Egawa's career would be a whole episode on his own, including his rivalry with the pitcher he was traded for, and the Sawamura Award snub to his underdog teammate
This stuff is great. Here in New Zealand, my neighbour had an uncle who works for Yomiuri. I have been into this since a family trip to Japan in 1986. Keep up the great work.
I wonder if scandal has kept him out of the hof, i guess his drug arrest doesnt help his cause and we all know what japan is like with public scandals!
I'm binging on your great videos. Keep 'em coming! This kind of scandal seems to be happening less often. I wonder if one reason is the vastly improved status of the Pacific League. Signing with a Pacific League team is no longer like being sent to Siberia.
Baseball in Japan back then was pretty much like a religion. Every baseball kid had a team they rooted for and it was unthinkable for them to play for another team. Also, regionalism was even stronger back then in Japan(still kinda is) which explains why some players wanted to stay in the Kanto region.
I can't even imagine the kind of Scandal that would be brought about if any of these incidents happened in MLB. Like if the New York Yankees or the LA Dodgers purposefully try to undercut the draft so that a team as bad as the Baltimore Orioles couldn't get a young talent in the draft would created uproar.
@@kevind7708 And yet the Fukuoka Hawks ran the league for 7 straight years as champs. So it seems the Giants' attempts to tilt the scales hasn't gone to plan in recent times.
In more recent times, sugano refused to sign with nippon ham I think fukui opted to go to waseda after the giants drafted him but he was much lower in the draft But yeah the three you mentioned, selfish pricks!
Add to the Hall of Selfish Pricks KoSUKE FUKUdome who was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes, refused to sign with them and ended up with the Chunichi Dragons and then others. Another PL Gakuen grad with a well developed sense of his own worth.
