An in-depth look at the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Jingu Stadium, the Central League, and Japanese Pro Baseball
Mr. Guiel is the senior non-Japanese player on Team Tokyo, and he’s had one hell of a first half. Teaming up with first baseman Jamie D’Antona in the middle of the Swallows lineup, he has provided sorely-needed stability and power to a team chock full of slap-hitters and base-swipers.
After striking gold with the acquisition of closer Chang-yong Lim in 2008, Tokyo again dipped into the South Korean talent pool and came away with a potential starter in Hye-cheon Lee.
Jamie D’Antona was on the verge of making an impact in MLB a little less than a year ago. Playing for the Diamondbacks, the hard-hitting corner infielder was slugging up a storm in triple-A Tuscon before finally getting a solid shot at the first team. He was routinely hailed as one of the snakes’ brightest [...]
Mr. Lim is currently enjoying his moment in the sun at the All-Star game up in Hokkaido (and down in Hiroshima tomorrow), and boy has he earned it in 2009.
