Bill Pennington had a great story in today’s New York Times about the forgotten $46 million dollar man, Kei Igawa, who has been toiling away in Scranton over the past few years. The absolute failure of his major league career did not sour Igawa on American baseball, Pennington writes, and he has continued to work hard in Scranton despite being surpassed by many younger and more successful pitchers. According to the article, Igawa still lives in Manhattan, and commutes to Trenton or Scranton daily for games. Pennington paints Igawa as somewhat of a tragic figure, not a guy who has failed because of lack of effort or entitlement:
The five-year saga is a story of a giant mistake of a contract and an overmatched pitcher, a huge organization digging in and a quiet, somewhat mysterious Japanese pitcher with a sense of honor and a durable love of the game. The Yankees made it pretty clear Igawa would never pitch again in the Bronx, but they were determined that he pitch somewhere for his $4-million-a-year salary. They tried to return him to Japan, too. Igawa refused to go, standing fast to his childhood dream of pitching in the American big leagues.
I’ve never had the same vitriol for Igawa that many people seemed to have, he always came across as a humble, hard-working guy who was more than a little over his head in the American game. Despite being demoted to the minor leagues he was not the type of guy to make a scene, demand a trade, or complain, and he has toiled away dutifully in the minors for years, hoping to get another shot in the bigs. He certainly hasn’t done much to merit a return to the big league rotation, but I would like to see Igawa get another chance in the bigs. Not necessarily with the Yankees, and maybe out of the bullpen, but I think it would be a great story if he could work himself back into becoming even a mediocre bullpen arm. While part of me resents him for the money he has made and his poor performance, a much bigger part of me is rooting for the (admittedly) unlikely comeback.
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10 Responses to The ballad of Kei Igawa
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I have an axe to grind with Kei Igawa. He has had no problem collecting $4M a year from the Yankees playing zero games for the Yankees since 2009. He honestly thinks the Yankees would ever call him up again after over 2.5 years (3 full ones if he isn’t called up this year) where he’s been the most expensive AAA pitcher in MLB the past five years after this year? He’s being disingenous.
And what kind of dope commutes from Manhattan to Trenton and Scranton when he has millions of dollars to get a great pad in either place along with keep one in Manhattan? The minor-league season is five months (April through August), right? Ok, 5 months x $2G total a month for a huge loft apartment in downtown Trenton or Scranton = $10G rent a baseball season – chickenfeed for a dude pulling down at least $2M after taxes a year. He could still keep an absolutely great pad in Manhattan at $10G/mo. x 12 mos. = $120G/yr. and his total rent for the year is $130G paid from a $2M salary. Granted, I wouldn’t be thrilled to live in either Trenton or Scranton for five months, but I’d like it better than a commute from hell which Manhattan to Trenton or Scranton is esp. Scranton, from what people I know who had to do it have told me. And I still have my Manhattan pad all year. One could argue his ridiculous commute for what he’s making has hurt his performance and contributed to him never getting a callup.
Derek Jeter and I’m sure several other Yankees live in Manhattan during the baseball season, so why the hell is Igawa living there when he pitches for teams in Trenton and Scranton?
Igawa is legally and morally stealing money from the Yankees, because I think some guys would retire and forfeit this year’s salary after making $8M pitching two years without a call up. Props to Gil Meche, The Anti-Igawa, for retiring and forfeiting his remaining salary because he thought he was taking money from the Kansas City Royals for nothing moreover for not being what they initially paid him to be which was to be a starting pitcher.
I hope that’s an elaborate troll.
Especially this part: “Igawa is legally and morally stealing money from the Yankees,”
Holy crap.
Um, who are you? I’m not a troll. You’re a troll starting with me. I have not attacked anyone in these comments. Kind of hard to when no one replied before me, so back off.
Yeah, I should feel sorry for Igawa that he will have legally and morally stolen $20M from the Yankees after this year. “Legally” because he is legally entitled to the money (that I won’t dispute), “morally” because he knows he will never don the New York Yankees pinstripes (or any other MLB uniform) again for the duration of his contract. If you know you will never be a New York Yankee again, why pitch for Trenton and Scranton? The money. For love of the game my foot. Yeah? Then retire after 2010, forfeit $4M for this year, and go pitch for an independent league, Japanese, or whatever other team. You’ll have still made $4M/yr. x 4 yrs. = $16M – 8M taxes = $8M being a mostly minor-league pitcher.
Life sucks when you pull down at least $2M a year after taxes for five years without fear of losing any of that money if you’re fired (released.) I don’t feel sorry for Igawa one bit.
I just want to know what makes Igawa a “good guy” when he has pitched knowing he’ll never be a Yankee again? I could understand him pitching in the minors for 2009, ok, maybe he’ll make it to the Yanks for 2010, but 2010 and 2011, too? He’s taking advantage of his situation to the detriment of the Yanks, that detriment being he’s taking a slot a minor-leaguer could use.
“They tried to return him to Japan, too. Igawa refused to go, standing fast to his childhood dream of pitching in the American big leagues.”
Igawa refused to go because he loves the Manhattan nightlife, otherwise why would he commute to games in Trenton and Scranton from Manhattan? Dude’s getting paid at least two mil a year to basically do nothing or anything with any expected outcome other than I guess pitch as long as he can go and the team can take him in there. Why on Earth would he want to live in Trenton or Scranton for five months a year? Do your job there, party it up in Manhattan.
Does C.C. Sabathia live in Trenton or Scranton? No, and I bet you $100 no Yankee lives more than 75 miles away from Yankee Stadium from his front door to whatever part of the Stadium he enters it from.
I love how people spin these guys as injured innocents. Again, props to Gil Meche.
Lots of vitriol in this potential troll, but you’ve got to admit, it’s a good point about Gil Meche.
I don’t have a beef with this guy cashing his paycheck and continuing to show up at the office every day. However, I do have a beef with the Yankees scouting department or whoever it was that didn’t do their due diligence (or did it incompetently) before green-lighting his deal. Whoever it was, I would hope they’re in another line of work now — or at least working for another team. That was real bad staff work on someone’s part.
(I also find it a bit strange he has a hard time finding or making friends who speak Chinese in NYC. I mean….seriously?)
Ooops…Make that Japanese. My bad.
I’m not sure how openly they would admit it, but the Igawa signing was clearly a panic counter move to the Dice-K signing by Boston. Given a do-over no doubt they would take it, but at least this serves a large reminder that you never make a move because Boston made a move.
Indeed
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