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The story
It was reported on September 2 that Orix Buffaloes catcher Tomoya Mori has undergone synovectomy surgery on his left wrist, making a return this season effectively hopeless. Since exercising his free-agency rights to leave Seibu for Orix on a four-year, ¥1.8 billion contract, Mori has been plagued by recurring injuries. On a 5ch Geisports Sokuho+ thread, opinions were split: some mourned the loss of the batting talent he’d shown since his Osaka Toin High School days, while others argued his “peak was really back in his Seibu days” or that his small frame simply had its limits — sparking comparisons with fellow Seibu departures Yamakawa, Asamura, and Akiyama.
Published 9/2 (Wed) 18:00
AERA DIGITAL
Orix Buffaloes catcher Tomoya Mori (31) has undergone “arthroscopic synovectomy surgery on his left wrist,” making a return this season effectively hopeless.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Even Mori's coach at Osaka Toin gave him the ultimate stamp of approval: "Of all the players I've ever coached, his hitting is hands-down the best."
That means better than Takeya Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Sho Nakata, and Hideto Asamura.
And it's true — his farm-team stats in his first year out of high school blew every one of theirs out of the water.
It's always a one-way trip out of Seibu — guys leave, but they never really thrive wherever they land.
No eye for when it mattered — they backed off Kondo over salary-balance concerns.
Nishikawa's performed about as expected, no?
Re: #40
Nah, having a career OPS comfortably north of .800 is genuinely impressive.
No matter how good a hitting catcher he is, it's useless if he's hurt every single year.
My guess: after this season Orix offers him a massive pay cut beyond the allowed limit, he turns it down, and he ends up released.
Wasn't it a 4-year, ¥1.8 billion total deal?
He's been hurt nonstop and hasn't played enough games — he's probably not getting the full amount.
Not sure what the incentive clauses say, but if it's an injury, shouldn't that count as a paid work injury regardless?
"We're not paying because you didn't put up the numbers" — that sounds like something a two-bit thug would say.
"Okawari" (Nakamura's nickname) never left the Lions and still made it big. 10th all-time in home runs, and by far the top active player on that list. Beautiful wife, happy life.
Do you even know how many batting titles "Okawari" alone has won? Are you new here or something?
Asamura's been plenty worth it at Rakuten though — he won the home run title twice after the move.
If you have to reach back that far for a comparison, it's just not realistic anymore. Different era, grandpa.
There's a guy named Kao Takizawa, one of the smallest infielders ever, and he's amazing.
They go into contract talks — based on how he's performed these past 4 years, Orix offers a salary for next year. If he accepts, he stays with Orix. If he's not satisfied, it can go to arbitration, or he could end up released.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
After graduating from Osaka Toin High School, Mori helped lead Seibu to a league championship before exercising his free-agency rights to move to Orix. Catching is a position that puts heavy daily strain on the body from throwing and receiving, and this latest synovectomy surgery on his left wrist is seen as the cumulative result of that toll. The thread was split between the view that “his small frame was always going to be his limit” and the assessment that “his batting talent, evident since his Osaka Toin days, was the real deal.” That said, whether his salary actually drops next season or whether he ends up released is just speculation from some users — Orix has made no official announcement on the matter.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Baseball] Was Tomoya Mori’s Peak Really Back in His Seibu Days? As His “4-Year, ¥1.8 Billion” Orix Contract Winds Down, a Pay Cut Next Season Looks Inevitable.”
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