LOS ANGELES -- Yoshihisa Hirano, 36, who plays Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners, recently gave a telephone interview to The Yomiuri Shimbun. This season is his third year in the majors and he was transferred from the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the opening of the season was postponed due to the new coronavirus. He expressed his determination to prepare for the still uncertain season.
In late May, a closed team camp facility in Peoria, Ariz., opened for the first time in about two and a half months. "I've progressed a little. I used to throw and run in the park," he said in high spirit.
He is now in the bullpen twice a week, however, he is still far from being able to concentrate on baseball.
Massive demonstrations over the death of George Floyd have also been held in Arizona. Hirano saw footage of a mob raiding a shopping mall about 10 minutes by car from his home, after a curfew was imposed, too.
In the past two years, he is 9-8, with four saves and a 3.47 ERA in 137 games. He tried to add to his repertoire with a slider in the first year and a curve in the second year, but found that both were unreliable and ended up with a straight ball and forkball. Based on this experience, he decided, "Only these two pitches will be used this season."
He always wants to master precision of the fourseam fastball and forkball.
To prevent control from being affected, he has never thrown a twoseam fastball or cut fastball. "[Including the twoseam fastball,] I don't think I'll throw them for the rest of my life. As a reliever, I only want to throw a ball that I am confident with because every pitch should be a breaking one." He has played for 15 years in total in both the Japan NPB and the MLB. Other pitches are not on his mind, as he prepares to be the main pillar of the bullpen.
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