Imports Who Strike Out

By Sean Gregory

Daisuke Matsuzaka has never thrown a pitch in the majors, but that didn't stop the Boston Red Sox from paying the Seibu Lions $51.1 million just for the right to negotiate with the Japanese sensation. The righthander has even inspired some suspicious lore: his "gyroball," a supposedly unhittable sinking fastball (it sounds like a ruse). So buyer beware: while a few highly paid Japanese imports, like Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees, became All-Stars, others have memorably struck out.