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Nineteen-year-old pitcher Carter Stewart is soon to become known for more than being a 6-foot, 6-inch right-hander with a blur of a mid-90s mph fastball and a diabolical curve.
Terms such as “trail blazer” and “guinea pig” are being affixed after the announcement that he will forgo the MLB Draft next week to instead sign with Japan’s reigning powerhouse, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Word of this prompts something of a bemused chuckle from Derek Tatsuno, who broke much of the same ground 40 years ago, almost to the day.
In 1979, coming off a junior year in which he set NCAA records for single-season victories (20) and strikeouts (234) at the University of Hawaii, Tatsuno turned down the San Diego Padres, who had made him a second-round pick, to go play in Japan for the Seibu Corporation.
The reasons then — money and baseball’s restrictive salary structure — were much the same as Stewart today. Stewart rejected a first-round deal from Atlanta last year and is vowing to turn down projected second-round status June 3.
In Tatsuno’s time, early-round draft bonuses weren’t nearly what they are today, and minimum major league salaries were $27,000-$30,000. The first pick of the 1979 draft, Al Chambers, signed with Seattle for a $60,000 bonus. The 1980 top pick, Darryl Strawberry, got $152,500. Tatsuno was offered $100,000.
To play for Prince Hotels, a subsidiary of Seibu, in the shakaijin league, an industrial circuit where players were ostensibly company employees holding down regular jobs, Tatsuno got a package that promised financial security, including a reported $750,000 guarantee.
The Seibu Lions had a team in the Pacific League, but per an understanding between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball at the time, Tatsuno, as a U.S. citizen, couldn’t sign with a pro team in Japan if he was drafted by an MLB team. And MLB teams kept drafting him, five times between 1979 and 1982 alone.
“I don’t know how he (Stewart) is doing it, maybe he has a loophole or something, but he’s got a good agent (Scott Boras),” said the now 61-year old Tatsuno, who works at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in the state’s visitor information program.
Stewart was the eighth overall selection last year coming out of high school in Melbourne, Fla., a slot that has a $4.98 million ceiling. But citing questions about a past wrist injury, the Braves offered less than $2 million, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported.
Signing bonuses are key because minor league salaries are notoriously low, may not include spring training and, by legislation, are not subject to many minimum wage and overtime regulations.
So Stewart rejected the offer, filed a grievance, went to a junior college and got a new agent, Boras, who was akamai enough to shop his talents in Japan to a team owned by one of the world’s largest telecommunication companies.
It will reportedly result in a $7 million deal over six years plus incentives, according to ESPN. Additionally, if he proves a success, it would allow Stewart to be a free agent in both countries at age 25, which is years sooner than if he stayed home.
Of course, he will have to adapt to a new language and culture and, when it comes to baseball, different ways of doing things, no small considerations.
In Tatsuno’s case, the elusive movement on his fastball was one of the things that made him so effective and sought after. But it was also something his catchers in Japan struggled mightily with. So, in typical Japanese fashion, it was decided that instead of importing a catcher who could handle the movement of the pitch, Tatsuno would be made to change his delivery from three-quarters to over-the-top to better suit his batterymates.
Two and a half years later, Tatsuno returned to the U.S. a little arm weary. He played in the Brewers, Pirates and White Sox organizations and got as high as the Triple-A level before calling it a career.
Whether Stewart opens a can of worms for MLB or hits a dead end, “It is going to be very interesting to see how this all turns out,” said Tatsuno, who knows a little bit about being a true trail blazer.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
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