Has any good MLB baseball player ever gone to Japan or Latin America while still in their prime?

Question

I see all these players in other leagues leaving because of the Salary cap so i was wondering if any good baseball player ever left the MLB.

Answer 1

Julio Franco went to Japan to play after the '94 strike season.  He was in his mid-30's at the time and still basically at the peak of his career.  He was a good player too, he went to 3 AS games and was the AS MVP in 1990.  He also won 5 Silver Sluggers including one in '94, the season before he left.  Most impressively, he won a batting title in 1991.

We'd be talking about him for the Hall of Fame had he not gone to Japan to play.  Don't think he wouldn't have, he'd have gotten 3,000 hits and probably rather easily.

Answer 2

Benny Agbayani followed Bobby Valentine to the Chiba Lotte Marines. I think he was a good player for the NY Mets.

Answer 3

Benny Agbayani left the Mets to play for Bobby Valentine in Japan. A few mediocre players have gone over there over the years, but never any stars.

Answer 4

no

/post