With the exception of relief ace Kazuhiro Sasaki, 1997 CL batting champion, and second baseman Bobby Rose, the Yokohama BayStars don't have many high-profile players. Still, the team is young and they've got a lot of potential. Their pitching staff improved dramatically in 1997, but it's unclear if they can stay consistent.

Pitchers:

Takashi Saito: Probably the best of the BayStars' established starters, Takashi Saito was sidelined in 1997, recovering from shoulder surgery. In 1996, his best year, Saito chalked a 10-10 record with and a 3.29 ERA while leading the CL with 206 strikeouts. At age 27, he's been very consistent over the past several years, and if Yokohama's offense continues to surge in 1998, he could have a winning record for the first time in his career. Since 1992, the 28-year old right-hander has compiled a 35-43 record, 653 strikeouts, 248 walks, and a career 3.63 ERA.

Hiroki Nomura: A moderately successful pitcher, Hiroki Nomura has had a few good seasons, but in recent years, his ERA has reached for the stars. In his most successful season, 1993, he led the league in wins with a 17-6 record while striking out 137 batters and posting a 2.51 ERA. Posting a 3.89 ERA in 1997, Nomura earned a 10-8 record while striking out 94 batters. In his ten year career, the twenty-eight year old hurler has earned a 81-64 record with a 3.97 ERA and 793 strikeouts.

Pat Mahomes: Coming to Japan in July 1997, Pat Mahomes was a bit erratic since he relied too heavily on his mainstay breaking fastball. By August, however, he began throwing sliders, curves and change-ups with authority, helping the BayStars win some key games as the team made a run for the Central League pennant. In just eleven appearances (52 1/3 innings), the right-handed Texan posted a 3-4 record with 42 strikeouts, 25 walks and a 4.82 ERA.

In September 1997, Mahomes tore the cartilage in his right elbow, knocking him out for the rest of the year. At twenty-seven, he became a free agent at the end of the 1997 season. Though he has expressed interest in working his way back up to the Major Leagues, he will apparently return to Yokohama in 1998.

Hisashi Tokano: In just three seasons with Yokohama, Hisashi Tokano hasn't had much time for ups and downs. Like Pat Mahomes, Tokano has been erratic at times, but helped the BayStars rocket into the 1997 pennant race. With a 10-7 record, the young pitcher compiled a 4.11 ERA with 111 strikeouts and 49 walks. In three seasons, the 23-year old right-hander has compiled a 13-12 record and a career 4.44 ERA.

Daisuke Miura: A twenty-five year old pitcher who had struggled in the past, Daisuke Miura had a great 1997 season: a 10-3 record (the best winning percentage in the league) with 129 strikeouts and a 3.35 ERA. Since 1992, the right-hander has compiled a 28-26 record with 434 strikeouts, 204 walks and a 3.98 career ERA.

Kazuhiro Sasaki: After the 1996 season, Kazuhiro Sasaki mentioned to the BayStars his interest in going to the Major Leagues. His request for a trade was denied. At the end of the 1997 season, Yokohama offered him a multi-year contract but Sasaki instead signed a one-year deal, fueling speculation that he will depart as soon as he becomes a free agent.

If he goes to the Major Leagues, Sasaki will be packing a great fast ball and an "unhittable" forkball. Since his first year with the BayStars, Sasaki has earned a 40-31 record with 165 saves (second on Japan's all-time list), 716 strikeouts, 206 walks, and a 2.51 career ERA. In 1997, his best season to date, Japan's top closer compiled a record 38 saves (which he tied with Chunichi's Dong Yol Sun) while posting a 0.90 ERA, 99 strikeouts, 17 walks, and a 3-0 record.

Catchers:

Motonobu Tanishige: 1997 may have been the BayStars' best season in years, but it sure wasn't catcher Motonobu Tanishige's. After hitting .300 in 1996, Tanishige spent most of the following season familiarizing himself with the Mendoza line, batting a paltry .232 with thirteen home runs and 46 RBIs.

Perhaps, 1996 was an aberration. In his nine seasons with the BayStars, twenty-seven year old Tanishige has batted a mere .234 with 49 home runs and 242 RBIs. Becoming the youngest free agent in Japanese baseball history, Tanishige decided to stay with Yokohama, signing a four-year contract with the club despite being courted by the Yomiuri Giants and other teams.

Infielders:

Takuro Ishii: Sharing the lead-off spot with Toshio Haru, shortstop Takuro Ishii had a pretty good year in 1997, batting .319 with 23 stolen bases, up and down from .282 and 45 a year before. Over nine seasons, he's compiled .286 average and 129 steals. Without much power, Ishii on average hits about three home runs a year (though he hit ten in 1997). At twenty-seven, he should have a safe job for quite a few years.

Norihiro Komada: Thirty-five year old first baseman Norihiro Komada left the Giants and joined the BayStars in 1994. A career .292 batter, Komada has 173 lifetime home runs, though his power is declining. With only twelve homers in 1997, the aging first baseman batted .316 with 31 doubles and 86 RBIs while earning the league's first base gold glove.

Bobby Rose: One of the best foreign players in Japan, all-star Bobby Rose had his best year in 1997. In 130 games, the second baseman led the CL with a .444 on base percentage while batting .328 with 18 home runs, seven triples, 30 doubles and 99 RBIs. His plate discipline also improved, as he collected 91 strikeouts but only 70 walks. Since his 1993 debut, Rose has compiled a .313 average with 90 home runs and 462 RBIs.

Rose came to Japan in a different role than many other foreign players--he was young, and his best years were ahead of him. Playing with the BayStars from the age of twenty-six until he was thirty, Rose has offered consistent offense, leading the club in batting three of his five years, home runs twice, and RBIs four times (including a league-leading 94 in 1993).

While many foreign players are quick to argue and fight, Bobby Rose always kept his cool. In August 1997, after Rose struck out looking at a questionable pitch, one television announcer marveled at how he never argues strike calls. Unlike others, Rose has never caused the slightest embarrassment for his team. A family man, his wife and kids reportedly like living in Japan and would enjoy staying longer. On and off the field, Rose is a model player. What more could Yokohama possibly want?

Still, the BayStars were unwilling to fulfill Rose's primary demand--a two-year deal in 1997. Yokohama lamely argued that they simply didn't give multi-year contracts to foreign players -- though, shortly after inking Rose in 1993, Glenn Braggs signed a multi-year deal with the BayStars.

Perhaps, after watching the Giants sign Eric Hillman to a big contract for two seasons, the first year of which the left handed pitcher sat out because of arm trouble, Yokohama was unwilling to take the risk. Rose Finally agreed to a one-year deal with Yokohama.

Outfielders:

Toshio Haru: On any other team, center fielder Toshio Haru's .295 average might have caught attention (and on the Marines, it would have made him their best hitter). But in 1997, four Yokohama batters put up even bigger numbers.

In four seasons, Haru has hit .292 with eighteen homers and 101 RBIs. With sixteen stolen bases in 1997, he's also one of the fastest men on the club. While Haru is certainly not the best hitter the BayStars have, he is generally consistent when he's healthy, and he provides good defense. But his involvement in a widespread tax evasion scandal will likely lead to a suspension that will keep Haru out for part of the 1998 season.

Takanori Suzuki: By the middle of the 1997 season, media attention drifted from Pacific League batting king Ichiro Suzuki to his Central League counterpart, Takanori Suzuki (no relation). Though he hit .299 in 1996, Yokohama's Suzuki led the league in batting a year later with a .335 average (the first time a Japanese player has led the CL in batting since 1991).

Though twenty-five year old seven-year veteran, Suzuki really matured in 1997, batting over .300 for the first time in his career. With reasonable power, Suzuki belted 21 home runs with 83 RBIs while slugging .546.

Though it's no time to fit him with a pair of winged shoes, Suzuki is moderately fast, stealing eleven bases in 1997 and hitting four triples while also doing a more than adequate defensive job in left field.

Takahiro Saeki: Another regular who in 1997 bucked the BayStars' high-hitting trend, twenty-seven year old Takahiro Saeki was reduced by the end of the season to pinch hitting and sharing the right field platoon while batting .260 with four home runs in 106 games. Since 1993, he's compiled a .263 career average with 30 home runs. He doesn't have much power or speed, but since he's handsome, that probably accounts for whatever popularity he might have.

Jose Malave: A 27-year old outfielder arriving from the Boston Red Sox, Jose Malave has earned a .226 career average with four home runs in 45 Major League games. In 1997, he went 0-4 in four games.

Hitoshi Nakane: Perhaps anticipating outfielder Toshio Haru's legal entanglements and likely suspension, the BayStars traded middle reliever Koki Morita to the Buffaloes in return for outfielder Hitoshi Nakane. Since 1989 the 32-year old platoon outfielder has compiled a .251 career average with 47 home runs. Appearing in 45 games, Nakane finished 1997 with a .188 average, one home runs, five doubles and nine RBIs. Since Morita is younger and has been more successful in the past, the Buffaloes got the better part of the deal.