It’s a basic principle, trial and error. You learn from your past mistakes. When you make a decision or you do something a certain way, and that way fails, you make adjustments so you don’t fail again. Or at least you increase your chances of not failing again. It’s how many of us learn, even children. If my daughter touches a hot plate that just came out of the oven or the microwave and she gets burned, she knows not to that again.

For some reason though, those types of lessons don’t register here in Japan. I have completed nearly 2 seasons here and it amazes me to watch the same mistake being made over and over and over again in regard to pitchers.

I’ve watched pitchers in Japan throw an incredible amount of pitches both in games and in practice. I’ve been told that it is the Japanese way, that the players like it and it’s what works. I could believe that statement if at least some of it were true, none of it is.

My favorite example is of a pitcher who I witnessed throw a bullpen session of over 160 pitches in spring training last year. The next day he came out and threw 10 minutes of live batting practice. He told me he had “Japanese soul” to which I rebutted “you’re going to have Japanese surgery if that continues.” He laughed. That pitcher missed some of last season and all of this season following arm surgery.

In fact you’d be hard pressed to go through our roster and not find a pitcher who hasn’t had some kind of arm trouble. But the tradition continues and throwing goes on and on and on.

We were without our ace pitcher for the majority of last season and all of this season because of an arm injury. He is known as a “work horse” because when he takes the mound anything less than a complete game is a disappointment, regardless of pitch count. We’re in the middle of a tight 4 team race for the final two spots in the post season, we could have really used him this season.

Recently we tied a game 0-0 in 12 innings. The opposing starter threw 9 innings and 171 pitches! That is no typo, 171 pitches in 9 shutout innings. Our starter in that game threw 10 innings of shutout baseball using just 143 pitches to do it. He missed some time this season and last season with an elbow injury.

The latest example game for us this past week. We lost yet another starter to an arm injury. I once watched this guy throw a bullpen session the day before he was scheduled to start. That is unheard of in American baseball and would shock most American pitching coaches but the insanity continues. He was having a nice season, he will be greatly missed.

The relief pitchers may have it the worst. These poor guys throw every single day off the mound. As we enter the final month of the season I watch them reluctantly get up to throw when their name is called. It is what they do here and I’ve yet to meet a reliever that tells me likes it. They just do it because they are told to do it. It took a few months but the team finally realized how I prepare for games and that I would not be getting up to throw off the mound unless they needed me in the game. I think the other guys are envious of my routine and that I have the freedom to do what I know is best for my arm.

If you’re looking for evidence that the bullpen system is a bad one look no further than the fact that for most of this season we were without our closer, top set-up man and most experienced lefty due to injuries. Also look at the turnover rate in our bullpen, we have used so many different relief pitchers this season, it’s no wonder we struggled to be consistent.

It’s like the dots can’t be connected. I’ve heard it said that when these players get hurt 90% of the time it’s their fault. That they are weak and don’t condition themselves properly and that is why they get hurt. That is an ignorant way of thinking. The human body is not built to throw a ball overhand, it is an unnatural motion. We can obviously do it, but we have to take great care of our arms. That requires us to be smart in our training.

Injuries are part of the game and you can’t completely prevent them from happening, but here they happen at an alarming rate and adjustments need to be made. The old school way of thinking is antiquated and ineffective. Each generation is expected to be smarter than the last one, we seem to be about 5 generations behind.

When kids copy their friend’s bad behavior parents we rhetorically ask them, “If your friend jumped off a bridge would you jump off a bridge too?” In Japanese baseball the answer is “yes.”

August 31st, 2008 - Fukuoka, Japan

One of the things about Japanese baseball that foreigners find amusing is the tie rule. No game in Japan can go past 12 innings. As of three days we had no ties this season but that changed in a big way.

I don’t really know if this is some kind of record or what but we tied an entire three game series with the Seibu Lions. The final scores were 4-4, 2-2 and 0-0. The crazy thing was these games were all low scoring but all took a really, really long time. Our 4-4 game took over 5 hours and our 0-0 game took nearly 4 ½ hours. 9 innings of 0-0 baseball should take about 2 hours, it took us 3 ½ hours. Japan has some serious time of game issues and maybe I will address that in another blog entry.

Coping With the Situation

I haven’t done much of anything these past 2 weeks and I hate my current role with the team. I am not contributing at all and I am bored out of my mind just watching baseball games. Baseball players want to play baseball, it’s what we love to do. I love to pitch, I hate to sit and watch baseball games in my uniform from the bullpen.

I recently was reviewing some of my games from earlier in the year and it left me wondering what happened to this season. Actually, I know what happened but I can’t share that with you. I watched some really good and really important games I threw for our team this year. It was frustrating to watch.

I just want a chance to show what I can do here in Japan. I haven’t had that full opportunity here. I feel like I have shown more than enough to pitch in 60-65 games in a season with this team but it just isn’t happening. I trust that I am in my current situation for a reason and remind myself everyday to make the most of it and be ready. But as everyday passes without pitching it gets more and more difficult.

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FINALLY, BULLPEN NIGHT OUT

August 22nd, 2008 - Sendai, Japan

Two years in the making and it finally happened. I have often given the players on my team some flak for never taking me out. I teasingly ask them if they don’t like foreigners or if they are really cheap. A couple of days ago the invitation finally came, the bullpen pitchers were going to have dinner in Sendai and they wanted me to join them.

When I asked what we were going to eat they told me “tongue.” Had I not been in Japan for nearly two years I might have reacted differently, but considering I have been waiting so long to join them for a meal I had no reservations about what we were going to eat.

Cow tongue is a delicacy here. In fact my son, whom I can never get to eat any kind of protein, grew to enjoy tongue in Japan. We have gone to yakiniku a few times (Korean BBQ) and he actually liked the taste of cow tongue. I’m not sure if I was more surprised that he liked it or that he actually would even try it.

Apparently Sendai is known for its cow tongue. One thing I have learned about Japan is that is seems almost every city or region is know for something. The foreigners often joke about each city’s claim to fame. This place is known for it’s great cows and this other place is known for it’s great ramen, the list goes on and on, sometimes we think the translators are just making things up.

The night out was a lot fun, even though I couldn’t understand everything, I had a lot of good laughs. I had just about every kind of tongue imaginable: grilled, raw and boiled. I think boiled was my favorite. Monna the translator was a member of our party of ten, but after about 2 drinks he becomes almost totally useless.

As the night came to a close the discussion began about who was going to pay. Even though our closer was the highest paid at the table he was also one of the youngest. In Japan it does not matter how much money you make, age is much more important in these matters. That is a stark contrast to how we do things in the States.

I often like to share American baseball culture with my teammates. So as we talked about who would pay I shared with them an American baseball tradition of credit cards in a hat. When you go out to dinner with a group of guys who can all afford to pay the bill American baseball players will sometimes put each players credit card in a hat and let the waitress pick one out. Whichever card she picks, that person pays.

Having been the first time they heard of such a thing the guys immediately warmed up to that idea and the game began. It was agreed that two of the lower paid players and Monna would be excluded. Confidence was high for me as I figured the odds were surely in my favor not to be the one to pay the bill.

Our waitress obliged and nervously ran her hand through the plate of credit cards covered by a napkin. She pulled one out. It was gold, similar to mine but I had noticed another player had almost the identical card when we placed our cards on the plate. She showed the card to Shinohara, one of our pitchers, he looked at it slightly confused which immediately told me it must have had a name in English on it. My chant of “Nihongin dake” (Japanese only) apparently had not worked and sure enough the waitress pulled my card.

She was immediately guilt stricken and I played along, telling her that I would never eat at this restaurant again. As you can imagine my bullpen mates got a great laugh out of the whole thing and I did too despite the $600+ USD (¥66,700) bill.

What a way to end my first dinner invitation from my teammates, by getting stuck with the bill. In the end it was one of those moments in my Japanese career I will always remember and I have a feeling my bullpen mates will always remember the night the gaijin (foreigner) showed them an American game and got stuck with the bill.

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IT'S NOT ABOUT ME (or YOU)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24

August 22nd, 2008 - Sendai, Japan

As I rehash all that has gone on in the past month I am realizing a lot about myself. Playing in Japan has changed me. There have been a lot of positive things that have come along with playing here but what I am talking about is a change for the negative.

The last few seasons that I played in the States I had realized, through my faith as a Christian, that my life and my career is not at all about me. Christians believe that whatever we do, we do it for the Lord, for His glory and not our own. That covers all areas of my life, work, family, everything.

When you come to that realization you become freed up to enjoy things more, even work and move from selfish to selfless. You are also freed up from the disappointments of failure because through this faith your life has true meaning and you can better understand the ups and downs you go through. It doesn’t mean you don’t feel pain or frustration after failing at a task, it means that you have perspective. For me personally, my career made a lot more sense and I was able to play this game with a greater sense of purpose. I enjoyed it more but at the same time became more competitive.

Recently however I have slipped. My focus had become more and more on myself and less and less on the God I serve. What has resulted is a dose of humility that has turned out, as it always does, to be a blessing and a reminder to get me back to the place where I am most fulfilled.

As the season went on I became so pre-occupied with my results I grew increasingly selfish and I lost focus on what matters most and why I really play this game. When I started to struggle I became tense, angry and started playing the blame game. I wasn’t taking full responsibility for anything bad that happened. Whether it was a bad pitch or a bad break, it used to never matter to me. I have learned over the past few years to take baseball in stride and trust in the Lord no matter how things were going, good or bad and that attitude has never cut in to my passion to play and win.

I’m disappointed I let it get this far but am grateful there is still time left in the season. The next step for me is to finish this season out mentally strong, to not lose my perspective, to never get focused on the next year and certainly to not be motivated by the financial rewards this game has to offer. Essentially I have to remember it’s not about me.

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FACING THE TRIAL

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. - James 1:2-4

August 17th, 2008 - Fukuoka, Japan

The last few weeks have been rough for me. I lost my job as the top lefty in our bullpen, my era in my last 4 games has gone from around a 2.50 to a 4.50, I’m hardly pitching in any games and my family has been back in the US for what seems like months. Not a fun time for Nicochan.

What has been most disturbing to me is how I have handled this situation. Physically I feel fine, but mentally I have been grinding to get through each day and my attitude hasn’t always been great. There have been days that I haven’t wanted to be here. That’s not like me, I usually handle adversity well, but this time around I have been on an emotional roller coaster of depression, anger and paranoia.

Losing my position in the bullpen is something that has not been easy for me to take, especially because I didn’t think I deserved it. I have been thinking it through, trying to figure out what the root of my frustration is and I think I know.

Something that will never happen for me as a foreign Hawks’ player is that no matter what I do, I will never earn the complete trust of my coaching staff. That is hard for me to accept. As a player your want your coaches to trust and support you, knowing that if you struggle they can still count on you and are rooting for you to return to form. I don’t feel anything close to that right now and it bothers me.

I felt like this year I had made the improvements the team wanted me to make. I worked hard to conform to the pitcher that the team could rely on and for most of this season I have been. But what you learn as a foreigner is that your success is rarely acknowledged and you are often reminded about your failure. This is probably the number one thing foreign players struggle with.

All that I had worked towards this season was taken away pretty quickly. I had to spend 10 days in the minor leagues and when I returned I was at the bottom of the bullpen, pitching about once a week in games that aren’t close, which is pretty much where I stand now. All of this up and down and changing roles is starting to wear me down. I just want to pitch all the time.

What makes matters worse is that my usual support team is home in the United States. We have spent a lot of time apart this season. I skipped the birth of my second son this spring training, which I painfully regret, and I will miss my daughter's August birthday...again. I am going through an incredible amount of guilt for being away from them, though they never complain. I’ll get through this and I will be a major contributor to this team during the final weeks of the season but these past few weeks have been difficult.

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KEEPING THE TRADITION ALIVE

August 6th, 2008 - Shinkansen, Somewhere between Kobe & Fukuoka

One of the things that has plagued me throughout my career, and there have been many, is my weak performance in my first game back from the All-Star break. I’ve tried everything I can to defeat this problem but it seems no matter what I do I never quite feel right after the long break.

Relief pitchers in general do not like many days off in between games. I always say in a perfect world I would pitch in every other game for one inning. In Japan that would 72 games pitched, 72 innings. No doubt that would give me the best possible chance to pitch well. But this is the real world, we are relief pitchers and it never works that way. There will be times when we don’t pitch for a long time and there will be times we could really use a day off, say after pitching 3 or 4 games in a row.

My first game back after the All-Star break made it 8 days since my last game. That is well beyond the 2 day maximum I am comfortable with. I could tell right away I wasn’t sharp. I hit my first batter and issued a bases loaded walk, an absolute no-no. I was discouraged, especially because it was a 1 run game at the time, but I managed to settle down and pitch 2 more decent innings after that.

Like I said I try and do everything I can to stay ready when I am not getting in games. I will throw in the bullpen and play lots of catch but it is nearly impossible to simulate the emotion and adrenaline of pitching in a real major league game.

Short Vacation

Prior to the All-Star break I was sent to the minors for 10 days following a bad game against the Buffaloes. The demotion was a little stunning for me. I can’t argue I had a bad game, I did, but I had been pitching well lately and I was having a difficult time believing the team, especially the bullpen, was better with me in the minors. I was told it was only going to be 10 days and that is exactly what it was, but the move was still surprising.

The positive side to being sent to the minors was the free time I was able to spend with my family prior to their return to the United States. I would have liked to been helping my team win games but Sunshine Pool, Futamigaura Beach, bowling at Hawks Town, Uminonakamichi Park and a night at The Luigan's Hotel was a lot of fun. They are home now so it's back to business.

As a foreign player in Japan you will always be under more scrutiny that the Japanese players. I completely understand that, with a limit of only 4 foreigners per team foreign players are expected to be major contributors to the team and fill in gaps where the team is lacking. I understand all of that and believe it is warranted.

What I struggle with is when a foreigner has a bad game or even a bad week that he immediately gets sent to the minors. The end result is an enormous amount of pressure on the foreign players to be perfect and a discouraged attitude. I have talked to players about this around the league. They all have similar struggles and know the Hawks demand a lot from us.

A foreign hitter told me last year he felt like he had to hit a homerun every time he was batting. That is an impossible way to play baseball. I know I have felt the same as a pitcher at times. Baseball is a game of failure and you will fail often. When I pitch poorly I am determined to come back in my next game and be better. When you don’t get that opportunity you get frustrated and put unnecessary pressure on yourself. It then becomes nearly impossible to be the player that you are.

This is the life of a foreign player in Japan. I have often said I have never felt more pressure to perform than I do here. I pitched in over 300 major league games in US in places like New York, the pressure there is nearly non-existent compared to playing here. The foreign player has to ignore the standards he is used to be being judged by and be ready to play under a whole new set of rules. It is no doubt difficult and stressful but when you succeed the reward can be great.

Don’t misunderstand me, the foreign players like playing here and we all want to do well and win. What I am sharing with you are some of the struggles we deal with along the way. The fans are incredibly supportive of us and we appreciate that more than you will ever know.

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GOING GREEN IS BAD!

July 28th, 2008 - Fukuoka, Japan

Before environmentalists get angry let me explain what I mean.

The Hawks are the only team in Japan that provide their foreign players with rental cars. It is a great thing for us, as getting around Fukuoka without a car would be difficult.

Of course driving in Japan for a foreigner could present a few problems. Through my 2 seasons here I haven’t had many issues. Last year I backed into a pole in the post office parking lot and that cost me a few dollars, but other than that things have gone pretty smoothly, until today.

I woke up this morning realizing I needed to get gas before I drove to Gannosu for an early practice. I have had to get gas at least a dozen times over the past 2 years and have never had a problem. Today when I arrived at the self serve gas station I put ¥2000 yen worth of gas in my Toyota Sienta and off I went.

About a kilometer later as I was approaching a large bridge on the highway I felt my car begin to sputter. Eventually when I stepped on the gas pedal I was going nowhere. I knew I was in trouble. To make matters worse I was stuck between an on ramp and a fast moving lane of traffic. I had no chance of getting over to get out of the way of the morning traffic.

About a minute later, a teammate approached, also on his way to practice, to see what was going on. Yoshimoto helped me push my car off to the side of the road. It wasn’t easy as we had to push the car slightly uphill but we got the job done.

I called Taka, the trusty translator, and he made the necessary calls to get a tow truck to me. He also came and picked me up. Taka told me not to worry because it wasn’t my fault my car stopped working. I wish that were true.

What I realized was that at the gas station I put the “green” gas in my car, more commonly known as diesel. My little car apparently doesn’t like the taste of diesel gas, in fact when she drinks it she gets very sick and does not want to move any more.

Like I said, I have gotten gas in Japan plenty of times and always filled up with “red” gas, regular. Today I was a true “baka gaijin” (dumb foreigner) and when I reached practice 50 minutes late, my teammate got a good laugh out of my mistake.

Almost 15 months I have lived in Japan and the adventures never cease.

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STEPPING UP

July 17th, 2008 - Fukuoka, Japan

Any of you who saw our last game versus the Seibu Lions most likely have no idea how incredibly impressive the victory really was. First and foremost for me was the pitching of Hideaki Takahashi. The 26 year old recently converted reliever got the surprise of his life that night when less than 10 minutes before game time he was told he was going to start for the Hawks.

Our scheduled starter, Rick Guttormson, had aggravated his groin muscle during warm-ups and it was determined he would not be able to pitch. Takahashi, who had pitched an inning the night before was told he would be taking Rick’s place. Usually at that time a pitcher like Takahashi is not even in his uniform yet. He is most likely getting stretched out by the trainers and preparing to possibly enter the game sometime after the 4th inning. Mentally and physically he is not prepared to pitch in the game at that point.

Nevertheless he did what he had to do to get ready and started the game just a couple of minutes late for us. After the first inning with no runs allowed I saw Takahashi in the clubhouse and through a translator told him to be careful and only do what his body would allow. I was trying to caution him to not try and do too much, risking injury. When a relief pitcher gets what we call an “emergency start” like this he is usually expected to throw maybe 3 innings with the rest of the bullpen pitching the remainder of the game.

Takahashi went above and beyond the call of duty. He pitched 5 innings of shutout baseball and held a 1-0 lead. I was shocked he pitched both the 4th and 5th innings. He was giving an incredible performance considering the circumstances. I was even more shocked when he took the mound again in the 6th inning. Finally the Lions got to him and he allowed 3 earned runs but that doesn’t negate the amazing performance he gave his team. Eventually we tied the game and won it in 12 innings 6-5.

As great as Takahashi was our new starting catcher, Hiroaki Takaya was even better. Takaya has been our starting catcher for about a week now and has an incredible impact. His list of accomplishments was pretty amazing.

He hit his first home run of his career off a pretty good pitcher in Wakui to give us that 1-0 lead that held up for 5 innings. He also threw out 2 potential base stealers in one inning, something that has been a problem for our team this year. Later in the game he made an unbelievable catch on a foul ball that landed him in the Hawks’ dugout. It was one of the best I have ever seen when you consider how far he had to run and the depth of his fall into the dugout. And just when you thought he was done with his great game Takaya singles in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th for the “sayonara” win! Oh yeah, he also caught 12 innings which in and of itself is a lot of work.

It was a great day for Takahashi and Takaya and a great win for the Hawks. This league will be a battle to the end of the season and days like this give us encouragement that we have what it takes to be champions.

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GETTING IT BACK TOGETHER

July 9th, 2008 - Tokyo, Japan

The Hawks have hit a little rough patch but hopefully that is behind us. After the 4 day post-interleague break we had been unable to recapture the momentum that we built up en route to the interleague championship. We were able to win our first game back, but just barely (see: Conquering Kitakyushu – June 27th). After that we lost 7 straight games.

We had been doing just about everything wrong. Our bullpen was having a really tough time and it seemed like we couldn’t do anything right. We would score some runs and be unable to hold the other team down. The days we pitched well we couldn’t score. These are the kinds of things that happen during a losing streak.

Lucky for us we played well against the first place Lions. In a short 2 games series we were able to win both games. Those were two big wins for us, making it three in a row and hopefully putting us back on target for the Pacific League Championship we so greatly desire.

Losing is never fun and the 7 game losing streak was just awful. There was a lot of negativity surrounding the team and Mr. Oh was particularly upset with us, understandably so. For me the most important thing to do in those situations is to try and stay positive. Players and coaches are frustrated, we all want to win, but when things don’t go our way it is important we continue to support each other so we can start winning again.

That is probably one thing I have struggled with in playing over here. Teams take loses hard and I don’t like to lose as much as anyone else. But when we do lose I believe we have to pick up the pieces and move on. Dwelling on your failure is not how you turn it around. The sun rises every day and every new day presents a new opportunity to win for a baseball player. I think we were carrying around too much anxiety and negativity over losing and things continued to get worse. It seemed like we were scared to make a mistake instead of fighting to win.

Thankfully that is over and now we move on to the 2nd place Fighters to finish up what has been the longest road trip of the season, 2 full weeks.

Travel for the Hawks is difficult because of our location. We only have practice on Thursday coupled with the travel to Hokkaido, the night off is welcomed. A good dinner and a full night’s rest will be great before the big 3 game series.

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CONQUERING KITAKYUSHU

June 27th, 2008 - Kitakyushu, Japan

For those that don’t know Kitakyushu is a city about an hour’s drive from Fukuoka. The Hawks play a couple of games there every year. It’s what we foreigners call a “local stadium” or “countryside game.”

I got my first taste of Kitakyushu last season and the results were not pretty. I actually had the displeasure of pitching their twice in 2007. My results in 2 games: 1 inning, 1 hit, 1 strikeout, 5 walks and 3 runs (2 earned). There is no way to make it sound nice, I pitched awful in Kitakyushu.

When I saw this season’s schedule I saw that we were playing 3 games in Kitakyushu this year. You might be able to guess my reaction.

Places like Kitakyushu are difficult for foreigners, especially first time foreigners. The amenities are nothing like we are used to. The fields are usually very small and homerun friendly. The clubhouses, if there is one, is usually very small and don’t very much resemble a major league clubhouse. My favorite of course are the mounds, they are the biggest adjustment for a foreigner and offer the greatest discomfort. I remember thinking last year in Kitakyushu how shocked I was that they played games at fields like this and that the stats actually counted toward your professional season.

There was a point in my Japanese career when I was determined to be great at these stadiums. Later I started to think maybe I should just back off my greatest nemesis and accept this impossibility.

Our first trip to Kitakyushu this season a prayer was answered. Our starter threw a complete game and no relief pitchers were needed, most importantly not me. The next time I had sustained a minor injury (no, I wasn’t faking) and was unable to pitch. With 2 of the 3 games out of the way I was sure I was destined not to pitch in Kitakyushu in 2008 and that was just fine with me.

This last game we had a lefty starter going for us, that immediately decreased my chances of pitching because the Eagles started 9 right handed hitters. I liked my odds of getting another day off in Kitakyushu.

In the eighth inning I was called upon to warm up in the bullpen. My initial thought was “oh great!” One of relievers had gotten into trouble, he loaded the bases with no outs, the scored was tied 2-2 and sure enough I get the call to come into the game.

Bases loaded with no outs in a 2-2 game is one of the most impossible situations for a relief pitcher, now I was going to have to face this situation in Kitakyushu of all places! Warming up in the bullpen has always been one of my least favorite parts of being in Kitakyushu, the mound is pretty awful and the lighting is dim. I wasn’t feeling very good and knew I was going to have to fight myself and the circumstances to get ready to pitch in a major league baseball game.

The call comes and I make my way to the game mound and look down. The mound was an absolute mess, it looked like someone had dropped a grenade right at the bottom where the pitcher’s leg lands. I had never seen anything like it.

With my back against the wall and my team needing me there wasn’t much I could do so I took the mound, reminded myself to concentrate on making good pitches and not to let the circumstance of the field get to me.

Surprisingly it worked! I was able to work my way out of the bases loaded, no outs situation in the 8th inning and also throw a shutout inning in the 9th. We scored in the bottom of the 9th and not only did I have a good outing in Kitakyushu but I also got a win and hero of the game!

It’s hard for a relief pitcher to get hero of the game, to do it Kitakyushu for me should make you believe in miracles, because that is exactly what it was.

So I like to think I slayed the beast, the beast being the Kitakyushu pitcher’s mound. I’m not sure I’ve ever met such a challenge under extremely difficult circumstances like I was able to tonight. I was just glad to get out of there without embarrassing myself and not letting my team down.

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NOW THAT WAS EXCITING!!

June 21st, 2008 - Tokyo, Japan

What a great finish to Interleague Play in 2008. Entering the last day of games there was a four way tie between the Hawks, the Giants, the Fighters and the Tigers. It was scripted perfect as those four teams were playing each other on Sunday night. We were in Tokyo playing the Giants and the Fighters were playing the Tigers at Koshien.

The tie breaker rules are kind of silly if you ask me but they worked in our favor. The rules state that if there is a tie at the end of play last season’s interleague records will be used as the tie breaker. The Fighters won interleague last year so had they won tonight they would have been champions. We had a better record than the Tigers in 2007 so we needed them to win and we had to beat the Giants to take the title. The Tigers had a 3-1 record against us in interleague this year, that’s why I say we were lucky with the tie breaker rules.

The news came through that the Tigers had beaten the Fighters. Now we controlled our own destiny. It was the 8th inning at the time and we were tied with the Giants 2-2. In the top of the 9th we played an incredible game of small ball. Giants closer Marc Kroon was on the hill for the Giants, the hardest thrower in Japan. Last time we faced him at the Yahoo! Dome he threw a 162 km (101 mph) fastball, a Japanese record.

We squeezed out an infield single followed by 2 sacrifice bunts. This was an amazing feat for us. Kroon has to be the most difficult pitcher to bunt against in NPB. With the infield drawn in and runners on 2nd and 3rd we hit a ground ball to 2B. The Giants’ second baseman made a nice play and threw home but Takeshi Tsuji had a great slide into home plate and was safe by inches.

My “nihongin tomodachi” (Japanese friend) Akihiro Yanase got the first two outs in the bottom of the 9th. Amazingly we threw out one of the Giants best base stealers for the second out. I was brought in to face a lefty to try and finish off the win.

The adrenaline I felt taking the mound was exciting. The opportunity to clinch the interleague title in Tokyo Dome was awesome. I couldn’t wait for the inning to start. I inherited a 1 ball, no strike count. I was so excited I had to remind myself to stay calm and to not try to do more than I am capable of. I was also thinking about the staff and players on the team that so badly wanted this interleague title.

If you are reading this as an American baseball fan you are probably asking yourself “what’s the big deal, who cares if you finish in first or second for interleague play?” Well, in Japan it is completely different. The NPB puts up a prize of ¥50,000,000 (about $500,000 USD) to the team that wins interleague play. I have never had a chance to get one hitter out for a half of million dollars until tonight.

After throwing 2 strikes I got the lefty pinch hitter to roll over on a cutter and hit a ground ball to our second baseman. We were Interleague Champs and that was a great feeling. It’s only mid season but for us, a team that has struggled this season, it was important. We had a chance to do something that mattered and we finished the task. We need to take this momentum into regular season play and make a charge toward the Pacific League title, the one that really matters.

What I was most impressed with was our 2 bunts in the 9th inning and our base stealer thrown out in the bottom of the 9th inning. These are the things we are going to have to do to be winners in this league.

Now four days off. For me I will enjoy an off day in Tokyo with my family. We will go see Asakusa, the Imperial Palace and the Tokyo Tower before returning to Fukuoka. Thank you Hawks’ fans in Tokyo for making this a special evening and all of you rooting us on back in Fukuoka and around Japan. We did it!!

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WHAT'S IN A GLOVE?

June 6th, 2008 - Kobe, Japan

I have asked so many times since coming to this side of the world to play baseball and live a very simple question, “why?” It is a question that rarely gets a straight answer, any foreigner living in Japan knows what I am talking about.

The latest installment of my “why” questions came this week as a minor investigation was launched into the baseball glove I use in games. I have been basically been using the same Louisville Slugger glove model since I first reached the big leagues in 1995. There have been some slight variations but essentially it has been the same model, color (black) and stitching of my name and the Louisville Slugger logo in white.

After batting practice one day I was returning from a 45 minute session I had spent in an oxygen chamber (we have 3 at the Yahoo! Dome) when one of our translators informed me that an umpire was in my locker, along with my pitching coach, and took my glove. I was angry for a couple of reasons; 1) why was an umpire in our locker room? 2) Why in the world was he taking something out of my locker without my permission? Our lockers are like your desk at work or your bedroom at home. They are not available for anyone to just walk up and take anything they wish. They are private, sacred areas to us. 3) How do they know they even took the glove I use in the game? I have 4 gloves in my locker.

Instantly I went on a mission to find the umpire’s locker room and get my glove back. On the way I ran into my pitching coach who had my glove and told me I am not allowed to use this glove because of the white lettering on a black leather glove. This is the same style glove I have used over the past 1 1/2 seasons in Japan, 60 games in the majors, 23 in the minors and about 20 or so more in spring training. Over 100 games in front of official NPB umpires and now they are bringing up the legitimacy of my glove? Why now?

The style of glove is very common in the US and because of its coloring offers me no advantage as pitcher. If chose I could have yellow writing or even bright pink, which yes, you do see here, over my black glove but not white or gray. I could also use a bright blue glove, which I have seen pitchers in Japan use, even red. If I remember correctly you can’t pitch with those kinds of gloves in MLB.

At times the Japanese put a twist on the American rules of baseball but I can never seem to find a logical explanation why. The stringent balk rule is an example and now the glove color is another. A blue glove for a pitcher wearing a black, white and yellow uniform (the Hawks) stands outs much more than my black glove with my name stitched with white lettering on it. The two are not even comparable.

Yes, it’s a rule and I have to follow it, but can anyone tell me why it is a rule? What purpose does it serve? It is a part of the Japanese culture that I at times I admire and at other times I think is dangerous. Rarely is authority questioned. For me, it is one of those things I need answered. I can’t do things that seem to serve no purpose without at least asking why.

The solution? I colored in all my white lettering and stitching red. So if you see me on television with my black glove and red lettering you'll know why. I also had to color 3 of the 4 Louisville Slugger logos black on my glove because in Japan you are only allowed to have 1 logo of the glove manufacturer on your game glove.

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IT'S BEEN A WHILE

May 26th, 2008 - Nagoya, Japan

It has been a long time since I have updated this website. I have a habit of that sometimes, where I get busy and the blog becomes a secondary thought. Since my last update my family has arrived in Japan. Seeing our newest addition, Luke, for the first time as well as my other two children and wife has made me very happy. It is difficult for the foreign player who has to spend time away from his family. This year was especially difficult for me, since it had been nearly three months since I had seen my family. Everyone has settled in well and we are enjoying another spring and summer together in Fukuoka.

I had also spent some time in the minor leagues since I have last updated the blog. I don’t get much in the mood to write when I am in the minor leagues. As most players do, I was not happy to get the news that I was being demoted. We have an unusual situation here with the Hawks. This season we have 5 American pitchers. No other team has that many. In Japan only 3 foreign pitchers can be active at one time, meaning 2 of us must always be in the minor leagues or deactivated from the major league roster. That means a lot of changing of the roster throughout the year, especially when all 5 pitchers are very capable of contributing to the major league team.

We knew things were going to be like this after we signed the 5 American pitchers but that doesn’t always make it easy. Because of the NPB rules not everyone will pitch as much as they would like to and probably deserve to this year.

When I had first gotten the news I was going to the minors I had actually considered retiring for the rest of this season. I wasn’t sure I was up for what the season was going to bring, a lot of up and down from the minors to the majors. Those thoughts only lasted about a half of a day. I came to the conclusion that I love to pitch and I still have a great passion for the competition. Even though the roster changes will never be 100% satisfactory for us American pitchers I just have to make the best of it. I know there is a greater chance I will spend more time in the minor leagues because of how many American pitchers we have. There isn’t much I can do about that.

The team is struggling but we are not panicking. The Seibu Lions have gotten off to a nice start and have gained an early big league in the Pacific League. The rest of the teams are all in the same boat, sitting around .500. So even though we have not played well consistently yet we still have a great chance to get into the playoffs. There is a lot of time left in the season. We have been hit hard by the injury bug and once we are healthy and strong I expect the Hawks to be near the top of the standings on October 2nd.

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