Fujinami familiar with Angels' Ohtani
>> Shintaro Fujinami remembers the first time he faced Shohei Ohtani.
It was a battle that the Japanese right-hander lost like so many other major league pitchers in recent memory: by giving up a towering home run.
“That was like, `Wow, he's a great hitter,'” Fujinami said. “I was impressed.”
But their clash occurred long before either of them managed to break into MLB, during the National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, which is known as “Summer Koshien” to those who have ever witnessed the famed annual event.
Since their first-ever meeting in 2012, Ohtani and Fujinami have taken starkly different paths to MLB, even after both were selected in the first round of the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft.
Ohtani has become an undeniable face of the sport since making his highly-anticipated debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018 following a successful fiveyear career in the NPB, culminating in American League MVP honors in 2021. Fujinami, however, struggled to live up to much of the acclaim he received out of high school that pegged him as a better prospect than Ohtani, leading to an inconsistent 10-season run with the Hanshin Tigers.
But now, the 6-foot-6 righty has finally made it to the show, joining the Oakland A's on a one-year, $3.25 million deal in January, an opportunity that will likely lead to even more matchups against his high school foe.
“No doubt about it. I'm very excited,” Fujinami, 28, said during his introductory press conference on Jan. 17. “We're the same age. Obviously, he's one of the best players in the world. For the Japanese fans, it'll be very exciting for us to play against each other. I'm very excited.”
Before his time comes to face Ohtani, though, Fujinami must prove himself among his peers this spring.
He's already off to a good start. At least, according to A's manager Mark Kotsay.
“I have not seen him (throw) live,” Kotsay said Wednesday. “Our pitching coach Scott Emerson has seen him live and his words, I don't want to directly quote him, but it was very impressive stuff.”
But even as Fujinami has wowed with his arm, hurling a fastball that averaged 96.3 mph last season paired with a slider and a splitter that is considered his strikeout pitch, he's already been forced to make quick adjustments in order to become acquainted with his new surroundings, which he noted ahead of the A's first official workout of spring training.
“In Japan, I feel like it's a lot more team activities, like team stretch, team throw, team defense,” Fujinami said through Japanese interpreter Issei Yamada. “Here, it's more individualized. It's a team sport, but it's more individualized here.