How each 'Japanese sensation' fared in their first MLB season

MLB fan bases are pretty excited when their team lands a Japanese free agent because they usually were star players back home. The promise of them continuing to produce at a high level makes their arrival front-page news. As Yoshinobu Yamamoto begins his MLB journey, we’ll take a look back at how previous Japanese stars fared in their first season in the major leagues. All statistics are from Baseball Reference.

Nicknamed “Godzilla”, Matsui’s performance in the 2009 World Series earned him MVP honors. His first season in MLB showed fans that he was a run producing machine with teammates on base.

He drove in 106 runs in 2003 despite only hitting 16 home runs, which indicates that Matsui was putting the ball in play often during his rookie year.

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There may not be a better rookie season in MLB history than the one Ichiro put together in 2001. After a tremendous career with the Orix Blue Wave, Ichiro led MLB in batting average, total hits, and stolen bases with the Seattle Mariners.

He also had a cannon for an arm in right field, which made him just as valuable defensively.

For whatever reason, Japanese pitchers often enter MLB with a pitch that has a unique moniker. Matsuzaka had a “gyroball”, which was supposed to move differently than a regular fastball. He was durable for the Boston Red Sox in 2007, pitching over 200 innings. However, his best campaign came the following year, where he posted an 18-3 record with a 2.90 ERA.

At the rate he’s going, Ohtani has a chance to go down as one of the best MLB players ever. He’s already won two MVP awards, and has finished as high as fourth in the Cy Young voting.

Ohtani won Rookie Of The Year in 2018, crushing 22 home runs at the dish while pitching to a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts.

Nomo had a very unique pitching style that featured hesitation that threw hitters off. He broke into MLB in 1995 with the Dodgers, and was a force from day one.

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He won Rookie Of The Year, and led the league in strikeouts and shutouts. He also had the best mark in hits per innings pitched. Nomo spent 12 years in the major leagues.

Tanaka’s stint with the New York Yankees lasted seven years, which ended up being the entirety of his MLB career. He was an All-Star in his first season, striking out 141 hitters in 20 games started. Tanaka’s first season was probably his best, but he was still a valued starter throughout his time in New York.

Darvish has played on a lot of teams that have made deep postseason runs in his career. The run started with the Texas Rangers back in 2012, where he was a rotation mainstay for a team that won 93 games.

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When all is said and done, Darvish might be the Japanese pitcher who has had the most MLB success, given his career length and All-Star nods.

Maeda is another pitcher who started his MLB career with the Dodgers. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he also got off to a strong start. He made 32 starts in 2016, showing impressive durability while pitching to a 3.48 ERA.

During his first season with the Minnesota Twins, Maeda posted a 2.70 ERA. Now in his mid-thirties, it'll be interesting to see how much longer his career lasts.

Senga was a shining ray of hope for the New York Mets in a lost season. While their starting rotation crumbled due to ineffectiveness, injury, or trades, Senga took the ball consistently and set himself up for a solid career moving forward. He had a 2.98 ERA in 166 innings pitched.

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