‘Rookie’ Kikuchi in spotlight in Japan major-league debut
‘Rookie’ Kikuchi in spotlight in Japan major-league debut
Seattle Mariners pitcher Yusei Kikuchi catches a ball during his team's practice at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Saturday, March 16, 2019. Just as he was adjusting to life in the United States, Kikuchi is back in Japan getting ready to make his Major League pitching debut in front of a sellout crowd at Tokyo Dome. Kikuchi will be on the mound in Game 2 of the Mariners' season-opening series in Japan. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)
Just as he was adjusting to life in the United States, Yusei Kikuchi is back in Japan getting ready to make his major league pitching debut in front of a sellout crowd at Tokyo Dome.
From his new teammates, to his Japanese fans to his family and friends, everyone will be expecting Kikuchi to come up with a dominant performance when he takes the mound for the Seattle Mariners on Thursday in Game 2 of the season-opening series against the Oakland A’s.
"I never thought I would be making my debut in Japan," Kikuchi said in Japanese. "It’s like a dream come true. It’s a new season for the team and new start for me so I want to pitch my best."
In January, Kikuchi signed a four-year, $56 million deal with the Mariners that incudes club options that could make it worth $109 million over seven seasons.
And if the pressure of opening the season in Japan wasn’t enough, Kikuchi is following in the footsteps of American League rookie of the year Shohei Ohtani. The two players are graduates of the same high school in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan.
Seattle manager Scott Servais said he didn’t hesitate to give the 27-year-old lefthander such a big assignment.
"Early on in camp, it was easy for me to see he was more than capable of handling everything we could throw at him," Servais said. "His ability to continue to attack the strike zone with all his pitches is really going to be important throughout the season. I see no reason why he can’t go out here and have a really good outing his first time out."
Source : https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/rookie-kikuchi-spotlight-japan-major-league-debut/
TOKYO — Talk about a pressure situation.
Just as he was adjusting to life in the United States, Yusei Kikuchi is back in Japan getting ready to make his major league pitching debut in front of a sellout crowd at Tokyo Dome.
From his new teammates, to his Japanese fans to his family and friends, everyone will be expecting Kikuchi to come up with a dominant performance when he takes the mound for the Seattle Mariners on Thursday in Game 2 of the season-opening series against the Oakland A’s.
"I never thought I would be making my debut in Japan," Kikuchi said in Japanese. "It’s like a dream come true. It’s a new season for the team and new start for me so I want to pitch my best."
In January, Kikuchi signed a four-year, $56 million deal with the Mariners that incudes club options that could make it worth $109 million over seven seasons.
And if the pressure of opening the season in Japan wasn’t enough, Kikuchi is following in the footsteps of American League rookie of the year Shohei Ohtani. The two players are graduates of the same high school in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan.
Seattle manager Scott Servais said he didn’t hesitate to give the 27-year-old lefthander such a big assignment.
"Early on in camp, it was easy for me to see he was more than capable of handling everything we could throw at him," Servais said. "His ability to continue to attack the strike zone with all his pitches is really going to be important throughout the season. I see no reason why he can’t go out here and have a really good outing his first time out."
Source : https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/rookie-kikuchi-spotlight-japan-major-league-debut/
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