Ichiro Suzuki. Hideo Nomo. Shohei Ohtani. Daisuke Matsuzaka. Masahiro Tanaka. Yu Darvish.
Kwang-Hyun Kim. Jae-Hwan Kim. Yoshitomo Tsutsugo. Shun Yamaguchi. Ryosuke Kikuchi.
Wei-Yin Chen. Tzu-Wei Lin. Jen-Ho Tseng. Wei-Chung Wang.
These are just a few names of players that were either born in or played in the MLB from the countries of Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan. Three countries of over 45 that have had at least one player make it into the MLB and see the field – that truly speaks to the kind of impact that the sport of baseball has had all over the world.
While Ichiro Suzuki and Hideo Nomo are seen as some of the original visionaries that helped start the movement into the United States to continue to play baseball, Masanori Murakami is one of the first players to have made an impact on the MLB after playing overseas.
Having come over from being a part of Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest level of professional baseball in Japan, Murakami joined two of his teammates on a trek across the oceans to come live out a dream. Sent over by his current team, the Nankai Hawks, a player agreement had been struck up between the Hawks and the San Francisco Giants.
For Murakami, he was slotted in at the Single-A level of the Giants’ MiLB ranks, but quickly rose up through them to pitch in the majors in that same season. Once he made his MLB debut in September of that same year, Murakami became the first player of Japanese descent in MLB history to suit up and play in an MLB game.
In 54 appearances across 89.1 innings of work, Murakami averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings and put up a very respectable 3.43 ERA before rejoining the Hawks in Japan for good in 1965, ending the brief player agreement between the two franchises.
Murakami’s actions helped pave the way for players nowadays to make that fateful leap to the big leagues, so without his contributions and his trend-breaking ways, players like Ichiro, Shohei Ohtani, and others would not have been able to showcase their talents on American soil.
Over the last decade or so, the MLB has had a wave of foreign athletes being posted for all 30 MLB teams to sign, a showing of solidarity across language barriers and societal differences across the world.
In 2001, Ichiro became the first position player that officially made the transition from the NPB to the MLB when he signed with the Seattle Mariners. As we all know, the bond between both Ichiro and the Mariners, as well as the fanbase of baseball everywhere, was etched into the laurels of history in the MLB, helping again pave the way for other players to quickly join him in the states.
Outside of Ichiro, two-way superstar Ohtani came over and signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, and his skills both at the plate and when he toes the rubber rivals that of superstars currently in the league that are only capable of successfully taking on one facet of the game. Ohtani is setting the tone for what this sport can eventually become, filled with youthful superstars ready to take over the game as we know it while also understanding and remembering everything that it took to get there.
So many players, both positional and pitchers, as well as front-office personnel and coaches, have all had some sort of interactions with players of foreign descent at some point in their professional careers. The type of impact that these players have had on both the sport of baseball and its fan base is bar none, and the hope for that to continue looks to be in pretty safe and solid hands.
Even with the ongoing issues of how the status of minor-league franchises are being handled and all of the flak that current commissioner Rob Manfred is getting for his unfortunate emphasis to disband certain elements that make baseball what it is, having players from other countries wanting to come over to the United States to play a children’s game is much more than just about money – it is about their heart, their desire, and their will to be a small piece of the puzzle that makes the sport of baseball continue to roll on.
MLB players are even returning the favor in a way, as certain players like Adam Jones, Josh Lindblom, Eric Thames, Miles Mikolas, and so many others have decided to go overseas to refine their talents before coming back over to the U.S. to try and get that contract that they so desperately have worked hard to earn.
While a part of this movement of players overseas and away from the U.S. is related to the stinginess of front offices to offer decent-enough contract to veterans, it is also about understanding the type of opportunities that American-born players can take advantage of overseas, helping them eventually and finally become the players that they thought they could be while in the United States.
Baseball is a sport that is very good at bringing people together, regardless of what race, ethnicity, religion or beliefs you are or hold true to you. Being able to play a sport that kids love for a living is as close to living out a dream as it can get, and these players have the absolute opportunity of a lifetime to fulfill that dream.
Minor leaguers and major leaguers alike, U.S. born or born overseas, the influx of talent that the sport of baseball has been experiencing for over 100 years speaks to the type of unity and closeness that people can provide when they are working to unite for a uniform cause. While the sport of baseball may not be looked at as one that is as popular as football or basketball, but baseball incourages the creation of lasting relationships, family attendance, and a youthful mindset, all wrapped into one neat bow.
The sport of baseball is a universal language, spoken by thousands of people all across the world, and understood by everyone who grasps the concepts of teamwork, family, and unity. All aided by the willingness of the entire world to help spread its messages, baseball is a great tool to help bring people together, regardless of where they come from or where they want to go.
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