Attention SoftBank, Hiroshima, Rakuten

» 22 December 2009 » In nichibei, npb »

If any of the teams in the title of this post are reading, you could all use a suketto pitcher, and Lenny DiNardo is still unsigned. Give Lenny a shot.

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  1. Patrick
    Abe
    22/12/2009 at 11:59 pm Permalink

    Who are you his brother?1?!?

  2. Patrick
    Patrick
    23/12/2009 at 12:21 am Permalink

    Nope. This post is not endorsed by Lenny DiNardo or anyone associated with him. I just think he’d do well in Japan.

  3. Patrick
    daniel
    23/12/2009 at 2:52 am Permalink

    What’s suketto?

  4. Patrick
    Patrick
    23/12/2009 at 9:56 am Permalink

    Really need to get that translation guide started… Sukketo (助っ人) is a term commonly used for foreign players, literally meaning “helper” or, in baseball context “support player”. In other words, the foreign players are there to support the homegrown stars. Some guys, like Tony Solaita, have found this term offensive.

  5. Patrick
    passerby
    23/12/2009 at 11:26 am Permalink

    Some guys, like Tony Solaita, have found this term offensive.

    Source?
    Do you happen to know anything about his bio? How did he come to playing baseball growing up in Samoa? Did he move to Hawaiʻi when he was young?

  6. Patrick
    passerby
    23/12/2009 at 11:35 am Permalink

    Never mind. Everything is as I suspected.
    http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=13358&bid=548

  7. Patrick
    Patrick
    23/12/2009 at 11:37 am Permalink

    It was in “You Gotta Have Wa”. I believe the quote was something like “how can I be a ‘support player’ if I’m the best player on the team?”

    I read a eulogy of Tony when died, but I can’t find it now. This is a great biography though:

    http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=13358&bid=548

    It says he started off playing cricket in Samoa and picked up baseball in Hawaii. It also has the quote from his time in Japan:

    As did many gaijin (foreign) players, however, Solaita had to contend with culture clash. Robert Whiting, the leading writer in English on besuboru, studied this theme in his book You Gotta Have Wa. Several stories featuring Tony–“perhaps the strongest person ever to play baseball in Japan”–showed how this collision could be entertaining and sobering by turns. Many episodes featured the least attractive side of the Japanese game–naked bias and xenophobia. When Tony broke the Fighters club record for homers in a season in 1980, nobody in the organization told him about it, much less congratulated him on it. Despite carrying the team’s offense during the pennant year, he finished a distant third in the MVP voting. A Nippon Ham front-office official said, quite candidly, “If Solaita had been Japanese, he would have won it easily.”

  8. Patrick
    Patrick
    23/12/2009 at 11:39 am Permalink

    heh. Your comment showed up as I was typing all that.

  9. Patrick
    Dominick
    23/12/2009 at 9:43 pm Permalink

    I also think he could possibly be a good player in NPB. A couple of years ago I remember a game when Lenny DiNardo pitched with the Red Sox against the Phillies in an interleague matchup. He was throwing 89 MPH fastballs past Phillies’ bats practically the entire game. He may not have great dominant stuff, but he hides the ball exceptionally well with good command.

  10. Patrick
    Giss
    24/12/2009 at 12:51 am Permalink

    Dudes, Lenny is a good friend of mine. I too think he would do good over there. Even though he is not overpowering, with his unorthodox mechanics and the inability to throw anything straight, if given a chance I feel confident saying he will hold his own. After playing over there for two years and seeing/hearing that the pitchers are taught to throw the ball straight with perfect mechanics and after playing with Lenny it is pretty easy to describe him as the complete opposite of any pitcher over there. I am keeping my fingers crossed for him. He is a hard worker and a great person.

  11. Patrick
    Patrick
    24/12/2009 at 10:09 am Permalink

    Yeah, that’s what I like about him too. It sounds like the DiNardo Campaign has begun.

    How’s your offseason gone Giss?

  12. Patrick
    Giss
    26/12/2009 at 3:06 pm Permalink

    Offseason going great!! Still hoping to get a job for next year. We will see if anyone wants a 32 year old that throws in the 80’s!! I have been very fortunate to play for 14 years so if I don’t hear anything it won’t be the end of the world. My wife and I have started a home business with a Premier Health and Wellness Company, called Advocare, and are loving it. We have helped quite a few people change their lives by losing weight, getting more energy and have overall better health. Where are you doing this blog from? I have been following your blog ever since I played in Japan. Hope you had a good holiday season.

  13. Patrick
    Patrick
    26/12/2009 at 10:30 pm Permalink

    Cool, I hope you catch on some place.

    Thanks for reading the site, I hope you enjoy it. I’m in the SF Bay Area, so my ability to follow Japanese baseball is limited by what I can get online and from the Japanese bookstores here.