Can you name the following Japanese players who play/played Major League Baseball?

Hint	Player
Cubs outfielder named an All-Star starter in his 2008 rookie season
All-Star relief pitcher in 2003; spent nine seasons with the Angels and Mariners
Much-hyped late-'90s Yankees pitcher George Steinbrenner once called a 'fat toad'
Starting second basemen for the AL pennant-winning Rays in 2008
Starter for the Mariners from 2006-2009; first Japanese catcher in MLB
Two-time All-Star Yankees outfielder/designated hitter nicknamed 'Godzilla'
Red Sox starting pitcher named MVP of the first two World Baseball Classics
First Japanese-born MLB player; pitched for the Giants in 1964 and 1965
1995 NL Rookie of the Year; threw no-hitters for the Dodgers and Red Sox
All-Star and World Series champion as a Red Sox reliever in 2007
Former Dodgers All-Star closer, also played for the Red Sox and Braves
2000 AL Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star Mariners closer
Mariners outfielder; Gold Glove winner and All-Star in all eight MLB seasons
Utility outfielder who won World Series with the Cardinals (2006) and Phillies (2008)

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There are 80 comments for this game.
(Warning: comments may contain spoilers)

MLB Japanese Players Quiz

by Kicking222

Created Jun 14, 2009 in Sports
Featured Jun 14, 2009
Game Plays 79,846

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	GrooGruxKing:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:08 GMT		0 points
	Do any of the other Japanese players besides Ichiro wear their first near on the back of their jersey?

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	Sal_Paradise:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:14 GMT		15 points
	Good quiz, would like to see something like "Name the nationality of these players"

	Kicking222:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:17 GMT		2 points
	Hey, rock on! I was finishing another quiz and saw this one pop up! This is another one for which I have no clue how I came up with the idea to do it, but I thought it was a good one, so here it is. As always, I hope everybody enjoys it, and as always, comment if you think there are any issues.

	deej:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:18 GMT		9 points
	Poor Murakami's legacy has fallen the way of the dodo bird...most people still think Nomo or maybe Mac Suzuki was the first

	nearlyextinct:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:26 GMT		1 point
	I wish Koji Uehara was on here. He is an Orioles pitcher.

	guyleguy:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:26 GMT		0 points
	deej: Murakami was pretty good, too. IIRC he just couldn't handle/didn't enjoy the MLB lifestyle/living in America, but the guy could definitely pitch. Also, Kicking, it would be nice to have a list of all Japanese players, though it would be very difficult, as some barely played.

	SlowHandEC88:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:31 GMT		-2 points
	You're missing Hiroki Kuroda and Kazuo Matsui, as well as the Orioles guy mentioned before.

	jmarshallg:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:52 GMT		4 points
	Well, Kaz Matsui would be sort of pointless as he'd just go at the same time as Hideki.

	Kevin:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 17:56 GMT		9 points
	Actually, Steinbrenner called him a fat pussy toad.

	Kicking222:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 18:15 GMT		5 points
	@GrooGrux: I don't think so. @deej: Yeah, nobody remembers him, and he was good- he pitched 17 more seasons after he went back to Japan. @nearlyextinct: He's an MLB rookie- few people know of him, and there's no clue I could possibly write for him. @guy: There's a (what I would assume to be) complete list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Japan. @Dan: I wouldn't say I'm "missing" anyone. There are over 40 MLBers from Japan- I chose ones for whom I could write a decent hint, and whom I thought people might know. I tried to only use the most notable guys, and Kuroda, for example, hasn't done anything particularly notable in the Majors. (Even as is, I had to stretch it- being the only Japanese catcher isn't the most important thing ever, but it was enough.) @Kevin: Yes, but I didn't want to use "pussy" in a clue, even if, in context, it simply means "full of pus".

	Blaise:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 18:21 GMT		0 points
	I got 8/14. It was a pretty good quiz. For Kuroda, you could say he was on the 2008 NL West Champion Dodgers and threw at Victorino's head in Game 3 of the NLCS, or is that too specific?

	zalkon2004:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 18:22 GMT		8 points
	very glad the quiz accepts Dice-K for Matsuzaka lol

	Gerald:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 18:26 GMT		-2 points
	Tsuyoshi Shinjo is also missing.

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	Kicking222:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 19:01 GMT		2 points
	@Blaise: That's probably overly specific, though it's certainly on the line. Of course, it's not like the Sporcle gods are going to add him, so it's irrelevant now. @zalkon: I always try to do that- accepting easily-made spelling errors, very common nicknames, etc. @Gerald: No offense, but I already made a couple of extremely obvious points above that I don't feel like repeating. @zac: 1) See above. 2) He's Hawaiian, not Japanese. 3) There's already a Suzuki on the quiz.

	DirtyKash:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 19:02 GMT		4 points
	Needs more Kenshin Kawakami!

	Kicking222:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 19:18 GMT		1 point
	@Kash: I'm a die-hard Braves fan (my favorite team in any sport, period), so if Kawakami was doing better, I'd totally agree.

	lezardvaleth:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 19:27 GMT		3 points
	Great quiz. Would like to see a similar quiz with other nationalities as well - ex. Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Canada

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	Wade:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 20:35 GMT		20 points
	This quiz is lacking some Tadahito Iguchi. First everyday player from Japan to win a World Series ring.

	zalagreensbury:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 20:50 GMT		5 points
	Isn't Fenway's 'green monster' a distant cousin of Godzilla? kidding sporclettes.

	bradwell:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 20:59 GMT		0 points
	he wasn't a player, but it would be cool to see cubs clubhouse manager yosh kawano as a bonus

	bmo1616:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 21:41 GMT		4 points
	I think a better hint for Dice-K would be "Red Sox starting pitcher who is the most annoying and stressful pitcher to watch in MLB history."

	llewdor:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 22:00 GMT		1 point
	I can't believe I forgot "That's" So Taguchi.

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	Phillyfan17:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 23:10 GMT		-3 points
	Good quiz.Although you are missing a couple.

	theGrit:	Jun 14th, 2009 at 23:57 GMT		-4 points
	I just watch So Taguchi play last night in the minors. I guess I never knew he was a major leaguer at some point. Hm. Wow.

	spartacat:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 01:36 GMT		3 points
	can't believe Tomo Ohka is still in the majors...

	bigsoxfan:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 02:55 GMT		0 points
	Should have included Wakamatsu (first manager) and Tomo Ohka

	Edge:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 03:46 GMT		3 points
	Being a Mariners fan helped just a little on this one.....

	joe:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 04:59 GMT		4 points
	Im a cubs fan, but I have to say 2005 White Sox 2B Tadahito Iguchi needs to be on here for being the first everyday player to win a ring.

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	bradwell:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 05:39 GMT		0 points
	@kicking222 - tadahito iguchi is pretty famous. also, that's half the fun of the comment section. chill homeslice.

	TheImpalerTMX:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 06:23 GMT		-4 points
	... the internet is serious business. I didn't know the purpose of a quiz is to satiate the egos of the masses and not simply test one's knowledge of a certain subject. My mistake.

	TheImpalerTMX:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 06:27 GMT		-2 points
	And for the record, I did just ask my friend if he knows who Tadahito Iguchi is by using the suggested clues. Said friend is a casual baseball fan at best (mainly just follows Red Sox games) and he was able to name him. My friend was not one of the people who left a comment above. Therefore, you lose.

	ssmitty:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 11:20 GMT		2 points
	To grind Kicking222's gears, let's ramble some more obscure names: Ken Takahashi (Mets RP), Kei Igawa (Yankees "pitcher"), Masa Kobayashi (Indians pitcher and potential porn star), Yasuhiko Yabuta (Royals pitcher), former Padres closer Akinori Otsuka, former Mets/Dodgers pitcher Kaz Ishii, former Mets/Expos/Rockies pitcher Masato Yoshii, former White Sox reliever Shingo Takatsu, former A's/Giants pitcher Keiichi Yabu. OR what about American born players with Japanese last names, like Travis Ishikawa, Kurt Suzuki and Benny Agbayani? Wanna shoot me yet? No, in all seriousness, good quiz.

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	TheImpalerTMX:	Jun 15th, 2009 at 16:35 GMT		8 points
	@Mr. Negative: You should be more offended that you are an Orioles fan. Sorry, I couldn't let that one go unanswered...