Franchy Cordero Vargas is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2017 with the San Diego Padres and has also played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
Cordero with the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2024
Cordero with the Padres in 2017
Cordero with El Paso Chihuahuas in 2019
The Saitama Seibu Lions are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Holdings. The team experienced a recent period of financial difficulty, but the situation brightened when the team received a record ¥6 billion posting fee from the Boston Red Sox for the right to negotiate a contract with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Between 1978 and 2008, the team logo and mascot were based on the adult version of Kimba the White Lion, a classic Japanese anime and manga series by Osamu Tezuka. In 2004, former Seibu Lions player Kazuo Matsui became the first Japanese infielder to play in Major League Baseball.
Yusei Kikuchi
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Kazuo Matsui
Image: Kazuhisa inao no.24