7 Most Notable Former MLB Players Currently Playing Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan

Last week, we talked about former MLB players latching onto teams in the independent leagues. Sometimes, though, guys are lucky enough to join teams in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league. While it normally pays a lot more than independent ball, it does move them further away from the states. So if an MLB team needs a guy in a pinch during the season, players in Japan have little chance of being that guy — both geographically and because they’re already in a contract. With that said, a lot of times there will be players who spent a year in Japan and then jumped back to the MLB in the offseason (ie: Cecil Fielder, Julio Franco). Then, with the influx of NPB originals joining MLB teams, they go back to the NPB after their MLB careers are over.

Here are the biggest names currently playing ball in the NPB:

7 Most Notable Former MLB Players Currently Playing Nippon Professional Baseball

Dillon Gee — Chunichi Dragons

Gee had a nice career with four MLB teams from 2010-2017. His best years came with the New York Mets (2010-2015), even posting a 13-6 record in 2011. Last year, he last played with the Minnesota twins and had a rock-solid 3.22 ERA in 36.1 innings. He signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Chunichi.

Koji Uehara — Yomiuri Giants

Uehara is now back with the team he started with, the Yomiuri Giants. He initially played there from 1999-2008 before coming stateside in 2009 with Baltimore. However, he became famous with the Red Sox in 2013 when they won the World Series. Koji was named ALCS MVP in 2013 and made an All-Star team in 2014. He threw 43 innings for the Cubs last year. In March of 2018, he signed a one-year, $1.87 million deal with Yomiuri.

Kazuo Matsui — Saitama Seibu Lions

You know this name; Matsui became famous when he joined the New York Mets in the mid-2000’s after eight seasons with the Lions. In fact, he homered on the first MLB pitch he ever saw. Eventually, he’d go on to play with the Rockies and Astros but only hit 31 more dingers after his initial blast. He hit .267 in his MLB career while stealing 102 bags. He’s been back in the NPB since 2011.

Nori Aoki — Tokyo Yakult Swallows

This guy was a pleasure to watch in the MLB and got a raw deal, in my opinion. He was playing well last year for the Houston Astros (.272 BA in 70 games) but was traded away at the deadline for Francisco Liriano. The Astros went on to win the World Series and per SB Nation, he received a ring for his 70-game stint. In 758 MLB games for SEVEN teams, he hit .285. Among qualified hitters, Aoki has the highest career batting average of all-time in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.

Casey McGehee — Yomiuri Giants

Besides having the same name as me, I also liked watching McGehee play. He always hit for a solid average despite a lack of power and played solid defense. He was one of the guys, like Cecil Fielder and Julio Franco, who played in the MLB then went to the NPB, only to make an MLB comeback. In fact, when he made his MLB return in 2014, he hit so well that he was named the 2014 NL Comeback Player of the Year (.287 BA in 160 games for Miami). Now, after playing 30 games with the Detroit Tigers in 2016, he returned to the NPB. Last season, he hit .315 with 18 home runs for Yomiuri.

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Chunichi Dragons

Matsuzaka, better known as ‘Dice-K’, came to the states in 2007 with tons of hype. To start, he backed it all up. In his first season with the Red Sox, he started and won a game in the World Series en route to his first and only ring. The following year, he posted an 18-3 record and finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting. However, it went downhill from there. He won more games in his first two seasons (33) than his next six (23). He finished his MLB career with the Mets in 2014 before returning to Japan.

Kosuke Fukodome — Hanshin Tigers

Fukodome arrived in Chicago with so much fanfare that he earned an All-Star appearance in his first season. Of course, he was also playing great at the time. In his first game with the 2008 Cubs, he went 3-for-3 with a home run and was hitting .279 with seven homers when the All-Star break arrived. However, he hit just .217 with three homers for the rest of the season. He would play a few more seasons with the Cubs before being traded to the Cleveland Indians in 2011. He finished his MLB career with the crosstown White Sox in 2012 before joining Hanshin in 2013.

Although you’ll probably have a tough time getting the NPB on your TV, most online betting sites offer betting odds on Japanese baseball.