‘Boomer’ Is Making Noise in Japan : Ex-Major Leaguer Wants Another Shot in United States

He is a big man, and his resume includes big numbers. A .355 batting average, 37 home runs and 130 RBIs.

At 6-foot-6 inches, Greg “Boomer” Wells speaks with a soft, understanding voice. And he says he does not understand what is happening to him.

“My plan was to have a really good season in Japan and then come back to the United States to play,” he said. “It hasn’t worked out that way.”

He won the triple crown with the Hankyu Braves last year. He was the most valuable player in Japan’s professional leagues. His 130 RBIs--in 130 games--were a record.

Now, at age 30 and with a string of seven strong minor-league seasons behind him, Wells wants to play again in the major leagues, where he spent part of 1981 with Toronto and a bit of 1982 with Minnesota.

The Hankyu team, which bought his contract from the Twins, has offered him a three-year pact worth about $1.3 million.

Wells would need an official release from Hankyu to become a free agent so that he could negotiate with any major-league team. Even then, he could not hope to come anywhere close toward matching the Japanese offer in the United States.

Still, the McIntosh, Ala., native wants to stay home to play ball.

“It’s a different way of life over there,” Wells said after his second season as a first baseman in Japan. “It’s more than the language. There are customs and things that you don’t understand, and if you’re not from there, you never will understand them.

“The fans want you to do well, but not to be No. 1. They want one of the Japanese players to lead the team in home runs and things. But they want you to do well, to finish second. You just try to smile and block things out.”

Only two players, Terry Whitfield of the Dodgers and current New York Mets Manager Dave Johnson, have ever started in the major leagues, gone to Japan and then returned to the majors.

“I’d like to escape,” Wells said.

His agent, Jim Turner, has been on the phone. Yet the call Wells is waiting for has not come, and he is running out of time.

“I think the general consensus is he’s not a major league prospect,” said Montreal Expos General Manager Murray Cook, who signed Wells to his first pro contract in 1976 with Pittsburgh. Wells said Cook always treated him fairly and honestly.

“I don’t want to discount anything he’s done in Japan or the quality of ball over there, because he’s done some things there and other players haven’t,” Cook said. “I haven’t seen him for a couple of years, but our reports say he won’t be a full-time, major-league player.”

In his limited chance in the majors, Wells did not sparkle. With Toronto, Wells hit just .247 in 32 games. With Minnesota, he batted .204 in 15 games.

Cook said the salary Wells and his representatives would want, in the vicinity of $400,000 over two years, is “a lot of money.”

If nothing comes through by mid-to late-January, Wells said, he will return to Hankyu. Spring training starts about Feb. 1 in Japan.

“It’s frustrating, mainly,” Wells said. “I think I’ve proven I could hit anywhere I’ve been.”

In 1981, with triple-A Syracuse, he hit .292 with 20 home runs and 71 RBI. In 1982, with triple-A Toledo, he almost won the International League triple crown with a .336 average, 28 homers and 107 RBI.

Then, Wells got a call from the Twins saying Hankyu wanted to buy his contract.

“I couldn’t believe they sold me over there. My first reaction was, ‘I don’t want to go,”’ Wells said. He had the option to refuse but said he thought that, in his situation, it was best to go for two years.

“I knew (the Twins) had Kent Hrbek, who was going to be a great player, but I thought they would have at least traded me,” Wells said.

Baseball abounds with stories about players like Roger Freed, Jim Fuller and Clint Hurdle, who ripped up the minors but didn’t make it in the majors.

“Sometimes, the difference is they can’t catch up with the fastball or hit the curve,” Cook said.

One of the few teams that has shown any interest in Wells recently is Kansas City.

“I know when he was in the major leagues, our feelings about him were fringy, that there were a few holes,” said Dick Balderson, head of the Royals’ scouting department. “He went over there and has been consistent.

“Still, assuming he was a free agent, looking over the opportunities, we couldn’t talk to him now about a major-league contract. We would love to talk to him about something on the triple-A level.

“But we could only offer him a couple thousand dollars a month, and that would be embarrassing to him and embarrassing to us.”

Wells admits the big salary he could get in Japan could help him financially, but it could hurt him in his quest to play in the major leagues. He is also adamant about not returning to the minors.

“I’m not going back there,” he said. “I was already there for a long time.”