Why do Asian Players NOT want to come to the Yankees?

Well, the Yankees once again are missing out on another Asian free agent, and in recent years, this has become a common thing. In fact, the Yankees have not signed an Asian free agent since Masahiro Tanaka in the 2013-2014 offseason. Thats 10 years ago, and thats not by lack of effort. The Yankees have been involved in most of the Asian players coming over, but have swung and missed on all of them, but lets go back in History.

The Start:

In 1997, Japanese Phenom pitcher Hideki Irabu wanted to be a New York Yankee since he was a kid, but this was before the International Posting Process. Irabu was a Chiba Lotte Marine until 1996 when the Marines sold his rights to the San Diego Padres. Irabu did not want to be a Padre, in fact, he only wanted to be a Yankee. So the Yankees made a trade to acquire his rights and he became a New York Yankee.

While Irabu did not pitch well for the Yankees, he loved being here. Unfoutunatly, that was not enough and the Yankees traded him to the Expos. After the 2002 Season, Irabu went back to Japan to finish his career. I wish this story had a happy ending, but it doesn’t. In 2011, Irabu took his own life.

The Yankees were the Premiere Destination

In the 2002-2003 offseason, the Yankees signed OF/DH Hideki Matsui to a 3-Year $21M Contract. “Godzilla” as he was nicknamed, made a huge impact when he was in New York, getting big hits and winning the 2009 World Series MVP.

Matsui was a fan favorite and is still coveted in New York. Although he left New York after the 2009 WS, on July 28th, 2013, Matsui signed a 1-Day Contract to retire with the Yankees.

Pitchers choosing the Yankees

After missing out on Japanese superstar pitcher to the Texas Rangers Yu Darvish, in January of 2012, the first of 2 Japanese pitchers of that decade decided to choose the Yankees. The first came from MLB free agency, and was previously a Dodger, Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda was a solid pitcher in 2 seasons for the Yankees, but he is not the true story of this decade.

In the 2013-2014 offseason, as mentioned before, the Yankees made a compelling case to sign one of my favorite pitchers, Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka was an Ace for the Yankees from 2014-2020 and Yankees fans knew that when it was Tanackatime, there was a great chance for a win. I remember going to a game in September of 2018 against the Blue Jays and Tanaka pitched an absolute Gem and the Yankees give him 13 runs to play with, and that was the norm. After the 2020 COVID Season, Tanaka elected to return to Japan due to Anti-Asian Racism in America post-COVID.

Waiting on another Asian Superstar

After Tanaka, there has not been another Asian player for the Yankees, but not by lack of effort. In the 2017-2018 offseason, the Yankees tried for Shohei Ohtani, but he picked the LA Angels instead, and the Yankees did not even attempt his free agency, as it was believed there was a West Coast preference (and he choose the Dodgers). And this is where I want to circle to. The Yankees made a very compelling case, and even thought they had a real shot in the 2023-2024 offseason to sign Yoshinobu Yammamoto, who, like Ohtani picked the Dodgers as his preferred destination and have been told that they are not signing Roki Sasaki. So is this a real thing with West Coast Preference? Well, I think so. It is easier to take a flight from California to Japan than it is from New York to Japan, as well as Family and Friends being able to regularly view games.

So the question is it a Yankee problem or an East Coast problem, I think it is an East Coast problem. I think that the players want to play closer to home and have less of a hassle to travel home to Asia. The Yankees, like all East Coast teams will continue to scout and be aggressive in there prusute of Japaneze players for years to come.