Brian Bannister Headed To Japan’s Tokyo Giants

Bannister became a popular player with the Royals when he opened up about how often he reads about modern statistical analysis. He claimed to use statistical principles to help him on the mound, and was known to write off exceptional successes and failures as luck. However, while Bannister could talk a big game, he couldn’t translate his knowledge to the field often enough, and last year posted a 6.34 ERA. His career ERA over nearly 700 innings is 5.08, and with such pedestrian numbers and such a pedestrian repertoire, he couldn’t find work stateside. For that reason, he’s following the path of countless other Major Leaguers who ran into a wall.