MESA, Ariz. — If anyone understands what awaits Japanese star Seiya Suzuki at Wrigley Field, it’s his countryman Kosuke Fukudome.
Fourteen years after Fukudome became the first Japanese player to play for the Chicago Cubs, the 44-year-old’s career continues where it started, in Nippon Professional Baseball, now playing for the Chunichi Dragons.
For five seasons — 3 1/2 with the Cubs — Fukudome was one of the most notable Japanese players in Major League Baseball. His 2,276 plate appearances rank sixth among the 21 Japanese-born position players to appear in the majors, while his 596 games rank seventh. An All-Star appearance during his 2008 rookie season makes Fukudome one of only four Japanese hitters to earn the honor.
