[新聞] Oki's approach translates to success
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Okajima's approach translates to success
By Adam Kilgore, Globe Staff / March 22, 2009
FORT MYERS, Fla. - It is a matter of priority for Hideki Okajima. He has made
his living in America for two full years, and not once has he considered
learning English.
"No," he said through an interpreter. "I came here to play baseball."
Okajima plans on staying here. He has earned, through consistent and clutch
performance, a permanent spot in the Red Sox bullpen. English, though, will
not be part of his future. "Baseball only," Okajima said.
While Okajima has not removed the language barrier, he and the Red Sox have
plowed a way around it. Entering his third season, Okajima has found comfort
with teammates and in Major League Baseball. Though they cannot converse
directly with him, the Sox players respect Okajima's preparation, his
manners, and his professionalism.
More so, they appreciate his contribution. Okajima quietly has been the Sox'
best reliever aside from closer Jonathan Papelbon during his tenure,
compiling a 2.40 ERA in two seasons, in the first of which he made the
All-Star team. His calmness - "he's very controlled emotionally," pitching
coach John Farrell said - has helped him conquer the postseason, in which he
has given up five earned runs in 21 innings.
Through interpreter Jeff Yamaguchi, the Red Sox have come to learn about
Okajima. Manager Terry Franco na knows Okajima better now than when they
first met. "But it's not easy to have a full-fledged conversation," Francona
said. "That just doesn't interest him. It's OK.
"He's the one guy, he's a little quieter, more reserved than the others. I
don't think he particularly has a huge interest in learning the English
language. It's just the way he is. He knows the signs. He knows his job. He
knows his responsibilities. So we kind of leave him alone on that one."
His first year away from Japan was difficult.
"Everything was tough for me," Okajima said in an interview, through
Yamaguchi. "Everything was new."
At first, Okajima didn't have his own interpreter. He was in a new country.
While countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka commanded reams of attention, Okajima
stayed mostly to himself in the clubhouse. The first pitch he threw was
blasted for a home run.
Catcher Jason Varitek helped his transition most, Okajima said. He invited
the pitcher out for dinners on the road, and with Yamaguchi translating, they
talked. Varitek mainly wanted to pin down their on-field communication, but
he didn't realize how much he helped Okajima adjust away from baseball - he
was new, and the team captain wanted to know him.
Last season, Okajima's role on the team evolved. During the first series of
the year in Tokyo, as members of the Sox bullpen filed out of the clubhouse,
Yamaguchi stopped each one of them and told them Okajima had requested they
meet him downstairs. He was going to buy them dinner.
Okajima chooses baseball - always baseball - over delving into American
culture, but he wanted teammates to understand his.
"I did it for them because I am from Japan," Okajima said. "I wanted them to
know how good Japanese restaurants are. I want them to learn Japanese
culture."
Okajima took the bullpen to dinner once more during a road trip in the middle
of last season. He joined bullpen games of rock-paper-scissors. Having known
them for a while, he bonded with Papelbon, Javier Lopez, and Manny Delcarmen.
He told jokes to his fellow relievers through Yamaguchi; they laughed and
told them back. They got to know him, and they liked him.
"He's got an exuberant smile. I think that's pretty neat," Varitek said.
"He's well-mannered. He's appreciative of things. That's easy to like."
Communication during games, with Yamaguchi not around, stayed difficult. But
for relievers baking in the bullpen, time is a surplus. Okajima and the other
relievers - a bunch who took free time and started a tapping-and-clapping
band - make it work.
"In the bullpen, whether it's just a joke or whatever it is, it takes like an
hour to say one sentence," Delcarmen said. "He's opened up a lot. You can see
the faces that he makes when he's trying to explain something. You just can't
help laughing. And then he's sees me trying to explain something and starts
laughing. It's just a good time to try to get to know him."
In America, Okajima has structured his life around his family - they live
with him in Boston - and his team. The success of the Red Sox, for him, melds
into his own. Asked for his best individual moment since moving from Japan,
Okajima said, "When we won the World Series." Pressed for a personal
accomplishment, Okajima demurred.
"Winning is everything," he said. "You have to win, or it doesn't mean
anything."
More often than not, Okajima helps create those wins. His success stems from
the relentless studying he does with Varitek. Okajima's consistency in
throwing strikes allows him to pitch batters backward - throwing breaking
balls in fastball counts and vice versa - which enables him to make hitters
flail at pitches that are largely average.
With Varitek, he responds to hitters before they can respond to him. In 2007,
he added a pitch that behaved partly like a splitter and partly like a
changeup, which he rarely threw in Japan. Last season, he used his curveball
more.
"One thing he is continually pursuing is ways to adjust to his opponents,"
Farrell said. "Not only is he professional in his preparation, he's very
intelligent in terms of trying to create a new look at all times to try to
stay ahead of his opponents."
His work consumes Okajima. Asked if he had changed his approach since
arriving, he said, "I'm not conscious about that. I just live day by day.
It's 100 percent at a given time."
He was asked if forging the relationships with teammates has made the game
easier. Okajima offered an interesting answer, one that helps explain why he
places his focus on his sport and never a new language.
"Baseball," he said, "will never be easy."
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