Jim Tatum

OK, so maybe he's not an "all-time great," but Jim Tatum still had a great half-season with the Swallows in 1997. Joining Yakult in late June, the former Padres minor-leaguer played all the infield positions but spent most time sharing first base with Takehiko Kobayakawa. Why he was released remains a mystery.

On a team where home run king Dwayne Hosey earned the most attention, Tatum theoretically earned his keep by clubbing 13 home runs in 139 at bats and compiling a whopping .640 slugging percentage (Hosey had a .594 pct.). Along with providing power and knocking in runs (25 RBIs), the good-natured journeyman knew how to reach base, batting .309 with a .390 on base percentage. If he had stayed consistent for a whole season (about 575 plate appearances), Tatum could have slugged 47 homers with 25 doubles and 100 RBIs. Those are MVP numbers.

There were only two points of criticism that could conceivably have been aimed at Tatum. He did have a relatively low batting average with runners in scoring position (.179). But he got more than his share of RBIs. Also, the part-time first baseman didn't hit very well in the Japan Series (a .125 average in 16 at bats). Still, Tatum won posted the only run in Game one with a solo blast over the left field wall, and he earned four RBIs and stole one base. If allowed to play more consistently for an entire season, it's likely Tatum would have been able to iron out some of those wrinkles in his second year.

In their rush to sign Chicago White Sox infielder Lyle Mouton, did anyone in the Yakult front office realize what they were giving up when they released Tatum? Considering these are the same folks who dumped 1995 MVP Tom O'Malley after he hit .315 with eighteen homers in 1996, probably not.