Time Machine: Resurrection of Colby Lewis in Japan an interesting case study
This story originally appeared in the Japanese newspaper Yukan Fuji in 2010.
TOKYO — It used to be that gaijin players came to Japan for one last big payday before retiring. Most of the players were on their last legs and playing in Japan was a easy, lucrative way to finish their career. It wasn’t until Dave Johnson came along that a gaijin player actually left Japanese ball and returned to the U.S. to play in MLB.
Johnson, had put up good statistics in his second season in Japan, but had disagreements over playing time with Yomiuri Giants manger Shigeo Nagashima, and left Japan, at age 34, to take a job with the Philadelphia Phillies as a pinch hitter. Johnson was followed by Cecil Fielder who played for the Hanshin Tigers for a year in 1989 at age 25, then moved back to play for the Detroit Tigers.
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