Yardbarker: Kenji Johjima

Kenji Johjima gives Mariners an early Christmas present

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:40:03 -0500

Good to be back in town after four days covering the Arizona Fall League. Thanks to Larry Stone for filling in yesterday when the news broke about Kenji Johjima and third base coach Bruce Hines. A couple of quick things I wanted to address about both, since a couple of stories I'd written suggested things would transpire differently than how they did. When I spoke to Alan Nero, Johjima's agent, back in September 2008, he confirmed to me that the "opt out" clause existed and...

A Good Piece on Kenji Johjima

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:47:34 -0500

I’ve been at school all day, so I never really got the chance to go into detail about the Kenji Johjima news, but I don’t think I could have said it better than Graham over at Lookout Landing anyway. So, if you’d like a reminder of how lucky we were to have Kenji Johjima, I [...]

Kenji Johjima Is Going Back To Japan

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:00:09 -0500

One thing is for certain, no one will ever say your time here was boring… In his first season with the team, Johjima hit .291 with 18 home runs and 76 RBIs in 144 games. This was in a post-Ichiro landscape, but also a post-Chan Ho Park and So Taguchi world as well. What I’m [...]

Johjima leaves Seattle for Japan

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:01:38 -0500

Johjima leaves Seattle for Japan Seattle Mariners Catcher Kenji Johjima has decided to forgo the last two years and $16M of his contract with the Mariners to return to Japan. Surely, the Mariners are pleased with this news, as Johjima had struggled mightily in 2009 and it allows them to try to search for an upgrade for the position on last year's duo of Johjima and rookie Rob Johnson. What does this have to do with the D-Backs? Well, Johjima's departure opens up the possibili...

Johjima Goes Home

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:43:55 -0500

Kenji Johjima opted out of the last two years of his Mariners contract to return to Japan. Johjima hit decently for a catcher his first two years, but fell off over the last two and only caught 71 games in 2009. He turned 33 this year, and likely his best days are [...]

M's C Johjima opts out of deal, will return to Japan

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:41:11 -0500

The Mariners' Kenji Johjima opted out of the final two years of his contract, allowing him to sign with a Japanese team. In April 2008, Seattle had signed the 33-year-old catcher to a $24 million, three-year extension covering 2009-11. He gave up salaries of $7.7 million next year and $8.1 million in 2011. His deal gave him the right to end it by Nov. 15 for the purpose of finishing his career in Japan.

Johjima is Going Back to Japan

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:29:25 -0500

I’m at school, so I need to write this very quickly. A somewhat surprising development today – Kenji Johjima has decided to opt out of his contract, and head back to Japan. This will be great for the M’s in a couple of ways – his money over the next 2 seasons is now off the [...]

Happy Trails, Kenji Johjima

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:01:00 -0500

Kenji Johjima, the first ever Japanese-born catcher to play in the big leagues, has decided to abandon the final two years of his three-year, $33 million contract with the Seattle Mariners in favor of heading back home to Japan.The 33-year-old backstop isn't calling it quits, however. He's decided to finish his career in his home land."After lots of very deep thought and deliberation, I have decided to return home to resume my career in Japan," Johjima said Monday. "I h...

Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:39:18 -0500

Kenji Johjima and Rob Johnson have been a huge argument over the course of this season. Who should be starting, who isn’t starting, how does is it affecting the pitching staff and how do they all get along? Everyone (and their brother and sister) have written articles on this very subject, I’m not going to [...]

Johjima demotion minimizes damage behind the plate

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:44:00 -0500

For the record, I’ve never been accused of leading the Kenji Johjima fan club. In fact, I can’t think of another major league catcher who has created a more visceral negative reaction when he’s behind the plate. In a word, he’s terrible. So, it was with open arms that I accepted the news that M’s catcher Rob Johnson was “officially” going to be handling the club’s best hurlers.If one were to look at the stats, Johjima has Johnson beat in just about every offensive and defensive category. Johj...

Mariners Extend Johjima

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:54:45 -0500

The Seattle Mariners, for reasons unknown that transcend logic, are about to extend catcher Kenji Johjima by 3 years.

A Look at Mariners Prospect Jeff Clement

Sat, 26 Aug 2006 20:12:48 -0500

For the Seattle fans out there, the U.S.S Mariner breaks down catching prospect Jeff Clement...his weaknesses, strengths and whether he'll be ready before Kenji's contract is up.