Sources: The Wedge / The Page / Gendai
First, the story as told by most media here. Yangervis Solarte was signed in early July to breathe some life into this wilting Hanshin Tigers hitting lineup. After an impossibly strong start to his time here, his defensive lapses and slump at the plate warranted a farming on August 18. When called up on September 6 before the game in Hiroshima, he claimed he was not motivated to play. He was sent back to Kobe, failed to make practice the next day, was fired on September 9 and also left Japan that same day. His lack of motivation resulted in his failure as a member of the Tigers.
So the question is, does all the responsibility belong to Solarte? The Page reports that an unnamed employee of the team basically said the last straw was when he got called up from the farm, made it to Hiroshima, and then was told he would not be in the starting lineup. (Rumor has it, they were going to use him off the bench for two games before starting him against Kris Johnson on Sunday.) Coach Shimizu gave him the news and he asked to talk to the manager. That talk did not change anything, and Yano sent him back to Kobe.
It was also said that when the farming was announced back on August 18, he grumbled to himself that he was called “to help the team score runs” and that he did not want to think about a call-up anymore. It seems his pride had taken a pretty serious blow even at that point, and after his promotion and being told he would start on the bench, he had had enough.
So should he have just sucked it up, played out the year and then left at season’s end with his head held up high? Sure, that was the ideal… but there are plenty of problems with this whole ordeal, from start to finish.
- Solarte has played more third base in the majors than anywhere else. Despite the advertisement saying he could field any position, his experience at short, second and in the outfield were all quite limited. With Yusuke Ohyama firmly planted at third (or so it seemed – that has changed of late), why did the team pick up someone whose strongest position overlapped with the very player they were trying hard to keep on the field for every inning of every game?
- When he got here, why did they move him around so much (he actually played at four separate positions in a very short time, including several in the same game)? Anyone who knows baseball knows that changing positions is not as easy as it looks – let alone doing it mid-game. He never really had a chance to settle down in the field, because he was seeing balls hit at him from so many different angles in such a short span of time. Then they complained about his defensive woes.
- There was talk of Solarte having had some mental issues while back in the States, but that he had overcome them. You think suddenly coming halfway around the world is enough to screw with someone’s mind? How about throwing him into multiple positions, multiple batting orders, all while he is getting used to his surroundings, teammates, a new culture, and more? Then farming him after three weeks? Then calling him up? Then saying he won’t be starting right away? (Who knows how much of this game plan was communicated to him ahead of time… I doubt much, if any, was.) Think that might screw with a man’s motivation? (Besides that, should the team not have looked into this aspect of Solarte’s past and taken it into consideration when they were scouting him?)
- It appears the team might have started investigating the possibility of picking up Solarte as a replacement for Jefry Marte, who was not off to a particularly strong start. As Marte upped his game, the team made the assumption that Solarte “had experience” at other positions and that “he should be able to” step in wherever we put him. Talk about a lack of foresight or a properly thought out game plan.
- A former team employee went on record as saying, “Latin players are very sensitive and need a lot of positive support, encouragement and good communication.” Seems it was lacking here with Solarte. These guys do not necessarily deserve special treatment and kept up on the top squad unconditionally, but they definitely need more follow-up when such cases occur.
So what’s the solution? There needs to be a better plan in place for the acquisition of foreign talent. Clearly, the Tigers’ record is pretty bad in this area, particularly when it comes to hitters. The Chunichi Dragons have good connections with the Dominican Republic and Cuba, and the SoftBank Hawks also seem to have a good pipeline as well. The Hiroshima Carp have gone as far as to set up a Carp Academy in the DR. And on top of that, Gendai reports the following about the Hiroshima Carp’s success with import players:
The team office always has someone on staff who can speak English. While the import players are on the road, someone from the club is on standby to support their wives and families around the clock. During the first week of their time in Japan, they are shown good hospitals, dentists, schools for the kids, parks, hair salons and so on. Tours are given, and they have prepared guidebooks with the best restaurants, parks for kids, swimming pools, and so on. I don’t think any other clubs do that. Also, they have people from the international section of the office go down to the farm, knowing that care for the import players on the farm is extremely important.
When players get sent down to the farm, staff members head all the way out to Yuu Stadium (Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture) and sit down and listen to these guys talk about whatever problems they are having. The same can be said of the staff on the farm team itself. The hitting coach makes small talk with the guys in his broken English and Spanish. Surely these guys are lonely, what with the farm stadium being so isolated. To make sure they don’t lose motivation or feel unneeded, the club continuously touches base with them. Even the team owner (Mr. Matsuda), who speaks English, goes to the farm with the international department and encourages the players. The entire club (front office, management, and regular staff) makes a concerted effort to help these guys feel welcome and needed, so they can produce as they are capable.
And there you have it. There’s no denying that Yangervis Solarte needs to take responsibility for leaving the team before the year was up. He failed to meet expectations and left the team in a bind with his impulsive exit from the Land of the Rising Tiger… but clearly the team is doomed to repeat this failure over and over until they learn from their mistakes. It might even be too late, though. With all the stories of failed import hitters and this club, are guys going to be willing to sign on the dotted line, knowing there is a good chance they will be mistreated and vilified by the club, fans and media? EVERYONE needs to do their part and make these guys feel welcome.