Mets Catching Situation

This article appeared in the October 10, 2005 edition of the New York Daily News

Japanese standout may catch Mets' eye

One of the hotter topics of early hot-stove talk has been Kenji Jojima, the best catcher (maybe ever) in Japan, who is a free agent and said to be ready to jump to the U.S.
The 29-year old Jojima is a career .300 hitter in Japan, averaging 30 homers a season for the Fukuoka Hawks, who are managed by Japanese icon Sadaharu Oh. Jojima suffered a broken shin in September, but major league teams are more concerned with the apparently severe tendinitis in his shoulder that hindered his throwing for much of the year.

Because of the language barrier and his unfamiliarity with the pitchers here, it would seem Jojima would have to start out as a backup catcher in the majors - to which one major-league exec said: "He'd never accept. He's used to being treated like a star, which he is over there, to the point where his teammates can't stand him. That wouldn't be a problem for him here since he probably wouldn't be doing much communicating with them."

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The Mets need to fill their catching position is certainly pressing given Piazza’s departure and while the pickings in the Major Leagues are not bountiful, one can only hope that team management resists the temptation to visit the Japanese leagues to satisfy their needs. While Kenji Jojima is probably an all-star in Japan, I would be very hesitant to bring him on board and entrust him with the pitching staff. Beyond the Kaz Mat-like numbers and the bum shoulder, the team should think twice and then think some more about how the cultural differences between Japan and the United States (both on the field and off) will affect the way that a catcher handles a pitching staff, particularly one with veterans like Martinez and Glavine. Those differences only become more pronounced the closer the position player is to the plate. The affect of those differences have little, if any, impact upon how outfielders like Ichiro and Matsui approach the game. The same can’t be said for a pivotal position like shortstop. While Matsui’s shortcomings can be hidden at second base (where the White Sox Iguchi has also managed to thrive without being forced to manage the infield), the same could not be said for his play at shortstop last year where his cultural bias, born of years of training at play at shortstop in Japan were proven to be inadequate to manage the infield at the major league level. As important as the shortstop is to the infield, the catcher is perhaps the most important position on the field. The risk of the Matsui experience being repeated in the person of Kenji Jojima, in my view, is too great for the team to invest its future in an unproven catcher who will almost certainly need to serve in backup position for a year or two before he is in a position to assume a starting role.

The options for the Mets are not many. Both Molina and Hernandez will certainly garner a lot of attention from the Mets though I’m not sure that they are the answer to the Mets needs. Benji Molina is also opening eyes with his play during the play offs and has almost undoubtedly enhanced his value on the open market and while he is a terrific defensive catcher, I’m not sure he is much of an upgrade over Ramon Castro, particularly considering the amount of money he will demand to sign. Ramon Hernandez is an obvious alternative to Molina though his lifetime BA is just .262 and his homerun and RBI production moderate at best (have we been spoiled by Mike Piazza even in his worst years?) While Ramon Castro definitely opened eyes with his play throughout the season, he doesn’t have the look and feel of an every day player yet in contrast to the available candidates, he may ultimately prove to be the best bang for the buck out there.