Kosuke Fukudome

Kosuke Fukudome

Kosuke Fukudome became a member of the Chicago Cubs starting with the 2008 season. He was signed as a free agent to a 4 year $48 million contract after playing nine seasons in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons.

With the Chunich Dragons he started out as an infielder, playing shortstop and then third base. But he was a defensive liability in the infield. He had potential as a hitter but struck out a lot.

He was then moved to the outfield playing right field. This move made is career. He gradually improved to become an excellent defensive player. He developed strong fundamentals skills to go along with his strong arm and speed.

The move also helped is confidence that carried over to his hitting. His hitting improved to the point in 2002 he won the batting championship with a .343 batting average. He followed that up with a .313 with 34 home runs in 2003

This led up to his best year in 2006 hitting 31 home runs, driving in 104 runs and hitting .351.Those number earned him the MVP title.

Following the 2007 season Kosuke Fukudome was a free agent. He drew a lot of attention from Major League clubs. He decided to join the Chicago Cubs because he wanted to be the first Japanese player for the team and liked Chicago.

His career with the Cubs started off with a bang. On opening day in Chicago he came up with two on and the Cubs down three runs in the bottom of the ninth against the Milwaukee Brewers. He brought the fans to their feet with a dramatic three run homer to tie the game. The Cubs lost the game in extra innings but Kosuke Fukudome was an instant fan favorite.

The season started out well and Fukudome was voted to start the All Star game. But as the season wore on Fukudome started faltering at the plate. It didn't affect his fielding in right field though. He has proved himself to be one of the better right fielder in the league. He gets a great jump, gets a good read on the ball, has speed and has the ability to get ready for the catch and get rid of the ball so quickly runners think twice before taking the extra base. He may not have the strongest arm around but his throws are right on the button.

As the season drew to a close and the Cubs going into the playoffs, Kosuke Fukudome continued to struggle at the plate. He didn't even hit .200 in either August or September. Some say he got tired. Some say he wasn't up to major league pitching. In any case there were many doubts as to whether he was going to make it. He was not playing every game and Lou Pinella even replaced him in the playoffs.

But 2009 is a new year. And it is proving to be as we see a turn around for him. Fukudome went back to Japan and saw his old coach. They studied film to see if they could find what the problem was. This year seems to be starting out like last year. Fukudome is off to a great start in April, but he is beginning to fade a little in May. But Lou Pinella has moved him into the third spot in the line up. Partly because of the injury to Ramirez, but also he his getting hits and getting on base. We will need to see how the year goes. But let's not forget, we are only zeroing in on his hitting. All the other aspects of his game are as good if not better than anyone else in the league. He has great instincts and fundamentals of the game. He knows how to play the game.

There is also a change with Milton Bradley being added to the club. Bradley is playing right field and Fukudome has moved over to center field. Like I said, his defensive skills are there and he is making a smooth adjustment over to center.

2010 must have been a strange year for Fukudome. Milton Bradley was gone and you would think right field was his again. But he was being plattooned with all the outfielders. In addition to Alfonso Soriano and Milton Byrd the Cubs also had Tyler Colvin and Xavier Nady and Lou Piniella was looking to give them all playing time. The problem was the Cubs were doing well and Piniella was looking for a combination that worked. He never really found one. This can be a problem for a player. Fukudome didnot have bad numbers. At least not any worse than the other players. But like a number of other high priced players on the roster his numbers did not match his $14 million salary.

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