With all the talk about Japanese players crossing the pond to America it would be easy to forget about the many players that come back to Asia. Korean Seo Jae-weong will soon be signing a contract with a Japanese team, and on Monday during the first round of the annual college/industrial draft an infamous name was called by the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Kazuhito Tadano was a star pitching prospect when he graduated Rikkyo University, but he went undrafted in Japan when it was  found that he took part in the filming of a gay porn video while he was a sophomore at Rikkyo.

Aside from his brief film career Kazuhito is also known for occasionally throwing the Eephus pitch. Both David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez were subjected to the Kazuhito Eephus, and here’s a video of him throwing it this past year in Sacramento while playing for the A’s Triple-A affiliate:

Also on YouTube is a short non-explicit clip from Tadano’s first and final attempt at gay porn. In the film he portrays a soccer player being blackmailed by the Yakuza (Japanese gangsters). While the clip is not explicit I’m not embedding it on the page. You can find it on YouTube if you look.

Kazuhito repeatedly apologized for having appeared in the film, claiming in an ESPN article from 2004:

I did participate in a video and I regret it very much, It was a one-time incident that showed bad judgment and will never be repeated. I was young, playing baseball, and going to college and my teammates and I needed money.

Following the incident Kazuhito was shunned in Japan. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians and was assigned to a Class-A team. By year’s end had been promoted to Double-A and then Triple-A, compiling a cumulative 1.55 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP along the way. In 2004 he was called up to the Indians and appeared in 14 games, starting four and going 1-1 with a 4.65 ERA.

He made a brief appearance with the big club in 2005, but was eventually traded to the A’s in the spring of 2006. He failed to make an impression with the A’s and spent the entire 2007 season in Sacramento as a starter and middle reliever.

Toyo University right-hander Shota Oba was the first pick in the draft by the Softbank Hawks. Oba set records at Tohto with 14 straight wins and 410 strikeouts. You can find more coverage here at Japanball.com.