The legacy of Warren Cromartie has endured in Japanese baseball even though it¡¯s been decades since the former Yomiuri Giants star laced up his cleats in Japan.
Cromartie played his last game for the Giants in 1990, before a one-year final act with the Kansas City Royals closed the book on a career that began with the Montreal Expos in the early ¡®70s. He was a bona-fide star with the Giants, which made him a celebrity all over Japan. Even now, Cromartie is still called back to the country for appearances and commercials, a testament to the equity he still has with the generation of fans who watched him play.
¡°It¡¯s wonderful,¡± Cromartie told The Japan Times during his latest visit. ¡°It¡¯s my home, my backyard. I¡¯m still surprised people still recognize me even to this day. I¡¯m very blessed. I don¡¯t take it for granted. Because apparently, I still have value here. Randy Bass (the former Hanshin Tigers legend) and I still have that value after all these years. We left our mark.¡±
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