The 25 Best Baseball Players you've never heard of

Ah the sweet delirium of October baseball. We are in the midst of history's spectacle, yes, another year of the Cartiac Kids playing their particular brand of Fall Ball at the Bank, and we at the Phorum are enjoying 2010 immensely. From a high, high, very high (we're addressing you Nationals fans, you never had a chance, it doesn't really matter how well you play in June, its how you finish you silly naïve knucklehead. Just ask a Met fan), from our high vantage point, we can understand (and snigger at you under out breath, loser) how perhaps for you, October is not a time when the greats of the game ink their story into the fabric of the American cousiousness, when the exploits of those who take the green diamond and triumph spread round the globe and inscribe themselves on the hearts of young and old everywhere...



Perhaps for the rest of you, October baseball is just a reminder that your guys came up a little short. That your teams has no heart. That despite maybe one or two players, your team consistently performs poorly in the big lights of big games (probably the small lights of small games too). Perhaps your pitchers just don't throw that hard, or rattle faster than kettle corn in a tin can on a hot day. Could be the guys taking the bump just aint very bright.



Could be your guys can't hit. That they ought to a) be in Triple AAA, b) be in Double AA c) be in single A, d) be released, or e) kidnapped and taken to an abandoned warehouse/shed/mansion where they are tied up and beaten until they give back all the money from that ridiculous contract, and then be released.



Could be yours guys can't catch. Oughta be taking ground balls in little league. Maybe they've got bad knees/back/ankles/wrists/shoulders. Or are just lazy. (Probably lazy)



Could be a buncha of all three things.



Well, fear not dear forlorn (and a little pathetic, I refer to you Kansas City & Pitsburgh fan) the off-season wonderland is nearly here. Yes, (you poor deluded fool) you still have a shot at Cliff Lee. You might get lucky and land Jason Werth or Carl Crawford (I might get luck and win the lottery). Big Papi or O-dog might be the catalyst to finally unlocking your teams winning mixture of youth and veterans true potential (if your team had any potential).



Its also possible, considering that the Show has been more and more dipping into an International talentpool, your team might land the next Arnoldis Chapman or Ichiro. (The players on your team could also be made out of cheezits, could be tiny little men in baseball shaped control rooms instead of hearts, plotting a tiny little men, well man, invasion of Deluth. Their leaders name could be Mike)



Nonetheless, or rather, in spite of your teams ineptitude, The Phorum presents to you, fan of team not 
in playoffs, a gift.  (We are, after all, fans of a the first francise to 10,000losses, our grandparents talk about the Whiz Kids and Connie Mac, we have suffered epic collapse, we remember '64 and Mauch mucking up a sure thing, we know ineptitude intimately San Diego fan, all those turn of the millennium near misses, we still sometimes wake with a cold sweat in the deep blackness of the night, the jaunty spectar of Jeff Conine dinking our season away again and again and again…..)


A novelity perhaps, we offer as token of our empathy a list of International all-stars your team should probably sign. Players you might not have heard of and quite frankly considering your team's front office probably never will.

Yu Darvish. RHP You probably weren't impressed with this guy in the WBC either, nonetheless, Darvish is long and lanky, only 24, tops out at 97 and can throw six plus pitches for strikes in any count. When asked when Darvish will play in the Majors by the Japanese Media, Darvish is coy. Claims that he wants to accomplish more in the Nippon League. Having already won the Sawamura, (Japan's Best Pitcher Award), two League MVP's, and the Japan Series, the baseball world might be subject to Darvish-mania this merry off-season.

Dae Ho Lee. 1B Lee began his professional baseball career as a pitcher, was converted to first base after an injury in 01. Ok, so you've probably heard of him, yes its that same 6'3" 270 pound Korean Godzilla who pulverized pitchers in the 08 Olympics and again in the 09 WBC. You might also remember that this is the guy who broke a world record for consecutive games in which he hit a homerun, but what you might not know is that Lee is a triple crown winner. (Only the second triple crown winner in Korean Baseball History. The last triple crown winner coming in 1984 -only three years after the KBO's inception).

Twice! The second coming in 2010, an absolute monster year in which he had one of the most dominant offensive seasons in world professional baseball history, leading the KBO in seven offensive categories: Check out this stat line: .364/ .444 /.667 - 44 homers, 133 RBI, 99 runs. We at the Phorum think with a little seasoning, this guy can start and hit cleanup for just about any team in the Show.




Kim Hyun-Soo.OF Nicknamed The Machine by the rabid fans of the KBO, Hyun-soo is a baseball prodigy. Winner of the Lee Young-Min Award (best high school hitter in South Korea), the Machine burst onto the international scene at the 2008 Olympics with a vicious line drive swing, and what seemed almost mystical baseball instincts. In the 9^th inning of the gold Medal game, Hyun-Soo singled in the tie-breaking run. You might also remember him from the 09 WBC. He went 3-3 and drove in the game winner in the Semis, smacked around the best pitching in the world to the tune .393.


Five tool phenoms are pretty rare and the Machine at age 22 is a no brainer. We're not sure about KBO posting rules, but The Machine is definitely worth a look (Go get this guy San Diego! You didn't fool anyone with the Ludwick schtick.)

Alexie Bell RF All this guy did was break the Single Season Cuban HR and RBI record, win a Cuban World Series, win the MVP of that Cuban World Series, and then have a really big year cranking seven grand slams in 76 games, 2 grand slams in one inning on opening day and to top it off tack on another big fly leading his team to the Cuban National Series Championship. A key component to the Cubans gold medal run at the 2007 Word Port Tournament, in the 08 Olympics, Bell was unleashed, hitting cleanup and mashed international pitching to the tune of .500/.556/1.031 with 3 doubles, 4 triples, 2 home runs, 10 runs and 10 RBI in 9 games. Another little guy with a big swing, the Phorum thinks Alexie Bell could start or be the fourth outfielder for just about any team in the league.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka. 2B/SS A shifty fielder with a big arm, this switchhitter stood out in the 09 WBC on a team with Ichiro, Yu Darvish and Norichika Aoki. A gap hitter who has a nifty penchant for getting on base and scoring big runs, Nishioka is a rock star in Japan. Though oft-injured, Nishioka is only 26 years old, and the Phorum secretly believes that if this guy can stay healthy, he could be the guy who replaces Derek Jeter in a couple of years.

Nishoika also has a pretty cool agent zeroske addidias commercial. Check it out here: Nothing is Impossible.

* Nishioka was signed by the Minnesota Twins on 12/18/2010.  He began the 2011 season as the team's starting shortstop.

Norichika Aoki. OF The unequivocal best hitter in Japan, Aoki holds the record for seasons with 200 hits, fastest player to 500 hits and singles in a season. The comparisons to Ichiro are inevitable, though we here at the Phorum, think that Aoki looks more like a 2-hole hitter in an MLB lineup. Aoki hits for contact and has instinctive speed, an incredibly accurate arm and soft hands make Aoki an immediate upgrade for any outfield.

Youliesky Gouriel. INF The best second baseman you never heard of, the son of Cuban legend Lourdes Gouriel, Yulieski is a slick 5-tool second baseman for the Cuban national team and the best player in Cuba for the past five years. Known throughout the island's rickety baseball stadiums, as well as international tournament play for his quick bat and quirky batting stance, Gouriel lead Cuba to Baseball World Cup championships in 2003 and 2005 (hitting 8 home runs in 11 games in the latter), a gold medal at the '03 and '07 Pan American games, and a second-place finish at the '06 World Baseball Classic. After a down year, Guriel rebounded to lead the Cubans to Gold at the Athens Olympics and turned in a stud performance for a disappointing Cuban team at the 09 WBC.  The Phorum has a half a mind to march to Washington to demand an end to the Cuban Embargo as, according to published reports, it is unlikely Gouriel will defect. Nonetheless, Gouriel seems to have the best of a unique Cuban combination of heart, skill and raw athleticism. An obvious choice for any bad team, we would love to see this son of a legend in the bigs.

Hyun-jin Ryu LHP Korean Phenom who broke KBO strikeout record in a game with 17 and had a KBO record 23 consecutive quality starts (6IP-3R or fewer). Ryu caught our eye in the 08 Olympics, and again in the 09 WBC with a plus fastball, and a sick repertoire of diving sliding junk. Only 22 and left-handed to boot, the Phorum thinks Ryu is a number #2 or 3 starter today, a #1 with a year under his belt.

Alfredo Despaigne. OF Cuban slugger, MVP of Cuban leagues. Tried to defect once, may try again.

Frederich Cepeda. DH/OF May be the best pure hitter in the world (not playing in the majors). Another Cuban, at 32, Cepeda is unlikely to defect.

Chang Tai-Shan. DH/3B At 5'9" and a little over two hundred pounds, the man Chinese women have affectionately nicknamed the "Prince of the Forest", the slugger Taiwanese reporters have nicknamed "Tarzan", Chang Tai-shan does not at first glance appear to be anything more than a slightly frumpy, balding short man. Watch this guy swing a bat however, and the fact that he's the alltime CPBL record holder for all the important offensive categories (Hits, HR, RBI) is not as much of a surprise. We know theres been scandal (we figure your team could use a couple cheaters), and he's in his mid thirties, but that swing belongs in the bigs. If you're an AL team, he could be a possible fit at DH.

Yoandry Urgelles. OF Called the best young player in Cuba, Urgelles runs well and carries a big stick.

Masahiro Araki 2B Starting 2B for Japanese National Team

Alexander Mayeta 1B/DH Starting 1B for Cuban National Team

Sidney De Jong C The Phorum isn't as intrigued by De Jong as we are about most of the other players listed here, nonetheless, De Jong may be one of the best catchers in the world, not playing for a major league team. An perennial all-star for the juggernaut Neptunus team of the Hoofdklasse Leaugue, De Jong has been an important part of the Dutch National Teams Recent success in international play. In the 'O5 European Championship, De Jong hit a lively .462 as the Dutch swept their way to a gold. In the '09 World Port Tournament, De Jong threw out an unheard of 6 out 10 basestealers and hit .316 as the Dutch medaled. Plays good defense and gets big hits. Sounds like an upgrade for 9 out of 10 major league teams.

Yoshinori Sato RHP The first Japanese pitcher to be clocked at 100, Sato, only 21, is the Japanese version of The Freak. 5'9", 160, Sato has a smooth ¾ delivery, holding his leg high before kicking into the windup and flicking the ball towards home plate. Sato could be mediocre, as his performance in the Nippon League is only slightly better than average, nonetheless, there are only a few pitchers in the world who hit 100 mph on the gun.


Dirk VantKlooster OF Professional hitting legend for the past 10 years in the Dutch Leagues

Guiseppe Mazzanti 3B Peppe to the Italians, came to States at age nineteen with a big swing and some quick hands, but after two season in the Seattle minors during which Peppe couldn't catch a cold, Mazzanti fled back to his motherland. 10 years later and Mazzanti has become an Itlalian Baseball legend, Record Holder and one of the most clutch hitters on the international tournament circuit.

Jendrick Speer. INF A magician in the field for the German National Team

Kenji Hagiwara. OF Top player in France

Davide Dallospedalae INF 3 time batting champ Italian Series A

Dominic Wulff. INF Arguably best player in German Pro Ball, hits for average and power.

Tiago De Silva RHP Nicknamed "Spongebob", De Silva has been the best right-handed pitcher in the Italian Series A League for the past 3 years.

Hector Daniel Rodriguez LHP Mexican League Playoff MVP, Rodriguez tossed a no-hitter in the first round and finished the playoffs with a 5-0 record and a minuscule 0.66 ERA. A soft tosser with moxy and good break, Rodriguez might be worth a look.