Koji's first BP
Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara threw his first batting practice session against live hitters a little while ago, and -- as usual -- he extended his workout longer than the rest of the pitchers. The plan is for each pitcher to throw 25 pitches, but Uehara threw 37.
He gave up a couple of gappers to minor league shortstop Blake Davis, but it's really not about the kind of contact the hitters make at this point. It is purely pitching practice, and the hitters are there to provide a target for the pitching workout.
Uehara threw all his pitches -- forkball, cut fastball, breaking ball, fastball -- and said afterward that he felt it was his best workout of the spring.
The batting practice session brought out the largest contingent of Japanese media since the start of camp, and he also had a couple of special guests observing his performance. His wife, Miho, and three-year-old son, Kazuma, attended the workout.
On the personal side, Uehara continues to make friends whereever he goes. He made it a point to call each of the American reporters by name and said that now that he has all the names ingrained in his mind, he will never forget them. The best part is that he has no idea that Schmuck is a funny name.
Comments
Hey Pete,
I just read Jon Heyman's SI article ranking every team 1 to 30 on their offseason performance. He had the Orioles at 25, behind most notably the Royals because they signed Coco Crisp, Kyle Farnsworth, and Mike Jacobs. Don't worry though, I sent him a pretty angry email. What would you say to him?
.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I'd probably say, "How about lunch." Heyman and I covered the Angels together and are old friends. Everybody has a right to his or her opinion.
Posted by: orioles fan at west chester university pa | February 21, 2009 12:35 PM
After listening to Brian roberts at his press conference,i get the
clear picture that Life is not all
about Himself but about loyalty
to family,team, fans & kids &
Baltimore at large.Congrats
to the Orioles & Brian for
seeing the big picture. Go O,s
Posted by: jack bennett | February 21, 2009 12:54 PM
Can this guy be for real? Wife, son, memorizing reporters' names (Bush never did that!), friendly! Wow. Now, if he go even 12-8 he'll be the toast of the town!
Posted by: Noel Johnston | February 21, 2009 1:01 PM
Don't worry Pete: if he is that smart to memorize names he will find the humor in Schmuck by the end of spring training!
Posted by: cb coach | February 21, 2009 1:01 PM
"The best part is that he has no idea that Schmuck is a funny name."
And how do you know that Uehara is not a funny name?
Posted by: FanSince54 | February 21, 2009 1:18 PM
Pete,
You're lucky that he doesn't know what "Schmuck" means here but you know what "Petur" is slang for in Japanese, don't you? Uh-oh.
Posted by: Basemonkey | February 21, 2009 1:28 PM
How can we contact him to let him know the truth?
Posted by: Punk Flamingo | February 21, 2009 2:08 PM
The funny name of a funny man .
Posted by: the artist formerly known as jack in hebron | February 21, 2009 4:06 PM
Speaking of names, for the regular season I hope the Orioles are smart and follow Seattle's lead. On the back of Ichiro Suzuki's Mariner jersey it says "Ichiro," not "Suzuki." I'd really like to see "Koji" on Uehara's O's jersey.
Posted by: Ken Francis | February 21, 2009 4:17 PM
i emailed heyman about his ranking of the o's and he emailed back that he agreed he was a little tough on the o's and that he likes the o's plan. fair enough.
Posted by: pop fisher | February 21, 2009 6:20 PM
If this guy gives us 200 innings this season, and an era under 4.50, he can have any name he wants on the back of his jersey. OK, I might even settle for an era under 5.
Posted by: TX O's Fan | February 21, 2009 6:29 PM
Ken, the T-Shirt Tuesday for Koji (which is at the end of April, pretty quick I must say) says "Uehara" on it, so no Ichiro-like naming yet.
However, Ichiro didn't have his first name on the jersey until a couple years after he came to the Mariners, so there's always the possibility later on.
I also wanna note that most other Asian players over here in the States go with the usual last name on the back of the jersey. Ichiro's the exception.
Posted by: Matthew | February 22, 2009 8:05 AM