It’s a small-ball world when A’s meet Nippon
Oakand to face fundamentally sound opponent in exhibition
TOKYO >> Before the A’s play the Seattle Mariners in two games here that count toward the regular season, they’re preparing for uncharted territory in a pair of exhibition games against the Nippon Ham Fighters.
This won’t be the type of baseball the A’s are accustomed to seeing.
Japanese teams bring a different style of play. In a time where most major league teams rely heavily on three-run home runs and are fine with the risk of increased strikeouts that come with that strategy, teams like the Fighters, whom the A’s faced early this morning (first pitch was at 3:05 a.m. PT) and then tonight (8:05 p.m. PT) bring more of an old-school approach.
“I’ve seen the pitching video and a couple of Japanese guys standing in the box,” A’s first baseman Matt Olson said. “The ball just spins a little different with the different styles of pitching. I’m excited to compete against a different style of competition and see how we do.”
A’s manager Bob Melvin recalled the team’s trip to Japan in 2012. He said Japanese baseball teams focus more on the fundamentals. More hit-and-runs. More bunting.
They don’t often beat themselves, but
they often use small-ball to beat others.
“It’s almost like tennis in that there are no unforced errors,” Melvin said. “They play fundamentally sound and make you make a mistake. It’s one thing to score runs, but you have to play fundamentally sound and make big plays at the end. I think that’s what we do and I know that’s what the Japanese teams do.”
Another difference is the atmosphere the A’s will encounter when they step on the field inside the Tokyo Dome for that first exhibition on tonight, Tokyo time.
The Japanese fans come out in full force. Yankee Stadium might have been crazy with the 54,000 screaming fans the A’s encountered during last year’s AL wildcard game, but this is a different animal.
“I think we’re all eager to get in there and see the crowd,” A’s third baseman Matt Chapman said. “It’s been rumored it’s really loud and a different environment.”
It’s no rumor.
The enthusiastic fans in Japan are some of the most passionate in the world. They’ll fill the Tokyo Dome with flags, beat drums through each at-bat and belt out their favorite chants specially created for each player in the starting lineup all night long. It’s like the right field bleachers at the Oakland Coliseum, multiplied by 10.
Perhaps the biggest difficulty will come at the plate.
In Japan, teams play with baseballs that are slightly smaller than the MLB version.
It’s tough enough to hit a regular baseball. Even for a slugger like Khris Davis, who put on a show in batting practice during the team’s workout Saturday. He isn’t looking forward to seeing a smaller ball.
“Damn, that’s not what I want to hear,” Davis said when told of the smaller baseballs. “At least the game doesn’t count.”
But just as much as the A’s are expecting to see a different style of baseball in those two exhibitions, they also hope to leave their mark by showcasing their own brand of play.
That brand is spectacular defense, which Olson and Chapman displayed so regularly last season that they won Gold Gloves.
After producing countless “Ooohs and Ahhs” from practically every stadium he played in last year, Chapman will look to take the show overseas and make some breathtaking plays in front of the Japanese fans.
“Hopefully I can make some diving plays and throw one across the infield,” Chapman said. “Show them my defensive skills. Now the pressure is on.”
Chapman is looking to draw some cheers. But one A’s player who may have a reason for some jeers from the Japanese crowd is Brett Anderson.
Anderson will start the second exhibition game against the Fighters.
The left-hander eliminated Japan from getting a medal in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics by tossing seven strong innings in an 8-4 victory to lead the United States to a bronze medal.
Anderson’s performance gives him the distinction of being the last pitcher to win an Olympics game for USA baseball.
But that will likely be erased once baseball returns to the Summer Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo.
“I don’t know if the average fan knows that,” Anderson said of the Beijing Games. “Maybe I’ll get booed. That would be kind of funny.
“I wish it would have been for gold, but a medal in the Olympics is kind of a cool thing to have.”