the struggles of Nomo, who just three seasons before was rookie of the year, fourth in the Cy Young, and led the NL in strikeouts. The Mets had a struggling pitcher of their own in Dave Mlicki. Why not swap a problem for a problem? That is what GM Steve Phillips did in June of 1998. Nomo had a few good games, but struggled down the stretch and was removed from the rotation. He threw two no hitters in his career, one in each league, no surprise that neither were with the Mets.

Masato Yoshii - Probably the best Japanese player in Mets history. I remember him as very “pedestrian”, but kept his team in the game. Ironic how a team with such a bad history of success with Japanese imports actually had two in their 1998 starting rotation. He won 12 games in 1999, and was the starter in the classic “Grand Slam Single” Game 5 of the NLCS. If not for Orel Hershiser’s three plus innings of shutout relief, Yoshii would have been the goat that sent the 99′ Mets home. The next year he was traded to Colorado for Bobby (lefty) Jones. Yoshii never reached his 99′ level of success after that.

Kaz Ishii – The Mets didn’t learn after the Nomo debacle and traded for Ishii at the end of spring training in 2005. They were short on starting pitching and sent Jason Phillips to LA. Ishii was never really good with the Dodgers (ugly BB to K ratio) and was even worse for the Mets. If not for Korean born Jae Seo stepping in the rotation, and pitching the best ball of his career, the 2005 Mets would never have sniffed .500.

Shingo Takatsu – Berg didn’t remember this guy pitched for the Mets. I forgot about him too. He had a nice year out of the White Sox bullpen in 2004 as their closer. He struggled in 05′ and was released in August. The Mets 2005 bullpen was a mess thanks largely to misuse by manager Willie Randolph and Takatsu was no exception. The only memory I have of him, and it’s fuzzy, is he gave up a big hit to Miguel Cabrera that dealt the Mets a crushing loss in early September. His Mets career was brief and lasted less than 10 innings.

Kaz Matsui – Unfortunately one of the most hated Mets in history. He came here with promises of being a mini Ichiro, but frustrated fans with his poor defense and inconsistent hitting. It didn’t help the Yankees had their own Matsui, Hideki, tearing up the American League. Why the Mets moved Jose Reyes from shortstop for this guy I will never know. The Mets were lucky in 2006 because Matsui was slated to be their second baseman and started the year off terrible. If not for Jose Valentin’s comeback they would have had a huge hole up the middle. Ironically Matsui wasn’t a terrible second baseman defensively, but his bat was too weak to carry. Since leaving the Mets he owns a couple of productive seasons in Colorado and Houston, continuously burns his former team, and hit a grand slam against the Phillies in the 07′ playoffs. That sounds about right.

Ken Takahashi – The most recent import before Igarashi. He didn’t do a terrible job and probably would have been more recognized if the team performed better. Leave it to the Mets to bring in a second lefty to help Pedro Feliciano that is better against right handed pitching. The Raul Ibanez homer off Takahashi at Citi Field in June was a synopsis of the 2009 Mets. In all he had an ERA+ of 139 and ERA under 3.00 despite some shaky peripherals.

Satoru Komiyama – The Japanese Greg Maddux! Why couldn’t the Mets just acquire the real Greg Maddux? He wore goofy goggles, was very ineffective, and blew a Subway Series game by giving up a homer to former Met Robin Ventura. That night Armando Benitez blew a save, Jeter was the Yankee that tied the game with a two out hit, and a beloved ex Met won the game for the Yankees. Not one of the best nights a Mets fan can have. Oh, and the next day, Shawn Estes missed Roger Clemens. Fortunately Estes hit a homer and won the game. Komiyama was not even Greg Maddux circa 1986, much less the Hall of Fame version.

Tsuyoshi Shinjo - Save the best for the last. After the Mets lost the 2000 World Series to the Yankees they passed up on A-Rod, lost Mike Hampton, and signed Kevin Appier. The most successful import that offseason might have been Shinjo. He made an odd 2001 season memorable before the tragedy of 9/11 etched it permanently in our mind. After trading him to San Francisco for the aforementioned Estes, he returned in 2003 where he hit under .200 and was part of 100 plus losses. Today he is a television celebrity in Japan as well as a model for his own line of clothing. Odd videos of Shinjo have been circulating around the internet which adds to his lore. A failure, but a fun one nonetheless.

Almost Mets

Mac Suzuki was actually a Met, but never appeared in a game. He was acquired for Allen Watson and waived four days later. Anyone have an idea what was going on there? I had the chance to see him nearly melt down for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs this October when they played the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League playoffs. Also, Norihiro Nakamura agreed to a two-year, $7 million contract with the Mets, but, after word leaked out before he could formally notify the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes management, he rejected the deal and re-signed with Kintetsu. Apparently the Japanese have higher standards and don’t like the American rumor mill. Obviously he should have known this before he dealt with the Steve Phillips front office, which was notorious for leaks from what I understand. No big loss since when Nakamura signed with the Dodgers in 2005 he hit .128 in 39 at bats. Maybe the Wilpon’s still have the $7 million in savings and can use it to land a big free agent this offseason. Let’s also not forget the Mets lost out on the bidding of Daisuke Matsuzaka after the 2006 season.

As you can see the Mariners have Ichiro and the Yankees had Hideki Matsui, and the Sox have Dice-K. The Mets have 9 infamous Japanese born players, two near misses, and now a brand new set up man named Igarashi. The bar hasn’t been set very high so maybe the Mets will get it right on the tenth try!

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

View all posts by Mike Silva
Mikes website

Tags: Allen Watson, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Matsui, Hideo Nomo, Japanese Born Players in Mets History, Kaz Ishii, Kaz Matsui, Ken Takahashi, Mac Suzuki, Masato Yoshii, New York Mets, Norihiro Nakamura, Ryota Igarashi, Satoru Komiyama, Shingo Takatsu, Takashi Kashiwada, Tsuyoshi Shinjo