Spring Training: Japanese pitcher steals spotlight
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On this, the day the Pirates' pitchers and catchers report for work in Bradenton, Fla., no fewer than a dozen cameras and another dozen reporters will chronicle the every toss, every step, every breath of one player.
A starting pitcher who will turn 39 on opening day without having participated in Major League Baseball.
Whose most recent respectable season came half a decade ago.
Whose ticket might already be punched for Class AAA Indianapolis.
Yes, meet Masumi Kuwata, the unquestioned, unrivaled star of the Pirates' 2007 spring training.
"From what I've seen so far, it's as if Brad and Angelina were gracing us with their presence here in Bradenton," said Jim Trdinich, the team's director of media relations. "It's going to be a lively camp, to say the least."
A typical media contingent this time of year consists of a handful of reporters and photographers from Pittsburgh, plus one or two from the Bradenton newspaper.
This time?
There were 50 credentialed Japanese media members for Kuwata's first appearance in camp Saturday, and 15-30 of those are expected to follow him all spring, Trdinich said. To accommodate them, Trdinich and his staff have put up a small tent near Pirate City's batting cages -- already dubbed "Hotel Nico," after Kuwata's nickname -- where he will deliver his daily news conference.
Some of the Japanese cameramen filmed the tent getting built.
Kuwata's reaction to it all is just about what should be expected for someone who once was a national sensation in his homeland.
"This is just the usual, you know?" he said by phone earlier this week, in halting but sound English. "I played 21 years with the Yomiuri Giants, and the media followed me always like that. I need time for privacy, but Japan is a small country that loves baseball. I understand."
It would take no more than a casual glance at Kuwata's background for anyone to understand.
His career in Japan's Central League was spent entirely with Yomiuri, who are that nation's equivalent of the New York Yankees, Montreal Canadiens or Manchester United. And his achievements included an MVP award, eight All-Star appearances, two ERA titles, 173 victories, 1,980 strikeouts and eight Gold Gloves.
His life on and off the diamond has been documented through two books, countless magazine and newspaper articles, independent Web sites and fan clubs across Japan. And it seems no detail was too much, from how he could throw strikes as a third-grader while blindfolded, to the time a gust of wind blew his 5-foot-9 frame off the mound for a balk, to his ongoing participation in a Buddhist cult, to a litany of published accusations about his personal financial dealings, one of which he quashed with a successful defamation suit against a tabloid 10 years ago.
The limelight, it is safe to say, has faded in recent years.
Kuwata began to lose his status in 1995 when he injured his elbow while diving for a popped-up bunt and required surgery. He missed all of the following season, but he rebounded for a strong 1997 that drew contract offers from six major-league teams, including the San Francisco Giants.
He instead signed a four-year extension with Yomiuri worth roughly $1 million, mostly, he now says, because management would not cede his rights.
"I tried many times to play here, even when I was 21 or 22 years old, but the team in Tokyo wouldn't let me go," Kuwata said. "I almost gave up on playing in the States, you know?"
His statistics gradually dropped from excellent to ordinary to worse. He enjoyed an exceptional revival in 2002 -- 12-6 with a league-low 2.22 ERA, the latter coming 15 years after his previous ERA title -- but that did not last. He has won a total of nine games in the past four years while posting ERAs of 5.93, 6.47, 7.25 and 6.94. Last season, he spent only three games with Yomiuri, the rest wobbling in Japan's minor leagues on a nagging right ankle.
"The injury hurt me, and the manager didn't want to use me," Kuwata said. "I was pitching once a week for the farm team."
Afterward, Yomiuri management informed Kuwata he was free -- finally -- to pursue other options.
He received two minor-league offers, from the Pirates and Boston Red Sox, and chose the former in January, he explained, because of the Japanese connections of manager Jim Tracy and pitching coach Jim Colborn. Tracy played two seasons in Japan, and Colborn was a pitching coach there for four years.
"They understand the Japanese style," Kuwata said. "I will try to watch how they handle the team and learn from them."
He likely will have no more than spring training to do so.
Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield has made clear that Kuwata was signed to be a starter, and the top eight spots on that depth chart -- as cited by management -- do not include Kuwata. That sets a clear course that, if Kuwata is going to pitch in Pittsburgh, he first must prove himself at Indianapolis.
How might he feel riding buses with youngsters in the minors after such a career?
"I don't care about that," Kuwata said. "I want to have experience in playing American baseball."
He paused.
"But I want to pitch someday in the majors. If I didn't believe that I could do that, if I wasn't confident, I wouldn't have signed this contract, you know?"
That general attitude offers one sign of Kuwata's humility, and here is another ...
According to a Japanese news outlet, when he arrived at Tampa's airport last weekend and was met by about 40 media members, some nearby passengers began asking if he was Daisuke Matsuzaka, the brilliant, young Japanese ace freshly signed by the Red Sox.
And when a woman sought an autograph, Kuwata signed his name with this postscript: "I'm not famous. Just a Japanese baseball player."
Kyodo photoCLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF: Fans send off right-handed pitcher Masumi Kuwata as he prepares to leave a Narita, Japan airport for the United States via Australia Feb. 5. The 38-year-old has a minor-league contract with the Pirates.
Click photo for larger image.
First Published February 15, 2007 12:00 am
