Email a copy of 'Brewers Sign Norichika Aoki' to a friend
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By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
Email a copy of 'Brewers Sign Norichika Aoki' to a friend
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LanceKlein
Who?
aisored
No-ree-chee-kah Ay-oh-kee
ARod's Ring
Love it! Let’s see what he can do in the Majors!
VivaJackMurphy
As they used to say at Meiji-Jingu Stadium in Tokyo…
AOKEHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cardsfan209
He could be a stud….or he could be a dud. Players from japan/china/korea are very risky to sign. Just look at Tsuyoshi Nishioka for example. Most of these players look fantastic in their native countries while playing ball but most don’t live up to the expectations that are put upon them by critics and fans
Lublow Z.
Nishioka is literally the only Japanese import (via posting) that has been a total bust. Check yo self.
YourBase
The dude got hurt in the beginning of the season. Let’s see him play healthy before we label him a bust.
cardsfan209
Your statement is inaccurate. Kei Igawa and Akinori Iwamura were both very decent for their Japanese teams and since coming to the MLB, they have done pretty much nothing for the respected teams. Sounds like a couple more busts to me
cedarandstone
Shinjo!
In fairness, he had about the same production in Japan as he did here.
cedarandstone
Shinjo!
In fairness, he had about the same production in Japan as he did here.
Lublow Z.
Aoki is a pitcher?
cardsfan209
No hes a OF. Didn’t you read the article?
Lublow Z.
lol
Rene Szeywerth
Igawa was not in his prime any more in Japan, even got demoted there for a short time due to ineffectiveness. Plus he relied heavily on a pitch (his change) he couldn’t replicate in the MLB. Red flags all over the place – which the Yankees would have noticed had they scouted him…
Iwamura was a serviceable player (3 WAR) in his first two seasons, not the power hitter he had been in Japan (with 40+ HR). But that has been a well known problem.
The Brewers got Aoki pretty cheap at about 2 mio $/year half of which is the posting fee. Doesn’t cost that much, easy to trade away, some upside there and they have evaluated him in person (so there’s got something they like).
sourbob
So you’re saying there are no busts on the list, if you use hindsight to edit the list?
cardsfan209
Your statement is inaccurate. Kei Igawa and Akinori Iwamura were both very decent for their Japanese teams and since coming to the MLB, they have done pretty much nothing for the respected teams. Sounds like a couple more busts to me
AaronAngst
Kudos to Doug Melvin & friends for going outside of their comfort zone to make this move. While historical evidence may suggest Aoki is unlikely to pan out as a full-time major leaguer, there’s always the possibility he breaks trends. He’ll get every opportunity to prove he belongs for the first fifty games of the season, at any rate. I’m buying myself an Aoki tee as soon as they’re available. I did so in support of Bill Hall in ’06, and I believe that’s what solely lead to his most successful MLB season…
sourbob
I love seeing international players come over, so I’ll be rooting for Aoki.
But $4.75MM over two years for a guy coming off a .360 SLG against sub-MLB competition seems really steep.
AaronAngst
It’s really not much of a commitment, all things considered. He’s getting Laynce Nix money, and I don’t know about you but in this case I’d prefer the “unknown” to the “known” at that price point. If he can play semi-regularly and get on base at a .350+ clip, he’s more than worth the money.
Leonard Washington
Wonder what that incentives are like.
nats2012
Good sign by the Brewers. Its always fun to watch rookies or international players to see how they do at this level.
aisored
$4.75 MM total? Not too much of a risk with it. I hope it works out.
Tim Montague
I wish an employer took a 4.75MM risk on me 🙁