The Central League's Chunichi Dragons have signed free-agent ex-Milwaukee Brewers catcher and bona fide major-leaguer Dave Nilsson, and Dragons manager Senichi Hoshino couldn't be happier. Having lost out to the rival Tokyo Yomiuri Giants for the services of Japanese free-agents Akira Eto and Kimiyasu Kudo, the Drags took some of the money they would've spent signing those two and bagged a biggie.
The news about Nilsson going to Nagoya began to break last Monday, Jan. 10, when the Chunichi sports, the Dragons affiliated print journal, carried a Page 1 headline stating the team was about to sign a slugger "with more power than Leo Gomez," who slammed 36 homers and drove in 109 for the 1999 CL pennant-winning club. The following day, Nilsson's name, photo, profile and lifetime statistics were plastered across the front page of the Chunichi, and other sports papers carried the news as well.
According to the story, Nilsson will sign a one-year contract for $3 million, with the stipulation he will be allowed a couple weeks' leave of absence in September to return to his native Australia and play for his national team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.