I went for a haircut the other day and, as usual, the topic of conversation between the barber and myself was sports. He's a typical Japanese sports fan with a typical Japanese name -- Suzuki -- and we chat about baseball, both the Japanese version and the major leagues.

He asked, "Who are some of the big name gaikokujin coming from the majors to play ball in Japan this season?"

The truth is, there are none. Through Feb. 1, the day the 12 Japanese teams began spring training, 23 new North Americans had been signed by the Central and Pacific League clubs. Among them, I must admit, I had only heard of six. However, lack of recognition does not necessarily mean they will not succeed in Japan.

I had never heard of Bobby Rose when he joined the Yokohama BayStars in 1993, but he went on to a stellar eight-year career here. Rose is just one of many with a similar story -- you can add Randy Bass, Boomer Wells, Leon Lee, John Sipin and a host of others who enjoyed lengthy and productive tenures in Japan after coming here as relative unknowns.

I had never heard of Mel Bunch or Eddie Gaillard this time last year, but Bunch threw a no-hitter for the Chunichi Dragons early in the 2000 season and led the Central League in victories. Teammate Gaillard, with 35 saves, was the C.L. Fireman of the Year.

Perhaps the biggest "name" new to Japan this year is third baseman Eduardo Perez of the Hanshin Tigers. He's the son of Tony, first baseman with Cincinnati in the "Big Red Machine" years of the 1970s. But while dad was an All-Star, Eduardo has been a marginal major leaguer, playing parts of eight seasons with the Angels, Reds and Cardinals, compiling a career .244 average.

Ever heard of Ozzie Timmons or Tim Unroe? They're new Chunichi Dragons players -- Timmons a journeyman outfielder with the Cubs, Cincinnati, Seattle and Tampa Bay is a .235 big league hitter. Unroe has played 75 games in "The Show," hitting .233 for Milwaukee and the Angels.

The Yokohama BayStars have four newcomers. First baseman Jon Zuber has a lifetime .250 average in parts of two seasons with Philadelphia. Third sacker Dave Doster is a .233 major league hitter, also in two years with the Phillies. Pitcher Shane Bowers was 0-3 in five games with the 1997 Minnesota Twins, posting an ERA of 8.05. Mark Holzemer went 2-5 with a 7.69 ERA over five seasons with the Angels, Mariners, Oakland and the Phils.

The Yakult Swallows have brought in pitchers Alan Newman from Cleveland and Jonathan Hurst from Taiwan, and outfielder Alex Ramirez, also from the Indians. Newman has a 2-2 record in 19 appearances with Tampa Bay and Cleveland, and his big league ERA is 7.94. Hurst has an ERA of 8.20 in 10 games with Montreal and the Mets but was 16-10 with a 1.82 ERA with Taipei's Brother Elephants in 2000. Ramirez hit .286 in 92 games with the Tribe over three seasons.

Tim Young is a new man on the Hiroshima Carp pitching staff, with 13 major league innings under his belt with Montreal and Boston. His ERA is 6.23.

Joining Perez in Hanshin pinstripes are first baseman Ivan Cruz and pitcher Buddy Carlyle. Cruz has played in 24 games over three seasons with the Yankees and Pittsburgh. Carlyle threw in 11 games for San Diego in 1999 and 2000, compiling a 1-3 record and a 7.08 ERA.

Fukuoka's Daiei Hawks have hired outfielders Pedro Valdes and Tony Mitchell. Valdes batted .247 over three seasons with the Cubs and Texas, while Mitchell never made it to the majors. He's coming from Duluth in the independent Northern League.

The Seibu Lions have inked third baseman Scott McClain whose MLB career consists of nine games and 20 at-bats with Tampa in 1998. He had two hits for a .100 average. First baseman Alex Cabrera is with Seibu too; he hit .263 in 31 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000.

The Lions also have pitcher Miguel Del Toro, a Mexican who was 2-0 in the majors but has a high 6.10 ERA in two campaigns with San Francisco.

Scott Sanders is new to the Nippon Ham Fighters mound staff. In the bigs since 1993 with San Diego, Seattle, Detroit and the Cubs, Sanders was 34-45 with a 4.86 ERA.

The newest signee is first baseman Joe Vitiello, joining the Orix BlueWave. He's a six-year major leaguer with Kansas City and San Diego and is a .237 hitter.

Derrick May comes to the Chiba Lotte Marines from the Mexican League but has the most MLB experience of all the newcomers, 10 years with the Cubs, Milwaukee, Houston, Philadelphia, Montreal and Baltimore. He's a .271 lifetime hitter.

Debuting with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes will be pitcher Will Flynt and infielder-outfielder Freddy Garcia. Flynt has no major league time but was 13-4, 2.68 in Mexico in 2000. Garcia is a .222 hitter over four seasons with Pittsburgh and Atlanta.

The Yomiuri Giants are expected prior to opening day to sign an American relief pitcher (closer), and Lotte will most likely ink another foreign hurler.

No, there are no big names coming this season, but big names do not guarantee high statistics. Conversely, one of the oddities of Japanese baseball is the player who never caught on in North America but found his way to stardom on this side of the Pacific.

This new group is bound to have a few standouts, and that's why they were brought here. Just because many of these guys are yo-yo players (constantly going up and down between the majors and Triple A), does not mean they're yo-yos.

Perhaps Ozzie Timmons will lead the Central League in home runs. Maybe Dave Doster will win the batting title. Miguel Del Toro might pitch a no-hitter. Buddy Carlyle could be this year's Mel Bunch. Is Joe Vitiello the next Randy Bass? Will Pedro Valdes be an all-star? Derrick May: MVP material?

The names may be unknown now, but the barber and I will be talking about some of them later this year.

Welcome, guys. Gambatte!