Q: How do you ensure that the Giants make inroads into the market for Japanese players?
Johnson: “[GM] Zack Minasian has spent a lot of time there in his career. He met with those players when they were there. Obviously L.A. has done a great job building those ties to Japan, and the more players you have in the locker room speaking Japanese, probably the easier it’s going to be to draw more talent. We’re just going to keep pressing it, we’re not going to concede that territory to anybody. It is important to have those players come in, so I think that has to be a priority for us to make sure we’re doing everything we can to attract that talent to the Giants. But it’s difficult when L.A. has built that presence and there are 10 million people watching Dodger games in Japan.”
6 comments
I think what he said about the budget is true. Fans rag on them for being cheap, but I think when they want to spend, and a plan is put before them to spend, they’ll do it happily
It’s going to be a beautiful day when this clown and Larry Baer no longer have control over the org’s day-to-day operations.
Reality is we are playing for 2nd place indefinitely, unless MLB institutes a cap which seems unlikely based on what’s transpired for the past 30 years. San Diego will eventually implode as they’ve been spending outside their means for a while. So yeah there is hope, as long as the DBacks don’t become a problem with all their young talent. MLB is eventually going to an NHL style 8 teams per league playoff format so there’s always that. Will further devalue the regular season but I don’t think the owners or Manfred care if it generates more playoff TV revenue. The traditional pennant race died a long time ago anyway.
Dave Roberts being part-Japanese must help in the recruitment.
Tobener overreacting to this in his latest sfgate screed
We want Munetaka Murakami … right.? Yeah lots of strike outs but he strikes out with power !