Deadspin: kaz tadano

Baseball Loses A Trailblazer

Leitch — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:10:54 EST

It is truly a sad day in the world of baseball: Kaz Tadano, the Japanese former relief pitcher for the Indians, has decided to return to Japan. We already miss him.

You might remember Kaz as ... well, as the baseball player who did some gay porn. That seems as good a way to remember him as any. (That's him in the incredibly disturbing screen shot above.)

This now means that next season will be yet another baseball slate that doesn't feature a single player who has ever appeared in a gay porn film. Knowingly, anyway. 'Tis a shame; we had grown accustomed to that fact, and aren't sure how we'll be able to carry on.

Kazuhito Tadano Returns To Japan [East Windup Chronicle]
Indians' Gay Porn Reliever Sent Down Again [Deadspin]

The Closer: Jazz Hands!

Leitch — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 10:15:25 EDT

Five tidbits from a night of baseball ...

1. Ah-cha-cha-cha! We made the rather brutal mistake of staying up to watch the end of the A's-Yankees game last night/this morning. Seeing the Yankees lose in the last at-bat wasn't enough to make up for our early-morning grogginess. The good news: Derek Jeter's apparent habit of showing off Jazz Hands! every time he crosses home plate. By the way, Bobby Crosby got hurt. Again.

2. Where Is Everybody?. We know the weather wasn't great in Seattle yesterday, but, uh, since when is the weather great in Seattle? The Mariners announced only 20,051 paid attendance yesterday, the second-lowest total in Safeco Field history.

3. Easy There, Lefty. Not a good day for marquee lefthanders yesterday; both Houston's Andy Pettitte and Minnesota's Johan Santana got hammered. They gave up a combined 23 hits in 10 innings to Florida and Toronto, respectively. Did you guys see that? We did a straight sports item.

4. That Didn't Take Long. Nomar Garciaparra went on the disabled list again. In other words, no real position change for him after all.

5. Welcome To Oak-town. It's a good day for underground gay porn collectors of Northern California; noted thespian Kaz Tadano was traded to the A's by the Indians. He might have been excited for a moment before realizing the guy trading for him was this Billy Beane, not this Billy Bean.

Jose Canseco, Professional Wrestler (Of Course)

Leitch — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 10:00:50 EDT

We're not even going to pretend to be surprised here: Jose Canseco is rumored to making an appearance at Wrestlemania this spring. Perhaps it is telling that the people who are most concerned about this development are not baseball fans, but wrestling fans. Seems like the WWE — remember, that's what it's called now, lest you confuse it with a bunch of cute pandas — has had its own troubles with steroids in the past, with president Vince McMahon having actually been indicted for distribution of illegal steroids. (Say what you will about Bud Selig, but that never happened to him.)

And now Canseco could end up at Wrestlemania, joining such esteemed baseball legends like Pete Rose (gamber), Billy Martin (drunk) and Tommy Lasorda (dangerous, overpowering addiction to baked ziti). We're still waiting to see Canseco's film audition tape, but until then, seeing him romp around a ring with guys in masks will have to do. (We guess that makes him the second baseball player to romp around a ring with guys in masks, after Indians minor league Kaz Tadano.)

Canseco To Appear At Wrestlemania? [PW Insider]
Jose Canseco, Master Thespian [Deadspin]
Indians Gay Porn Reliever Sent Down Again [Deadspin]

(By the way, that's current White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen giving Canseco a backrub. We won't even speculate what the backstory is there.)