By Glen Carter
January 1, 2013 – 8:23 a.m.  JST

As is usually the case in the LRS, the arrival of a new year means farewell to several players that formally filled their retirement papers with the league this morning.  Two major names – former Edo Battousai catcher Carlos Gómez and longtime Hyakujuu Mighty Mecha/Shinkansen hurler Alonso Arteaga – have decided to call it quits.

Strong arguments can be made for both to be admitted into the LRS Hall of Fame, with service time being the only real question.  After leaving the PEBA, Gómez had four very solid seasons in the LRS.  During that time, he was arguably the league’s top overall catcher.  The Colombian slugged his way to a .274/.405/.502 slash line and a cumulative 152.9 VORP, which is good for 4^th all-time amongst catchers.  Gómez was a two-time All-Star and a member of the 2011 Edo squad that won the Neo-Tokyo Cup.

“It’s been a wild ride,” Gómez told reporters at a press conference outside of LRS headquarters in Tokyo.  “I never expected to play in Japan but, after a couple seasons, I couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else.  I got offers, some from PEBA teams, but after playing in Edo – even though they dropped me before my contract was up – I couldn’t pull the trigger and sign with another club.  What can I say?  I’ve had U2’s ‘With or Without You’ on repeat on my iPod for the last year.  Now I can finally rest easy and say I’m done.”

Arteaga, a Cuban pitcher that had an undistinguished career in the PEBA, took the LRS by storm in 2008.  He dazzled the league with a no-hitter vs. the Shin Seiki Evas on June 11, 2008.  It would be the first of three no-hitters for Arteaga in four LRS seasons.  He leaves with an LRS record of 55-25, a 2.53 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  His 221.9 VORP puts him 10^th on the all-time LRS list among starting pitchers.

“First and foremost, I want to thank the Hyakujuu fans.  What a great group of people, and what a wonderful city Hiroshima is,” Arteaga said at the same press conference.  “My LRS experience was amazing through and through, and even though I have to pin some blame on the Shin Seiki doctors for fouling up my elbow ligament reconstruction surgery, causing me to end my career before I wanted to, I still feel a great debt toward this league.  With the exception of the Evas organization.”

Other notable names hanging it up:

1B Hokusai Tanaka, the switch-hitting veteran was a member of Neo-Tokyo’s recent championship team.  “I know there were those who thought I was undeserving of my selection to the 2012 League of the Rising Sun All-Star Game,” Tanaka said, “but I got the last laugh.  I won the Cup, you jerks.”

RP Naohiro Obinata, a teammate of Gómez ‘s on the 2011 Neo-Tokyo Cup-winning squad.  “He was a fighter,” said Obinata of Gómez.  “If Edo fans think that they’ll get as much out of Kenko Nakamura, who they dropped Gómez for, they’ll be mistaken.”

OF Harald Bakboord, a bench player for the back-to-back Cup-winning Yamato Battleships.  “Mensen denken dat ik heb geluk dat op twee kampioenschap teams.  Dat ik op de juiste plaats op het juiste moment.  Nou, soms is het beter om geluk te hebben dan goed.”