As to the question from ballplayers about playing in Japan, allow me to meld my thoughts with those from Dan Latham, a contributor to this site.

There are 12 Japanese big league teams, each having one minor league team, so there aren’t nearly as many slots available for players in Japan as there are in Major League Baseball and its minor leagues.

Further, each Japanese team opens only a handful of roster spots to foreign players. And foreign doesn't just mean players from the United States, but players from Taiwan, Korea, and Latin America as well.

Major League Baseball scouts generally categorize Japanese pro baseball as AAAA. Meaning it’s a step above AAA and a step below the big leagues. It’s extremely competitive play.

Japanese clubs look for players who’ve been successful in AAA (or possibly AA) and who might be on the bubble of the big leagues and who can contribute right now. They’re not terribly interested in prospects. They want proven pro ballplayers.

Japanese players generally are strong on defense and good at contact hitting. However, few have the power to hit more than ten or fifteen home runs a season. So teams often look for foreign players who can hit home runs. If a player is a fast base-runner or good with a glove, that's an added benefit, but usually not the selling point.

Catchers and middle infielders are in low demand. There’s too much potential for communication problems. Second basemen and shortstops are typically not power hitters, and most teams would prefer to use Japanese players in those positions. There are exceptions, but for the most part Japanese teams want foreign outfielders, first basemen and third basemen.

When selecting foreign pitchers, teams may be more flexible. Because few Japanese pitchers throw over 95 miles per hour, teams are often impressed by foreign pitchers who throw hard. But those with control problems don't last long. Even if a foreign pitcher doesn't throw hard, teams will often give him a look if he has good control and was successful at AAA.

Some Japanese teams use part-time scouts in the U.S. to recommend players. Others will send a full-time scout to the U.S. for a few weeks during the summer to look for players for the following season.

If the scouts have trouble locating players who fit their needs they may use agents to find players, an increasingly common practice.

If you have an agent, you might consider putting him/her to the task of contacting scouts and teams on your behalf.

If you’ve not played in AA, AAA or MLB, you might consider tracking down information about one of the independent leagues, or Italy, Mexico, Taiwan or something along those lines.

Sorry for that grim assessment, but that’s the state of the Japanese game.

Having said all that, there are those of you who don’t fit into the AA-AAA–MLB player model but who will simply not be put off by even this most grim assessment. 

Okay, yes, they do have open tryouts from time to time and maybe someone has come out of such tryouts, though I don’t know of any.

Players have asked if they can contact the teams in Japan directly to get tryout information and give them their personal data. You can do that, though I think it’s a waste of time and money because, as I mentioned, the Japanese scout baseball in the U.S..

But if you're convinced that you're the diamond in the rough and want to give it a shot then you might consider getting Wayne Graczyk’s Japan Baseball Media Guide. While we sell his book on this site, we take no income for doing so.

You can get info on his guide by going to:

http://www.japanball.com/book.htm

In the Japan Baseball Media Guide you'll find all sorts of contact information for each league and ballclub, plus the names of their foreign representatives who speak English so you'll have an actual person to write.

In your letter you can include information about yourself such as:

Your name, age, height, weight, bats and throws.

Your position and details of your defensive and offensive play.

Your baseball resume. Where you've played and where you're playing now.

Your stat package and/or links to sites where your stats might be listed.

Your recent baseball awards and the like.

And you can ask about any tryouts the team may have in Japan and the U.S.