It took a century, but the Cubs may finally be on the right track.
After previously ignoring the overseas free agent market, Chicago’s lovable losers finally got hip to what Japan has to offer in terms of major league-ready talent and aggressively pursued Kosuke Fukudome, signing the dangerously skilled outfielder to a long-term, $48 million.
“I’m happy to be able to sign with the Cubs; they have a long history in the majors,” Fukudome said upon inking the pact.
What the former Central League MVP didn’t mention is that the Cubs also have a long history of losing. But now, during the 100th anniversary season of the last time the Cubs won a World Series title, Fukudome has helped make Chicago a fashionable pick to win it all in 2008.The most complete player to come out of Japan since Ichiro, “Dome” is a multifaceted superstar. The 31-year-old scores high marks in each of baseball’s five major talent evaluating compartments: hitting, hitting for power, running, throwing and fielding.
In nine seasons with the Chunichi Dragons, Fukudome batted .305, with 192 home runs and 647 RBI. He led the league in hitting twice, doubles three times and triples twice. After gunning down 14 runners, he won a gold glove in his first season in right without any previous OF experience. He hit over .300 for five straight seasons.
Fukudome just may be the guy to finally loosen the Northsiders’ deeply embedded culture of losing.
Also new in ’08:
Former Hiroshima Carp ace Hiroki Kuroda will fortify an already strong Dodgers starting staff. Los Angeles outbid Arizona, Kansas City and Seattle to secure the 33-year-old Kuroda with a three-year, $35 million contract.
“I haven’t thrown one pitch yet, so I’m a little dumbfounded,” the right-hander said about the attention he drew from major league clubs.
Kuroda was being modest. The Osaka native was a big winner in Japan, going 103-89 with a 3.69 ERA in 11 seasons with Hiroshima. Two seasons ago, Kuroda led the Central League with a 1.85 ERA. Last year, he went 12-8 with a 3.56 ERA in 26 starts.
The Texas Rangers are hoping that Kazuo Fukumori becomes the latest Japanese reliever to make an impact in the States. Fukumori struggled last season, going 4-2 with a 4.75 ERA and 17 saves for the Rakuten Eagles. But Texas is counting on the surgery that removed bone fragments from the right-hander’s pitching elbow to get him back on track. The 31-year-old went 34-42, with a 3.68 ERA and 72 saves in 13 seasons with Yokohama, Kintetsu and Rakuten.
Trey Hillman is a country music-playing Texan, but the 45-year-old will bring a little bit of Japan with him in his first season managing in the major leagues. The Kansas City Royals hired Hillman after a very successful five-year run piloting the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Last fall, Hillman helmed the Pacific League club to a Japanese World Series title.
Hillman will stress Japanese baseball hallmarks — unity, hard work and fundamentals — with the Royals, who have spiraled in the standings since winning a championship in the mid-1980s. Joining Hillman in K.C. will be Japanese right-hander Yasuhiko Yabuta, a 34-year-old right-handed reliever who went 44-59 with a 4.03 ERA in a dozen seasons with the Pacific League’s Chiba Lotte Marines.