Tomoyuki Sugano is a Baltimore Oriole.
Once a legend of the NBP league in Japan, Sugano is bringing his talents over to Charm City.
Sugano is one of the most storied pitchers in the history of Japanese baseball. The 35-year-old right-hander notched 99 professional starts overseas. His first start with the Orioles will be his 100th career start professionally.
Since the announcement of this signing, one thing became clear immediately outside of any play on the field. The Japanese market and the way those fans follow their players are unrivaled.
Looking at that, I can’t see a better reason to go all in for a player like Roki Sasaki. The market is there. His following will be there, and now, the Orioles are in the minds of that fanbase.
We have seen it in extreme capacities already with Shohei Ohtani and the influence he has on the Japanese market and the way he has turned them into Dodger fans. Already, we see a lot of that with the fans of Sugano.
The Orioles’ post on X which announced the signing, as of writing this Thursday morning, has 7.4 million views and over 58,000 likes. For reference, the next most popular post by the Orioles account holds around 10,000 likes.
The evidence is also clear when we look at some posts from fellow Oriole fans and see the large engagement those posts are warranting from the fans across the seas.
What else is needed to be seen to justify dropping every penny of international bonus pool money on Sasaki?
Beyond that, this immediate following is just another great argument to bring to that debate table. Why wouldn’t Sasaki want to also come to a city that, within days, has become a fan favorite in Japan?
After seeing how this transaction has gained ground, I struggle to believe Sasaki hasn’t been aware of that and that it wouldn’t be pointed out to him during negotiations.
The signing of Sugano really does show the front office’s willingness to dip their hands into the international market. We have said before that getting into that market is necessary. Now, we see that it has become a thing for this organization.
The Sugano signing costs about twice as much as it would to land Sasaki, by the way.
Hopefully, the Sugano signing is just the first we see GM Mike Elias engaging in. With the deadline for Sasaki to choose a major league team upcoming, I believe the Orioles did a great job of creating their market for the young pitcher with an act that also helped secure up the starting rotation in general.
Having to compete in the Japanese market with teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers is tough. The Sugano signing helped give the smaller market Orioles an advantage.
What do you think of this signing and what it could mean for the organization’s relationship with the international market? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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