Texas Rangers scout Takeshi ‘T-Money’ Sakurayama is the winner of the Jim Ridley award as the Canadian Baseball Network’s 28th annual scout of the year.

December 3, 2021

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

We’re not sure how Takeshi Sakurayama gained his nickname.

And we’re not sure what the nickname means. Area scouts don’t carry bags of cash like in the pre-draft years where teams were restricted to giving amateurs no more than $4,000 or the player had to stay on the major-league roster.

Sakurayama was nicknamed “T-Money” years ago. Maybe some one had a problem saying his first name.

One thing we do know about Sakurayama: he can scout. In fact, he is the 2021 winner of the Jim Ridley memorial award as the Canadian Baseball Network’s 28th annual Scout of the Year. The best high school arm in the country for the 2021 draft was LHP Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets.

Sakurayama selected and signed Bratt giving him an $850,000 US bonus. He was the fourth Canuck selected behind Wright State Raiders’ INF Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.), who went in the first round to the Milwaukee Brewers, former Great Lake Canadian RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.), a second rounder selected by the New York Mets and OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), like Black a Toronto Mets grad, who was chosen by the Oakland A’s in the fourth round.

T-Money is the fifth non-Canadian based scout to win: mild-mannered, soft spoken Billy Scherrer, who won in 1994, hailed from Buffalo, N.Y. and worked for the Florida Marlins, along with our 2003 winner Dick (The Legend) Groch, of Mount Pleasant, Mich., who now works for the Brewers. Last year’s winner was Lonnie Goldberg, of Overland Park, Kan., the Kansas City Royals scouting director and Howie Norsetter was based in Sydney, Australia, working for the Minnesota Twins, when he won in 2007.

Groch signed Derek Jeter with the New York Yankees and wanted to draft Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) in 2002, while Scherrer works for the Chicago White Sox and Goldberg signed Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) the 2020 Tip O’Neill award winner, for the Braves when Goldberg lived in Guelph, Ont. Norsetter signed 2006 American League MVP Award winner Justin Morneau.

It was difficult to pick a Canadian-based scout as there was not a lot of action on local sandlots and the Junior National Team missed six trips south of the border and to the Dominican Republic due to COVID-19 over an 18-month span.

This July, the Rangers were the most active team when it came to selecting Canadians: drafting and signing four, plus signing two Canuck free agents.

Rangers scouting director Kip Fagg said he spent a lot of his time scouting RHP Jack Leiter of the Vanderbilt Commodores, who the Rangers chose second overall and gave the son of Blue Jays LHP Al Leiter a bonus of $7.922 million.

“I’ve been with the club a long time, but this is by far the most Canadians we ever drafted,” said Fagg, who selected C Kellin Deglan (Langley, BC) from the Langley Blaze with the 22nd overall pick in 2010.

Besides Deglan the top Ranger Canuck drafts (six figures or more in bonus payments) over the years have been RHP Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC) a third rounder in 1995, who signed for $200,000; Mike Nickeas (Vancouver, BC) fifth round, Georgia Tech, $200,000; RHP Steve McKinnon (Duncan, BC) 32nd round, $150,000 and INF Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) fourth round, $415,000, Pitt Panthers.

* * *

Our favorite story from the pre-draft days was the father of a Texas prospect asking the Houston Astros for above the allowed $4,000 amount. He was told the Astros could not break the rules. During the house visit a train chugged past the house.

“How often does that train come by?” asked the scout.

“Same time, every night,” was the answer.

“Be in the bushes by the tracks tomorrow night,” the scout said. “You’ll find something fall off the back of the train. It’s yours.”

Next day the train roared passed and the scout standing at the back of the final car tossed off a bag of cash.

The scout visited and asked the father if the amount of cash in the bag from the night before was enough? “What bag?” asked the father. “I was there, but there wasn’t any money.”

The scout departed and called the office. This is what he heard: “We’ll do it again tonight. Get another scout to drop the bag. You hide in the bushes to see if the farmer is telling us the truth.”

Rangers veteran scouting director Kip Fagg.

* * *

“T-Money did a good job on Bratt,” Fagg said from Arlington, Tex.

Fagg was hired by the legendary Sandy Johnson as a Rangers’ area scout in 1991 and became scouting director in 2010.

“He loved the story. I loved the story. We all loved the story,” said Fagg.

The story?

“Well, he couldn’t pitch at home or come south with his travel teams, so he basically said ‘screw it ... I’ll go to the US,’” Fagg said. “Not all the Canadian kids did that. Mitch Bratt bet on himself. That said something to us.”

Bratt pitched high school ball for the Georgia Premier Academy Red Sox in Statesboro, Ga. and the West Virginia Black Bears in the draft league.

Sakurayama was hired by the Rangers in 2011. He is now an area scout in the Northeast covering New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Canada and is based in Hartford, Conn.

“T-Money has been with me for a while and he ain’t going anywhere as long as I’m here,” said Fagg, who met T-Money when he was working for the Los Angeles Dodgers as a videographer. At a game in Alabama, Fagg hired T-Money as an amateur film guy and soon T-Money began writing up players. Put the camera away.

* * *

Bratt first met first T-Money in May pitching in the draft league.

“I’ve been in contact with him since last November,” Bratt said. “We also had a zoom call with him about a month or so before the draft, which went really well. I thought he was a really great guy and scout. It showed how interested he and the Rangers were in drafting me. He was very respectful and easy to talk to.”

Bratt met with various scouts and higher ups when the Rangers flew him to Arlington, Tex. a few days after the draft to sign. Adam Lewkowicz, the assistant director of amateur scouting, sat down with Bratt when he signed his contract.

* * *

Besides Bratt, some T-Money signs include:

_ LHP Joe Palumbo, a 30th round pick in 2013 from West Islip, NY HS. He pitched in nine games for the Rangers in 2019-20 and was claimed by the San Francisco Giants in Nov. 5.

_ RHP Billy Layne as a 37th rounder in 2015 from Matawan, NJ HS and three years later in the 11th round from Seton Hall University. He signed for a $160,000 bonus. He pitched three seasons and in 2021 was with Sussex County Miners in the Frontier League.

_ RHP Adrian Rodriguez a 39th round in 2019. The 6-foot-5 footer was attending Florida Virtual School in Orlando. Sakurayama found him pitching in a men’s league in the New York area. He appeared in 14 games in the Arizona Complex League in 2021.

_ Free-agent RHP Aidan Curry of Ossining, NY from Fordham Prep in the Bronx. He pitched 11 games in the Arizona Complex league for the Rangers entry in 2021.

* * *

The Rangers have always been first class — when scouting director Fagg, announced the Rangers pick, he dedicated it to the late Dallas Morning News ball scribe Gerry Fraley. It was a classy move by the Rangers, GM Jon Daniels and Fagg. Few respected scouts or loved draft day more than Fraley.

“He used to say to me a couple of days after the draft, ‘I got my guy … one to watch,’ usually some late round pick,” Fagg said. “Some years he’d say, ‘I was wrong on my guy, some years he was right.’”

* * *

Rangers draftees and free-agent signs

LHP Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) Toronto Mets, fifth round Signed $850,000,

Scouts: Takeshi “T-Money” Sakurayama, Ryan Coe.

Numbers in 2021: 3-1, 1.62 ERA, 15 walks and 59 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings with Georgia Premier Red Sox; 1-1, 2.57 with West Virginia in draft league, walking 15 and striking out 44 in 28 innings; 0-0, 3.00, zero walks, 13 strikeouts in six innings with rookie-Arizona Complex League.

Fagg on Bratt: “We saw him pitch in Florida for the Georgia academy and in the draft league. He throws a lot of strikes.”

C Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) Arkansas State, ninth round Signed $30,000

Scouts: Dustin Smith and Demond Smith.

Numbers in 2021: Batted .344 at Arkansas State with 11 doubles, seven homers and 30 RBIs, with a .548 slugging percentage to go with a with a .464 on-base percentage for a 1.002 OPS.

Fagg said: “We saw him at school five or six times.”

LHP Thomas Ireland (Regina, Sask.) Polk State Eagles 13th round Signed, $125,000

Scout: Brett Campbell and Ryan Coe.

Numbers: 6-4 record, 5.37 ERA in 16 games -- 14 starts -- walked 39 and struck out 95 in 63 2/3 innings.

Fagg says: “He’s a real good pitching dude. He had Tommy John surgery which isn’t as serious as it once was.”

RHP Evan Elliott (Toronto, Ont.) Prairie Baseball Academy 15th round $125,000

Scout: Gary McGraw.

Numbers: Made five appearances - three starts - with Kokomo Jackrabbits of the Northwoods League, posting a 4.20 ERA, striking out 17 and walking 17, in 15 innings, while allowing nine hits in 15 innings.

Fagg says: “He was 98-99 MPH in instructional. Gary saw him pitching in the Northwoods League. He’d been hurt, had some bad luck ... wanted to pitch and got drafted and signed. He looks like an offensive guard -- his arm was real loose.”

C Konner Piotto (Abbotsford, BC) Wright State, Free Agent Signed $20,000,

Scouts: Chris Colias, Mike Medici and Scott Littlefield.

Numbers: Hit .346 with 12 doubles, two homers, 23 RBIs and .924 OPS at Wright State in 42 games ... Batted .179 with one double, six RBIs, .509 OPS in 10 games at class-A Hickory and five games at class-A Down East.

Fegg says: “We had some injuries behind the plate after the draft, so I sent out an all points bulletin. Chris turned him in and the guys liked him. I saw him at instructional league and he’s better than I thought ... he’s a good left-handed hitting catcher. He’s not strictly a catch-and-throw guy.”

RHP Adam McKillican, University of British Columbia, Georgia Gwinnett College, Free Agent, Signed $20,000.

Scout: Gary McGraw and Rick Schroeder.

Numbers: 2-3 with 3.65 ERA for Georgia Gwinnett in 18 games -- 12 starts -- as he walked 34 and struck out 69 ... 2-0 in seven games -- one start -- six walks, 13 strikeouts with Frederick Keys ... 0-1, 6.43 ERA with Équipe Québec in independent Frontier League with seven walks, six strikeouts in six games -- one start ... 1-1, 7.36 ERA in six games with three walks, nine strikeouts in five games with class-A Hickory and one game with the Arizona Complex League.

Fegg says: “We needed help after the draft and both our guys liked him.”

Canadian Baseball Network Scout Of The Year

Re-Named Jim Ridley Award In 2009

Year Winner Hometown Club

1994 Bill Scherrer, Buffalo, NY, Florida Marlins

1995 Bill MacKenzie, Ottawa, Ont., Colorado Rockies

1996 Tim Harkness, Hampton, Ont., San Diego Padres

1997 Ed Heather, Cambridge, Ont., Toronto Blue Jays

1998 Wayne Norton, Port Moody, BC, Baltimore Orioles

1999 Walt Jefferies, Paris, Ont., Toronto Blue Jays

2000 Claude Pelletier, Ste-Lezare, Que., New York Mets

2001 Jim Kane, Brampton, Ont., Atlanta Braves

2002 Ken Lenihan, Bedford, N.S., MLB Scouting Bureau

2003 Dick (The Legend) Groch, St. Clair, Mich. Milwaukee Brewers

2004 Jim Ridley, Burlington, Ont., Minnesota Twins

2005 Walt Burrows, Brentwood Bay, BC, MLB Scouting Bureau

2006 Alex Agostino, Montreal, Que., Philadelphia Phillies

2007 Howie Norsetter, Sydney, Australia, Minnesota Twins

2008 Greg Hamilton, Ottawa, Ont., Baseball Canada

2009 Jim Ridley, Burlington, Ont., Minnesota Twins

2010 Jay Lapp, London, Ont., Milwaukee Brewers

2011 Doug Mathieson, Langley, BC, Arizona Diamondbacks

2012 Andrew Tinnish, Burlington, Ont., Blue Jays

2013 Murray Zuk, Souris, Man., San Diego Padres

2014 Wayne Norton, Port Moody, BC, Seattle Mariners

2015 Jim Stevenson, Tulsa, Oak., Houston Astros

2016 Doug Mathieson, Langley, BC, Arizona Diamondbacks

2017 Chris Reitsma, Calgary, Alta., Baltimore Orioles

2018 Bill Byckowski, Georgetown, Ont., Cincinnati Reds

2019 Matt Higginson, Grimsby, Ont, Oakland A’s.

2020 Lonnie Goldberg, Overland Park, Kan., Kansas City Royals.

2021 Takeshi ‘T-Money’ Sakurayama, Hartford, Conn., Texas Rangers.