Nishi Tries Out for the Dodgers
Update from Sanspo… looks like Nishi has an offer from the independent Atlantic League, and will have a more formal tryout at the Dodgers camp in Arizona next week. He had said that his goal was to play affiliated ball prior to coming to America.
Toshihisa Nishi has been hoping to play with an MLB organization this year, and may finally be getting somewhere. Sanspo is reporting that the veteran infielder worked out for a Dodgers scout, and was supposed to get the results back on the 4th.
Nishi isn’t exactly a prospect given that he’s 38 and posted a horrific .159 batting average last year. He’s obviously an extreme long shot to spend any time at the MLB level this year, but he could possibly benefit a team needing infield depth at 3A. Part of me doesn’t want to see him taking at-bats away from a younger player that still has a shot, though.
07/03/2010 at 5:24 pm Permalink
Patrick, do you think its a affiliated ball offer or bust or that Nishi will take an offer to play in the Atlantic League in an chance to get picked up by a MLB team?
07/03/2010 at 8:19 pm Permalink
Dunno, my feeling is that no MLB team would let him take ABs from a prospect, so maybe the Atlantic League would represent a better chance to get regular playing time. I don’t know if he’ll see it that way though.
07/03/2010 at 8:38 pm Permalink
Nishi should take advantage of whatever opportunity he has to play in the states. Considering that most independent teams are operated or managed by former major league players–for instance, Mike Marshall, the former Dodger great with a PhD in muscle physiology is the general manager of the independent team: Chico Outlaws–he might benefit from opportunities to pick their brains, if he ever chooses to. Whereas if he plays in japan, he’ll simply follow a workout program that would develop his workout routine in the short term, but might not help preserve his career in the long term, so it’s best for him to come here and to mature as a player and as a person, because, with both the emotional support and knowledge on preserving his career provided by teams and team players, he might, one day, realize his dream of playing in the big leagues.
07/03/2010 at 9:07 pm Permalink
What you’re saying might make sense for a younger player, Nishi is 38 years old. He’s past his physical prime and hopefully already mature as a person. This foray in to the US is a swansong for him, so he is very much focused on the short term.
07/03/2010 at 9:26 pm Permalink
ps. Mike Marshall is great. If anyone is going to do something unconventional, it’s him.
08/03/2010 at 12:37 am Permalink
That’s true, he’s not going to play in MLB forever, but we’ve seen the unexpected in both NPB and MLB. For instance, in NPB, we’ve seen players like Tuffy Rhodes–formerly of the Orix Buffalos–and Kanemoto of the Tigers play well beyond the prime. And with Ken Takahashi making the league last year with the Mets, we can’t simply discount any veterans, because, in the end, there is still potential left in them to succeed. So, my thoughts makes sense for both young and old players, because, in the end, it’s not the age, but the opportunity that propels them to succeed.
08/03/2010 at 1:43 am Permalink
The difference is that Nishi sucks. If he had not been a Giant, most people never would have heard of the guy.