Very interesting analysis of former KBO hero Daniel Rios and his early struggles in Japan. The piece, which is originally from the Sports Chosun, is translated here by Korea Beat.

When in Korea Rios’ main weapon was a heavy, 150-kilometer an hour fastball, and a slider rated as having the best speed and movement. His ample self-confidence and effective pitching were enough. That’s how he was able to rack up 90 wins in his Korean career. But at the end of last year, when Rios announced his departure to Japan, most experts took a dim view of his prospects. The sophisticated Japanese batters have quick eyes and his breaking pitches would not fool them. They said that without a big breaking pitch like a forkball or curve he wouldn’t fit in the first year. His WHIP — batters allowed per inning — would be 1.72, his batting average against .317.

Hmm. Wish I was more familiar with the breaking balls of other Japanese pitchers. While I think the gap between Korean and Japanese baseball has grown closer over the years there are some differences in the two leagues. The better Korean pitchers are generally power pitchers. Lots of fastballs and sliders. The off-speed stuff arrives late in games. That’s why you’ll find a lot of submarine and low 3/4 guys throwing in relief in Korea. Not sure what the reasoning is there.

A while ago Samsung manager Seon Dong-yeol said, “Rios doesn’t have a strong breaking pitch, so I don’t think he’ll be very successful. In Korea he was the greatest pitcher around, but the Japanese scouts weren’t so sure, and that’s why his contract didn’t wind up being so expensive.”

Brutal comment there by the master of Korean pitching. Incidentally I was talking to an ex-MLB pitcher a few weeks ago who actually played against Seon during an international tournament. He said without a doubt, had Seon pitched in America he would have won at least 200 games.

The Japanese strike zone is broader from top to bottom than the Korean strike zone, but is thinner from left to right. That could be trouble for Rios, throwing that nice crooked slider. His darting changeup lets him change speeds and should let him throw a different look, but it’s not enough to befuddle the hitters. Because of all this he may find a difficult path to the strike zone.

That’s pretty interesting too. I’ve never heard that. You’d think the Korean strike zone would be taller. The players are taller. But the point is well taken. A wide strike zone would favor a pitcher with a good slider.

Also, Japan has specific rules about balks. If the pitcher’s foot doesn’t face the batter once lifted, if he doesn’t clearly face the baserunner, if he stops his pitching motion after setting his position — a judgment of a balk will inevitably come down. In spring training games and the start of the regular season Rios was called for two balks. On the 1st of last month against Yokohama, and again on the 6th against Chunichi. It may appear that his balance is being thrown off by his worries over being called for a balk.

Eh. I’ve never bought into this argument much for any pitcher. Rios has been playing professional baseball for nearly 15 years in four countries. Balks are called differently in different leagues. I think a pitcher like Rios makes the adjustment and moves on.

Except for the game he threw against Yokohama on the 6th, Rios has pitched in a different ballpark in each outing. He has not pitched more than once in his home stadium, Jingu Stadium. Every game has been in a new ballpark and it seems to have been difficult for him, a fine pitcher, to pitch well when constantly in new surroundings. It was thought that he might pitch well for the first time that day as it was his second time in Yokohama.

I would maybe argue moving to Japan in general is an adjustment in general more than moving around park to park. I think we need to wait and see how Rios is doing half way through the season. It’s been just a month-and-a-half.

I’d like to see a similar article about why Lim Chang-yeong hasbeen so successful in Japan. If the arguments made at the beginning of this article are to be believed, his great curveball would be one reason.