Welcome to the Asian Guy Power Rankings. Each month, the top ten major league baseball players will be ranked in accordance to their most recent performances. Here are the necessary requirements to qualify for the list: (a) must be an active player on a major league baseball team’s roster; (b) must be of at least three-quarters Asian descent.
*note: Middle Eastern countries qualify as Asian, Russia does not qualify as Asian (they compete in international events as a European country) and India qualifies as an Asian country.
For our inaugural edition, players will be ranked according to their overall performance and production so far in the 2009 season regardless of whether they are currently on the disabled list or not. The following editions of the AGPR will include only active players. Stats are through June 1st, 2009.
|
# |
← |
NAME |
POS |
TEAM |
COMMENT |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
OPS |
|
1 |
- |
I. Suzuki |
OF |
SEA |
Ichiro is in the midst of a 25-game hitting streak, tying his own club record. Currently the only “Asian Guy” with a legitimate shot at the Hall of Fame. |
5 |
16 |
.352 |
.868 |
|
2 |
- |
S. Choo |
OF |
CLE |
The “Choo-Choo-Train,” now hitting clean-up, has quieted his skeptics who doubted he could continue his post-All-Star break production from the 2008. He currently leads his team in walks and career-high in stolen bases. |
7 |
31 |
.301 |
.889 |
|
3 |
- |
K. Fukudome |
OF |
CHC |
Fukudome has been efficient for the Cubs this season, but has quieted down in May after having a monstrous April. |
5 |
20 |
.309 |
.946 |
|
4 |
- |
H. Okajima |
RP |
BOS |
Okajima has been excellent this season, with a ridiculous WHIP of 1.05. Batters are hitting just .179 against him. He is 2-0 and has 8 holds so far with 24 Ks in 22 innings. |
||||
|
5 |
- |
H. Matsui |
OF |
NYY |
Matsui has heated up during the last week of May after a slow start, going 8-19 with 2 HR, 2 doubles, and 5 RBI. |
7 |
19 |
.263 |
.837 |
|
6 |
- |
A. Iwamura |
2B |
TB |
Iwamura’s fast start was unfortunately halted by a season-ending ACL injury. |
0 |
16 |
.310 |
.784 |
|
7 |
- |
K. Suzuki |
C |
OAK |
Suzuki has only 7 hits in his last 40 at-bats but is putting up decent overall numbers on a struggling A’s team. |
2 |
17 |
.278 |
.722 |
|
8 |
- |
T. Saito |
RP |
BOS |
Saito has been a capable relief man for the Red Sox, with a 3.00 ERA in 18 appearances this season with 1 hold and going 2 for 3 in save opportunities while averaging just under a strikeout per inning. |
||||
|
9 |
- |
K. Johjima |
C |
SEA |
Johjima went down with a broken toe last week and is out for the next 6-8 weeks. He’s had just another average season offensively. |
2 |
10 |
.250 |
.661 OPS |
|
10 |
- |
C. Wang |
SP/RP |
NYY |
The Taiwanese sensation got absolutely shelled during his first three starts and saw his ERA shoot up to 34.5 in just six innings pitched. He has since given up just two runs in three long-relief appearances, reducing his ERA to 16.07 and potentially earning himself a spot back on the rotation. |
||||
Honorable Mentions
Kaz Matsui, 2B, HOU – Our guess is that Kaz won’t be on this list too often – he’s played over 100 games just twice in his career, and he’s currently sitting on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury. Season stats: 1 HR, 12 RBI, .219 BA .583 OPS.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP, BOS – Dice-K has struggled to start off the season, starting four games and going 0-3 with a 8.82 ERA while never lasting more than five innings in a game. He’s giving up an average 1 HR per game and has pitched only 16 innings this season. The only reason he gets an honorable mention is because he has shown some nasty stuff during his inconsistent outings.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:19 pm
WANG!?
well, dice-k is going for the sawx tonight, so wang should be off this list in no time. =)
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I think you might want to cut this down to 5 players….you've named basically every significant player of Asian Descent in the Bigs. And with Iwamura and Johjima getting hurt there are even less. Can there even be another "Top 10" without these 2?
If your description of the number 9 guy is "He’s had just another average season offensively." he probably shouldn't be on a "Top 10" list
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Dice-K owned you the same day you posted the rankings LOL