Update on North American Players in Japan, Part IV: “E”, “F” & “G”

The pitcher the Lions have been using as their closer in Graman’s absence, Chikara Onodera, has been adequate, but his 3.38 ERA (and other numbers) don’t suggest that he’ll keep the job once Graman is healthy again.

Seth Greisinger, Yomiuir Giants. Detroit Tigers fans surely remember Greisinger, who was the Tigers 1st Round pick (6th overall) of the 1996 Draft. He went 6-9 for the Tigers in 1998, with a 5.21 ERA in 21 starts. He hurt his arm in 1999, and played in only three minor league games that year, and didn’t pitch at all in 2000 or 2001.

When he came back, he was essentially a 4-A pitcher. He had a 6.21 ERA in eight starts for the Tigers in 2002, and a 6.18 ERA in 12 games (nine starts) for the Twins in 2004. In 2005, he pitched well enough in AAA to get a single start with the Braves late in the season.

By that point, Greisinger was already 30 years old, and apparently the Braves didn’t see him having a place in their future because he spent 2006 pitching in the Korean Baseball Organization for the Kia Tigers. He went 14-12 as a starter with a 3.09 ERA, and was signed by the Yakult Swallows for 2007.

Greisinger was one of the best starting pitchers in Japan in both 2006 and 2007. In ‘07, he went 16-8, leading the Central League in wins and innings pitched (209), with a 2.84 ERA, 159 K’s, and only 31 BB’s.

However, he wanted a big raise after his huge 2007 campaign, so the Swallows released him, and he signed with the Yomiuri Giants in 2008.

This is a trend in Japanese baseball: a foreign player has a big year entitling him to a big raise, and the player ends up with the Yomiuri Giants, the wealthiest team in Japanese baseball. Greisinger got a five-fold raise (up to roughly $2.5M) when he signed with Yomiuri.

Greisinger’s 2008 was almost identical to his 2007. He went 17-9, again leading the Central League in wins and innings pitched (206). His ERA was 3.06 in ‘08, and he recorded 167 K’s, and only 31 BB’s.

Greisinger is off to a slower start in 2009, but is still pitching well. He’s 7-4 with a 4.01 ERA after 13 starts. He turns 34 on July 29, so his 2007 and 2008 seasons will probably be his best in Japan.

Aaron Guiel, Tokyo Yakult Swallows. Royals and Yankees fans will remember this now 36 year old Canadian outfielder. He played for almost a decade in the Angels’, Padres' and Royals’ minor leagues systems, before finally making it to the major leagues with the Royals in 2002, at age 29.

In 2003, he played semi-regularly for the Royals, hitting 15 HRs and 30 doubles in 354 AB’s, by far his best major league season.

From 2004 through 2006, he split time between AAA and the majors, hitting 30 HR’s at AAA Omaha in 2005, and finishing his major league career with the Yankees in 2006, hitting seven HR’s in 132 major league AB’s that year.

34 is an old age to start one’s Japanese career, but he made the Yakult Swallows look good in 2007. Although he only hit .245 and struck out 147 times, he also hit 35 HR’s, and was walked or hit by pitches a remarkable 111 times in 611 plate appearances.

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