Original Daily Sports Article Here / デイリーのコラムの日本語版はこちら
Jefry Marte got called up to the top squad today, but how short will the leash be that already has him fastened to the doghouse door? After all, he chose to don the most sacred jersey non-retired jersey number the team has, #31 – that of legend Masayuki Kakefu. Then he has a mediocre spring in which he injures his calf and spends a full month rehabbing without playing in a single game on the farm? Fans and media already have their label makers set to “dame gaijin” and the man hasn’t had a chance to redeem himself yet.
Just like all the dame gaijin. They don’t play as advertised, and the team is wasting its money putting them on the field. Sure, they come over here looking and sounding good and even often have strong springs down in Okinawa. (But who doesn’t?) Cue the media’s “second coming of Randy Bass” and “Matt Murton 2.0” comparisons. But then reality hits, often sooner than later. They face one of the top NPB pitchers in Game 1, and often struggle out of the gates. Their defensive foibles put all shades of spotlight shining on them, and stories of disappointment fill the newspapers and fan forums. Granted, not every player goes through this scenario, but in recent years they sure have. The last import hitter to have a strong first season was Mauro Gomez, and that was five years ago already!
Perhaps it’s time to examine some of the factors that go into these guys not panning out. It probably comes down to the team, fans, and media not letting these guys just be who they have been their whole careers before arriving in Japan.
Although baseball is still baseball, the move to Japan forces them to make a ton of adjustments on and off the field. For one, the cultural shift is significant enough to throw them for a loop. Say what you want about Japanese food – and I won’t deny any of it. This nation pays attention to taste and presentation more than almost any other does. But when you want that comfort food, when you want something to feel familiar to your eyes, your taste buds, your stomach, washoku doesn’t do it. The climate can throw their bodies off, too, and most import players suffer through a period of flu or something else during the early stages of their first year here. It goes without saying that the language barrier can cause problems, as well. The team interpreter can alleviate some, but certainly not all, of the communication issues.
We still haven’t even talked about baseball adjustments. New ballparks with different dimensions, lighting, sounds, quirks. Pitchers who dance around the strike zone a lot more but also hit their spots with much more precision than their MLB counterparts. Training regimens and routines that boggle their minds. Coaches’ advice that goes against the progressive thinking that shaped them as players back stateside.
Throw in a feeling of solitude in the dugout and locker room, their significant others experiencing a different kind of isolation off the field, stories of their ex-teammates in minor league ball getting called up to The Show (thus causing them to second-guess their decision to move their lives halfway around the world), regular human problems and struggles, and you’ve got yourself a man for whom the hardest skill in all of sports (successfully hitting a round object that is hurtling towards you at 95 mph) has gotten even harder.
So what can we do to help? We’re just fans, after all, right? It really is quite simple: curb your expectations. Don’t get too down on them when they don’t succeed at first. But don’t get too high on them if they get off to a quick start, either! The biggest thing we can do is remember that they got signed and brought over here for a reason: they’re actually really good baseball players. They are worthy of being given a proper chance and the benefit of the doubt.
A former Tiger once told me: “The biggest thing is that often we tend to view the game in a very small window. In a short span, anyone can struggle & frankly anyone can do well in a small sample size. The key is consistency over long periods. Finding the players that are your best players & allowing them to play. You can always find someone to do it for a few weeks at a time, but that’s not how you win championships.”
Truer words I have not heard. I’m ready to give Jefry Marte a fair shake and to let him find some consistency. We need him to feel comfortable with the team so his best comes out on the field.
So is he replacing Navarro?
The quick and easy answer to that is “yes” since they both play first base and there is an import limitation on NPB rosters. Heading into the season, the four spots were meant to belong to Dolis, Garcia, Johnson, and Marte. Navarro was a Plan B, if you will.
I wouldn’t outright give the slot to Marte for the rest of the year, though. They held onto Navarro last offseason because they liked something about him, so he could still see some playing time down the road.