Over this past winter, there were numerous big-ticket transactions in Major League Baseball. Superstar players like Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, and Andruw Jones all changed addresses and cashed enormous paychecks during that period.
Never to be upstaged, Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and Chicago White Sox GM Ken Williams were both active as well. Both men had similar tasks to accomplish: shoring up unstable outfield situations.
The Cubs, coming off an impressive season that ended in a disappointingly abbreviated playoff run, had needs in center and right field. The Sox, following a miserable 2007 that featured migraine-inducing production from injury-plagued Scott Podsednik and Darin Erstad along with a black hole of minor leaguers filling in their left and center field positions, needed to make a big move.
The Sox failed to land highly touted free agent centerfielders Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, and they – brilliantly, as it turned out – avoided Jones like the plague. But Williams wasn’t concerned, because he – like Hendry – was in hot pursuit of a sure thing: Japanese superstar Kosuke Fukudome.
Fukudome was pursued by a handful of big-money teams including both Chicago clubs and, in the end, chose the Cubs for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he reportedly wanted to play right field (the White Sox only had center available, with Jermaine Dye occupying right). He also had a desire to be the first Japanese player to play for whichever franchise he signed with. The Sox had already won a World Series with steady play from Tadahito Iguchi and minor contributions from Shingo Takatsu. Ironically – and thankfully, if you’re a Sox fan – Kosuke did not make the decision based on money; the Sox offered him more than the Cubs did, yet he passed.
Little did anyone (save for Ken Williams) know that Fukudome’s slight of the south siders in favor of Wrigleyville would lead Williams to two of the best acquisitions of his career.
With Rowand landing in San Francisco, Hunter in Anaheim and Fukudome nine miles north, Ken Williams went to Plan B. The biggest (perceived) move he made was acquiring Nick Swisher from Oakland. But his real coups were the signing of unknown Cuban prospect (now a Rookie of the Year candidate) Alexei Ramirez, and trading a Single-A player for current MLB home run leader (and MVP frontrunner) Carlos Quentin, neither of whom were a lock to make the big league roster, let alone start and eventually star on it.
These were not considered coups at the time, of course. Any team in baseball could’ve had Quentin or Ramirez for a rather low price. The difference is that while every MLB team thought Fukudome was a virtual lock to be a star, few considered Quentin viable, and even fewer knew who Ramirez was. They know now, however.
Quentin leads baseball in home runs, is in the top five in runs batted in, and is hitting nearly .300 while being on base almost 40 percent of the time. Not bad for a guy who seemingly went from first-round draft pick to injury-plagued bust with the Diamondbacks.
Ramirez, after spending most of the first month and a half of this season on the bench, took over as the starting second baseman in May and hasn’t come close to relinquishing the job. Aside from his eye-popping offensive output – a .309 average with 14 home runs and 55 RBI in only 350 at bats – Ramirez has played a spectacular defensive second base, making a number of highlight-reel plays displaying outstanding range, sure hands and a rocket of an arm. Not bad for a guy who never stepped foot on an American baseball diamond before spring training.
For his part, Fukudome’s Cubs career started off dramatically – with a 3-run homer to win on Opening Day. And with a .305 average in April and .293 in May, Kosuke’s star rose, and he was named to the All-Star team. However, he began to slide, with a .264 average in June, .236 in July, and an abysmal .164 in August, and has lost his everyday starting job.
Seems Williams owes Fukudome and Hendry a debt of gratitude. If things had worked out differently, Kenny may not have looked like the genius he currently does. And the White Sox wouldn’t be in first place, leading baseball in home runs by a wide margin.