Japanese Hungry For Baseball...and Pig Leg By C.J. NITKOWSKI For The Associated Press FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) -Spring training is more than half over for us. In the Far East, it's divided into two distinct periods. The first part lasts about 3 1/2 weeks and takes place at our camp in Miyazaki. During this time, all we do is practice. Drills, bullpens, batting practice, bunt defense, PFP, intrasquad games, you name it. Any possible form of baseball practice you can think of was taking place in Miyazaki for me and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Part two of spring training happens here at our home field, the Yahoo! Japan Dome. During this time, we play our exhibition schedule - about 18 games - before opening day in late March. The opening phase lasts about 2 1/2 times longer than it does in the United States. Practice and hard work are very important to the Japanese. I saw some things over those 26 days that were eye-opening, most specifically the work the pitchers put in. Recently, I read an article about Boston's new Japanese acquisition, Daisuke Matsuzaka. Much was being made about the 103-pitch bullpen session he threw down in Fort Myers, Fla. A few months ago, I would have questioned the purpose of 103 pitches in practice, but triple-digit pitch counts in bullpen sessions are anything but unordinary here. One of our pitchers recently told me he had thrown a 167-pitch bullpen this spring and followed it up the next day with 10 minutes of live batting practice. I have never run across a pitcher in my career who would even consider throwing 167 pitches in the bullpen, let alone toeing the rubber the next day for live batting practice. He added that last year he had thrown a 250-pitch bullpen. This guy isn't a nice-and-easy, Greg Maddux control-type pitcher, either. He is what we call a "max effort guy," one who grunts on every pitch. I assured this young fireballer that at his current pace he would be having shoulder surgery before his 30th birthday. Another one of our pitchers filled me in on his 234-pitch bullpen this spring, better than twice that of Matsuzaka's workout. I was in such disbelief that I could not muster a response. I actually witnessed some of this mammoth pitching workout and it is the closest I have ever been to seeing a pitcher actually pass out on the mound. The one thing you will never do is outwork a Japanese ballplayer. Sadaharu Oh, the legendary world home run king (868 career roundtrippers), is the manager of my team, the Hawks. He told me at dinner one evening that the Japanese work ethic was very important to the identity of how his country plays the game. He believes the Japanese player must work harder than his worldwide counterparts because generally speaking they are physically smaller. He added that during his career he would take a minimum of 200 dry swings a day, in addition to the rigorous Japanese batting practice routine. On more than one occasion this spring, players could be seen making their way into the team hotel well after 7 p.m., still in uniform, from a day that started at 9 a.m.. These guys work themselves to the bone because they know no other way. Fortunately for the Americans here, the same level of work is not expected of us. The coaching staff knows those kinds of days would hurt us more than they would help at this point in our careers. The coaches are not the only ones watching us. We drew 45,000 fans to a workout one Sunday afternoon. You just don't see those kinds of numbers for spring training practice in the States. This team is very popular in Fukuoka. With the city's population around 1.3 million, it is amazing the Hawks drew more than 2 million fans at home last season. As a foreigner in Japan for the first time, adventures present themselves daily - none of which require more courage and fortitude than eating. I am doing my best to stay open-minded, but I just can't help but ask myself "Why?" when looking over some of the Japanese cuisine. Apparently fish is good at any time of the day, and you can put an egg on just about anything. I love a sunnyside up egg and I love a good cheeseburger, but I would never think of putting the two together into one sandwich. Someone here thought of it and this idea must have been met with little to no resistance because hamburgers topped with running eggs are a menu staple. One pitchers' night out, I had the pleasure of eating pig leg. This poor guy had his extremity cut in one-quarter inch slices and served cold with a weird dipping sauce. Pig leg has made what I call my "first time/last time" list, a growing collection of Japanese cuisine that I tried once but can assure you I will never eat again. Cow tongue almost made the list, but I got bold and went for it again a few nights later. I figure worst-case scenario, my time in Japan will prepare me for a run at Fear Factor Champion. AP NEWS The Associated Press News Service Back to AP Articles