Over the years, foreign players on the 11 other teams in Japan besides the Yomiuri Giants have talked about the depth of the Giants and how good some of the Kyojin reserve players could be if the they played for another Central or Pacific League club.

"The Giants have second-line pitchers who could be the ace on our team," or, "They have position players on their bench or even on their farm team who could be regulars and maybe All-Stars if they played for us," are two typical comments heard often.

Now, one such player has been traded from the Giants to a Pa League squad, and it will be interesting to see if the change will lead to a permanent place in the starting lineup of his new team and possible stardom after 12 seasons as a Yomiuri first-team sub and second-team member.

Outfielder Kenji Yano was dealt by the Giants to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for pitcher Toshiyuki Yanuki on June 10. It was somewhat surprising to see Yomiuri give up hitting for pitching, since the Giants have the lowest staff ERA by far in the CL at 2.67 but also the second-worst team batting average at .238.

Two other players were involved in the swap, with Yomiuri getting outfielder Atsushi Kita, and Nippon Ham acquiring pitcher Hideki Sunaga, but Yano and Yanuki were the main guys changing uniforms.

Yano, 34, was a No. 6 draft choice by the Giants in 2003 out of Tokyo's Kokugakuin University. Throughout his career though, in addition to competing with more high-profile teammates for a starting job or even a seat on the varsity bench, Yano was beset by a series of ailments, which often kept him on the inactive list. It seemed as if the injury-prone right-handed hitter could not play a full season without suffering a broken-this or a dislocated-that.

I can recall telling him one year before a spring exhibition game, "Make sure you don't get hurt this season."

"Thanks, I will try not to," he responded, but he was soon injured again, and his name was transferred from the Giants first-team roster to the disabled list again.

The most games in which he played in any one year is 103, which he did twice, in 2006 and again in 2007. But most of his appearances were as a pinch hitter, and he never accumulated the minimum number of plate appearances to qualify for listing among the Central League's leading batters.

Yano's career batting average with the Giants was .269, and he never hit more than seven homers in a season but, again, he did not get a chance to play a full year as a regular.

A fan favorite with the Giants rooters, he is already extremely popular with the Fighters faithful. He got off to a good start, banging out three hits in his Fighters debut on June 12 at Sapporo Dome against the Yokohama Baystars, a day after the Giants left Hokkaido following a three-game series with the Fighters.

Then on Sunday, Yano, serving as designated hitter, cracked a come-from-behind, three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. That blast won that game 3-1 over Yokohama, and Yano appeared on the post-game hero interview for the second time in three days.

If there was any disappointment about leaving the revered Giants, Yano was not showing it. He scampered around the bases after the three-run homer and showed great enthusiasm during the hero comments following the game.

He did not start the final game of the interleague season against the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium on Tuesday, but he was inserted as a pinch hitter and singled, giving him six hits in his first 11 at-bats in the Nippon Ham uniform, good for a whopping .545 batting average.

The Fighters have already made available a Yano souvenir T-shirt, expected to sell briskly when the F's return to Hokkaido for home games against the Chiba Lotte Marines at Victor Starffin Stadium in Asahikawa June 23-24, the Orix Buffaloes at Ocean Stadium in Hakodate June 30 and Sapporo Dome July 2.

Yano turns 35 on Sept. 21, and we'll see if he can play out the remainder of the 2015 campaign without being injured and maybe put together that one great 140-game season in 2016 while he is still young enough.

Fighters team director Kenichi Iwamoto says everyone connected with the club is elated Yano has joined the team.

"He gives us a lot of energy, not only on the field but also in the clubhouse," Iwamoto said. " He works hard and is always the first to get to the park and the last one to leave.

"He talks to people and cares about the other players, staff and fans. I think he will be a good role model for our young players. This is a huge acquisition for us."

Now, let's see if Yano can avoid being carried off the field on a stretcher and stay out of the plaster casts and off the crutches.Diamond Dust: Finally this week, Japanese fan Ken Shimada, a resident of Colorado, recently attended a Rockies game at Coors Field in Denver and noted a sign in the stands pointing to the stadium smoking area. It read, "Smoking Area—Marijuana Prohibited."

Truly a sign of the times.

Contact Wayne Graczyk at: [email protected]