Headlines

  • Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves
  • Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement
  • Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller
  • Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals
  • Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson
  • Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nate Schierholtz: Big In Japan, Back In MLB

By Zachary Links | March 1, 2016 at 10:00am CDT

After eight straight years in the majors, outfielder Nate Schierholtz found himself in an unfamiliar situation last spring.  The veteran outfielder inked a minor league deal with the Rangers in February 2015 and, roughly seven weeks later, he opted out of the pact when he learned that he would not make the cut.  When baseball’s game of musical chairs left Schierholtz without a quality MLB opportunity, the veteran decided to go out of his comfort zone and hemisphere by signing with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Nate Schierholtz (vertical)

“It was definitely an interesting experience and I learned a lot.  I enjoyed living with the Japanese culture and learning some of their ways and values.  The fans are very kind to the American foreign players and it was a great experience,” Schierholtz told MLBTR in Lakeland, Florida before the Tigers’ contest against the Pirates.

Schierholtz didn’t know much about the NPB before heading over there, but he quickly discovered that the Hiroshima Carp enjoy rockstar status in Japan.

“We were a very popular team, we sold out with 35,000 people every day that season.  Our support was like no other team’s there, even during road games.  It was neat to see fans stand up and cheer for three hours straight without sitting down.  They had a couple of chants for every player too.  Mine was ’Nate-O,’ because that’s what they called me.  The whole stadium would chant ’Home Run Nate-O!’ every time I was at bat because that’s all they want to see from the American players,” the outfielder said.

Schierholtz, of course, isn’t a huge home run hitter, but he did oblige the fans’ request on ten occasions.  In 248 plate appearances, Schierholtz slashed .250/.298/.435 while playing hard-nosed defense in the outfield.  After re-establishing himself, the veteran had multiple non-guaranteed MLB opportunities for the 2016 season.  This time around, he knew that his best bet was to sign early on in the offseason.

“I had a little bit of a different strategy from last offseason.  I waited and waited and waited and I kind of got in a bad situation last Spring Training [with the Rangers] as far as opportunity goes, so I just wanted to sign with a team that wanted me there.  I felt like [the Tigers’] track record of being a successful team really appealed to me.  I think, at my age, my goal is to get back to the playoffs. I had so much fun back in San Francisco winning that World Series, that’s kind of what motivates me now.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Share 17 Retweet 12 Send via email0

Detroit Tigers Interviews MLBTR Originals Texas Rangers Nate Schierholtz

Central Notes: Cole, Perez, Brewers, Villanueva
Main
Royals, Salvador Perez Agree To Extension
View Comments (16)
Post a Comment

16 Comments

  1. gsipruitt

    9 years ago

    May want to explicitly call out that he’s back in the MLB with the Detroit Tigers. Had to go dig around Google to see who he signed a minor league deal with.

    Reply
  2. A'sfaninUK

    9 years ago

    Last I checked Japan and America were both in the same hemisphere.

    Reply
    • mikeyst13

      9 years ago

      Check again. Japan is in the eastern Hemisphere and America is in the Western.

      Reply
      • lgrunner34

        9 years ago

        Boom roasted

        Reply
      • gilgunderson

        9 years ago

        Northern hemisphere?

        Reply
      • A'sfaninUK

        9 years ago

        This is totally crazy, but I was never taught about eastern and western hemispheres growing up, just the equator and north/south. I stand corrected!

        Vote Bernie Sanders, everyone, I wonder what other poorly-educated things I got taught in school was incorrect??? We need better education in this country, damn!

        Reply
        • thebare

          9 years ago

          Nicely said on Super Tuesday

          Reply
        • sorayablue

          9 years ago

          Good recovery!

          Reply
        • sorayablue

          9 years ago

          Nice recovery!

          Reply
        • MikeTexas

          9 years ago

          Your free education failed you, so you want more free education? That’s interesting.

          Reply
  3. reignaado

    9 years ago

    The reason of the increased fan attendance and sell-outs last season was because of 1.) Hiroki Kuroda coming back in Japan and, 2.) Kenta Maeda’s anticipated final season with the team… Attendance will be off the charts this upcoming season when Kuroda pitches because this will be his final year… he will retire after the seasons end.

    Also, knowing he’s pretty new when he came over. The tremendous support by fans for their respective teams was a shock for him -non-stop cheering, fan service, slogans and hero interviews- all of it. Not just in the NPB, but the CPBL and especially the KBO do this too by the way.

    Reply
    • reignaado

      9 years ago

      What the heck, guess no harm in posting an example of it,.

      NPB Hiroshima Carp cheering: youtube.com/watch?v=K-R6GrR4rJg

      KBO Doosan Bears cheering: youtube.com/watch?v=HN8PbbBzOI8

      Reply
    • stormie

      9 years ago

      I wish we had the same enthusiasm for the game here, I’ve always respected Japan’s fandom, and more recently, South Korea’s. Western fandom is more selfish, it’s like what can the team do for me, to make me feel good, rather than what can I do for my team to support them. It’s all about wins and losses and stats over here, not just the enjoyment of what is ultimately a game, and that’s a shame.

      Reply
  4. brood550

    9 years ago

    .250BA and only a .298 OBP in Japan and he’s ready to come back? He might make a triple-A team but those numbers don’t translate to making an MLB roster.

    Reply
  5. stymeedone

    9 years ago

    At this point, he is a depth option for the Tigers and would probably be sent to Toledo if he stays past spring training. Bench is expected to be either Saltalamachia or Holaday at C, Romine and Aviles at IF, and Maybin in OF.

    Reply
    • Stuart Brown

      9 years ago

      Agreed, though Aviles will be super utility if he makes the team. Feels a lot like Alex Gonzalez all over again.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves

    Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement

    Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller

    Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals

    Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson

    Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September

    Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft

    2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results

    Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

    Astros Promote Brice Matthews

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Recent

    Reds Sign First-Round Pick Steele Hall

    Mets Interested In Danny Coulombe

    Rangers Select Cody Freeman

    Diamondbacks Sign Sergio Alcántara, Place Ketel Marte On Restricted List Due To Personal Matter

    Fantasy Baseball: Anticipating Bullpen Holes

    Rockies Place Thairo Estrada On IL With Thumb Sprain

    Ryan Burr To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

    Max Kranick To Undergo Elbow Surgery

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Minnesota Twins

    Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version