Former Ranger Pitcher Headed to Japan

Remember Vicente Padilla? He was perhaps the Texas Rangers' best pitcher just before the club began to focus more on pitching and bring in some free agents and some homegrown guys that ended up being pretty good.

Padilla was like that at times, but he was also bad at times — in ability and attitude.

Padilla was hated by many of his own teammates and famously has continued feuds with many of his former Rangers teammates, most notably Mark Teixeira, who he plunked this past season as a member of the Boston Red Sox and set the New York Yankees first baseman off. Many of his former teammates accused of him getting them hit by opposing pitchers as payback for Padilla hitting batters.

Now, Padilla is taking his talents to Japan, where he has signed a one-year deal worth a reported $3.25 million to pitch for the SoftBank Hawks.

As a member of the Rangers from 2006-2009, when he was traded midseason to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Padilla had seasons of 15-10 and 14-8 but never had an ERA below 4.50. His best seasons came in 2002 and 2003 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

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