Lenn Sakata moving to Japan.

[Gurgi]

Lenn Sakata a long time minor league coach has accepted a job managing a minor league team under his old friend Bobby Valentine. Valentine has quite a fan club in Japan.

I wish Sakata luck. I will always remember him fondly. I was at the game Tippy picked off three guys in one inning and then Sakata hit the game winning homerun to win it. One of the fondest memories of my childhood.

Good little fielder and not a bad hitter for the time.



If anyone wants to link it is at BASEBALL AMERICA.
I have to wait for my wife to show me how to link stuff. I keep forgetting.

[Dr. FLK]

My Dad caught a foul ball hit by Lenn Sakata. Since I was a kid, I thought that was really darn cool. It obviously made my Dad superman since he caught a foul ball. And, somehow, it made Lenn Sakata really darn cool also. As a result, I've always liked him. Here's to Lenn Sakata! Tear 'em up in Japan!

[Gurgi]

Finally somebody said something! I was getting sad thinking no one cared. Sakata was always just a backup but from what I remember he played alot more than our backups do today.

[Dr. FLK]

Finally somebody said something! I was getting sad thinking no one cared. Sakata was always just a backup but from what I remember he played alot more than our backups do today.

Looks like there are only 2 members of the Lenn Sakata Fan Club...

[sakata_catching]

Now, now. Make that 3 members.

And I imagine anyone who can remember the game referenced in my name has warm, fuzzy feelings for Lenny, too.

I will say this regarding Lenn: it's a good thing I didn't know anything about OPS or VORP when I was 12.

[Gurgi]

What I will remember most is turning to my friend who was 12 years old like me at the time and saying. "Man this guy cant hit. He wont do anything." Not a five seconds later Sakata drills the walk off homerun in extra innings and the place goes CRAZY.

[DrungoHazewood]

I'm pretty sure Sakata has been in Japanese baseball before. If I remember correctly he coached over there not too long ago.

[Boy Howdy]

It's funny because I vaguely remember Orioles announcers laughing about Sakata repeatedly getting mistaken for being Japanese (He's Hawaiian)

Count me in the Sakata fan club.

If my childhood memory is correct, he was doing an autograph signing at a Burger King one Saturday afternoon before a night game. My parents got me there late due to traffic or whatever, and it was already over. Sakata was still there though, chowing down at a table with his wife (?) and I think a little Lenny or two.

"It's not polite to bother people when we're eating", my dad told me, so we ordered some food and ate a few tables away without causing any commotion. When Sakata and his family were getting ready to leave, I approached and got his signature without any problem.

I think he also came to one of my little league games with Tippy Martinez. (Tippy's son Jacen was far and away the best player in our league).