[外電] Boston's Other Japanese Pitcher

看板Okajima作者chanword (chanword)時間17年前 (2007/08/27 13:20)推噓2(2推 0噓 0→)

留言2則, 2人參與討論串1/1

The New York Times 的一篇報導 Boston’s Other Japanese Pitcher By JERE LONGMAN August 27, 2007 CHICAGO, Aug. 26 — He came to the Red Sox as the other Japanese pitcher, a 31-year-old rookie reliever still mistaken for his more celebrated teammate by autograph seekers and in the occasional newspaper photo caption. Earlier this season, a Boston cabbie kept raving about this new guy, Hideki Okajima, unaware that his favorite left-hander was riding in the back seat. Okajima said he and his wife never alerted the taxi driver. He preferred the self-effacing anonymity that led him to say in spring training that he was willing to be “a hero in the dark,” unconcerned about being overshadowed by Boston’s more renowned Japanese pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka. Even Okajima's unconventional delivery suggests a kind of deference, his head bent toward the ground in a manner that translates as “Excuse me, I’m sorry.” He pitched on three championship teams in 12 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants and the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese league, but Okajima’s career numbers were modest — a 34-32 record, 41 saves and a 3.36 earned run average. There is no bravado in his fastball, which red-lines at 88 miles an hour. And his first official pitch for the Red Sox was pounded for a home run. Still, Okajima has persevered with a quiet certitude. It was Okajima the setup man, not Matsuzaka the starter, who made the American League All-Star team. He was as responsible as anyone for the Red Sox’ liftoff this season, which has kept them orbiting comfortably above the Yankees as their rivalry resumes Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Relying on his deceptive delivery, a Glavinesque ability to stretch the plate with his pinpoint fastball and the overnight discovery of a split-changeup, Okajima has produced the lowest E.R.A. among qualifying major league relievers (1.17). He has allowed a run in only 8 of 57 appearances, holding hitters to a .172 average, fifth lowest in the American League, while striking out 53 in 61 2/3 innings. “You can say he’s one of the most valuable players we’ve had this year,” John Farrell, the Red Sox’ pitching coach, said of Okajima. Or, to quote that great strike-zone artist, left fielder Manny Ramirez, “Those Japanese guys know how to paint.” In truth, it was never a burning desire for Okajima to set up his easel in the major leagues. For him, pitching is a job, not an adventure. He learned his uncommon delivery — head jerking downward as he releases the ball — as a boy from the pages of a comic book. He ignored frequent attempts to alter his mechanics and built a content, if unexceptional, career in Japan. Last season, though, Okajima recorded a career-low E.R.A. of 2.14, striking out 63 batters in 54 2/3 innings as the Ham Fighters won the Japan Series. The Red Sox, in search of a left-handed reliever, offered a two-year contract worth $1.25 million a year, and Okajima accepted, saying, “I go to the U.S. like a business trip, a long business trip.” Long and bumpy, at least in the beginning. On April 2, in the season opener, Okajima’s first pitch traveled 410 feet in the opposite direction, swatted for a home run by John Buck of Kansas City. Okajima had thrown a fastball on the outside corner, safely elusive in Japan, only to be stunned by the power of major league hitters. Are they all like that? he wondered. But it would be 20 2/3 innings over 20 additional appearances — nearly two months — before Okajima surrendered another run. On April 15, during a rainout, he worked on a changeup, which he had thrown sparingly during spring training. Farrell, the pitching coach, suggested that Okajima pronate his split-fingered release, snapping his wrist inward to produce a screwball-type movement that would drop away from right-handed hitters. “In a matter of a couple pitches, that was it,” Farrell said of the changeup, which has become known as the Oki Doki. Five days later, Okajima was sent to the mound to finish off the Yankees, with the Red Sox holding a 7-6 lead in the ninth inning after a comeback against Mariano Rivera. Okajima was unknown and untested, but also unruffled. He retired Derek Jeter on a grounder, lured Alex Rodriguez into a liner to second base and struck out Kevin Thompson, collecting his first save and a huge boost in self-assurance. “Sometimes there’s more to gain than lose,” Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said of placing Okajima into that crucible. “His confidence shoots through the roof. Our team has confidence in him. Losing would have been tough, but we didn’t, and it got him on a roll.” On June 16, during interleague play, Okajima froze Barry Bonds after falling behind, 2-0, in the count. He struck out baseball’s most fearsome slugger while Bonds kept the bat on his shoulder for an 87-m.p.h. fastball away, a curveball away and another 87-m.p.h. fastball inside. It was a testament to the stoic, unhurried calm of a pitcher who stands behind the mound before each appearance, cap off, staring into his hat, pausing for a moment of equanimity. It was also a testament to the way Okajima camouflages his pitches with a uniform arm motion. Perhaps, too, the violent movement of Okajima’s head distracted Bonds who, like all hitters, is conditioned to equate any aggressive movement of a pitcher’s body with increased velocity or a lack of control. “That funky delivery,” was how Ozzie Guillen, the Chicago White Sox manager, referred to Okajima’s pitching. “To some people, it looks like he’s throwing harder than he does. And sometimes, people think he throws softer than he throws. “You only face him once. It’s not like a starter, where you have three or four at-bats and you get used to him.” The presence of Okajima and Matsuzaka has had a noticeable effect in the Red Sox’ clubhouse. Some teammates now prefer the five-toed Japanese socks known as Tabi socks. Others use special Japanese eyedrops. Between games of a doubleheader here Friday, Ramirez and David Ortiz joined Okajima and Matsuzaka with chopsticks and helped devour platters of sushi. “Manny loves sushi,” Ortiz said. “He’s half-Japanese.” The night before, during a rain delay, a Japanese techno song featuring the lyrics “Okajima, Oki Doki” played in the clubhouse as several players danced. Okajima was not among the revelers. Impressed by his self-restraint and desire to play in the shadow of others — he bowed from the bullpen to fans who cheered his All-Star selection — The Boston Globe suggested in an editorial last month that politicians and other athletes should learn from Okajima’s reserve and civility. “In a triumphant example of cross-cultural influence,” The Globe wrote, Japanese traditions of modesty could transform “American habits of braggadocio.” Okajima has been accompanied to Boston by his wife and two young children, but, baseball success aside, he described his own acculturation as “very tough.” The ball itself feels bigger and by turns slippery and sticky. And during the first month of the season, not yet with a translator or English-language skills to order from room service, Okajima brought a rice cooker on trips, often cooking and eating alone. It has grown tiresome to be mistaken for Matsuzaka (“Do I look the same?” he wearily asked his translator, Jeff Yamaguchi). And Okajima has become impatient with being carded when ordering alcohol in a bar or restaurant, growing a mustache and chin whiskers to add maturity to his baby face. On the mound, because he is still learning major league hitters, he said he felt he could take no chances, and thus pitched as if each batter were Bonds. “I have to be very careful,” Okajima said through his translator. “Every hitter, I have to give everything I’ve got. It’s exhausting.” He has already pitched 61 2/3 innings, the most he has thrown since 2001. Concern about fatigue was one reason that the Red Sox acquired Eric Gagne as a companion setup man. Yet, Okajima’s velocity has remained constant, Farrell said. About the only thing he has lost is a degree of anonymity. “I like to be in the shadow,” Okajima said. “It’s cool to be in the shadow. In the shadow, I can go forward.” http://kuso.cc/2mTl -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 203.70.98.18