Foreign players in Japan have many roles, but most take up 1 of 5.
First Base
DH
Corner Outfield
Starting Pitcher
And Closer.
This makes sense. By the nature of foreign player limits, you want your foreign player to be effective in a role that isn’t often filled by a Japanese player, because if you can fill it with a Japanese player, why bother wasting one of your 4 spots on something you don’t need.
while some team’s have a smattering of elite foreign relievers, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows were not one of them. Not for a long time. Their closers were domestic, with the best being Hirotoshi Ishii and Hall of Famer Shingo Takatsu, but neither of them hold the club’s single season saves record.
Because he wasn’t meant to a closer, but still, he helped the Yakult Swallows go on one of the greatest Cinderella runs in history of NPB…
That man was Shunjuku’s guardian angel, Tony Barnette.
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