In this episode of Pacific Swings, we sit down with Cooper Hummel — an outfielder whose 2025 season reads less like a baseball career and more like a fever dream written by someone who has never seen a contract before. Astros. Yankees. Orioles (for 48 hours). DFA'd. Re-signed. DFA'd again. And then: 11 homers in 22 games with Tampa Bay in AAA, a flight to Tokyo, and a deal with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. David MacKinnon, former NPB player and Seibu Lions alumnus, guides Cooper through what's coming. Jasper Spanjaart watches from a safe distance, having never been DFA'd in his life. Inside This Episode: - The high school coach who told Cooper he'd never amount to anything as a switch hitter (current status: professional switch hitter, year 10) - Being drafted in the 32nd round and building an MLB career anyway - Why Cooper always knew NPB was in his future — he lived in Japan as a kid - Playing Little League in Musashi-Fuchu with a future NPB player as a teammate - First impressions of Yokohama: the food, the shopping, the neighborhood - Why the BayStars care more about the CL pennant than the Japan Series - The NPB dead ball era coming to an end (allegedly — we know nothing, don't sue us) - Goal-setting: OBP .400 every year, compare yourself to the best in the league - If Cooper hits 40 homers, he's buying dinner. We're holding him to this. 🎙️ Hosted by David MacKinnon (@DCMacK24) & Jasper Spanjaart (@spnjrt) 📺 Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@PacificSwings #CooperHummel #YokohamaBayStars #DeNABayStars #NPB #JapaneseBaseball #PacificSwings #DavidMacKinnon #BaseballPodcast #NPB2025 #BayStars2025 #MiyazakiToshiro #YoshiTsutsugo #ShugoMaki #MLBtoNPB #SpringTrainingJapan #NPBDeadBall #横浜DeNAベイスターズ #クーパー・ヒュンメル #宮崎敏郎 #牧秀悟 #筒香嘉智 #プロ野球2025 #外国人選手NPB #野球ポッドキャスト