Major League Baseball Angels Shohei Otani checked his physical condition on the 14th before the camp that started the next day in Arizona.
Otani has been training independently at a campsite in Tempe, Arizona since the end of last month, and on the 14th, he checked his physical condition with physical measurements and other measures to prepare for the camp from the next day.
Otani did not practice outdoors, and after completing physical measurements at the stadium in about an hour, he moved to the team facility in the campground and stayed for about five hours. It means taking care of your body.
Manager Nevin of the Angels said about Otani, who left the team during the camp to participate in the WBC = World Baseball Classic, "He is a player who prepares more thoroughly than anyone I know, so I'm not worried about him at all. No,” he said with confidence.
On top of that, Director Nevin himself shared his experience of participating in the Barcelona Olympics as a representative of the United States in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when he was a university student, saying, "Playing with the USA on my chest was one of the best experiences of my life. I told the players who will be participating in 2019 to have fun and play in. I know it will be special for Shohei to come back to Japan and play, so I, like many of the fans, am very much looking forward to it. There is," I was hoping.
Manager Nevin “Starting pitching in 5 days as much as possible”
Director Nevin indicated that he would like to have ace Shohei Otani start in 5 days as much as possible this season, and the number of pitches may exceed 28 games last season, which was his highest.
Considering the fatigue of Ohtani, who will be competing in both pitching and hitting, the Angels have formed a starting rotation with six pitchers, one more than the other teams.
While Lorenzen, who won 8 wins last season, left the team, he acquired Anderson, who won 15 wins in the Dodgers. Five have secured entry into the starting rotation.
Director Nevin said that he would decide on the sixth starting pitcher after looking at camps and open games, and said, "I want to let the five people who have already been decided pitch in five days as much as possible. At least for a few weeks after the opening. Let's go," he said.
Since Ohtani transferred to the major leagues, he has been pitching at intervals of 6 days or more, but in the second half of last season, he pitched in 5 days, and last season, 5 days were 12 games. , There were 16 games over 6 days.
While the ERA was 2.89 in games with more than 6 days of middle school, it was 1.61 in 5 days of middle school, and the effect of fatigue was not felt even if the pitching interval was shortened.
By increasing the number of pitched 5 days this season, there is a possibility that the number of pitched pitches will increase from 28 games last season, which was the most of his career, and the possibility of winning the title with the most wins and most strikeouts will expand.
Camp schedule for major league Japanese players
Major League Baseball camps usually start with a battery of pitchers and catchers, and after a few days the fielders join and the entire team starts training.
Among Japanese players, Angels Shohei Otani and Athletics pitcher Shintaro Fujinami will camp in Arizona on the 15th, and Mets pitcher Kodai Senga will camp in Florida.
On the following day, the 16th, Blue Jays second-year pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda, who is aiming to return for the first time in two seasons after surgery on his right elbow, will enter camp.
Cubs' Seiya Suzuki, who has been selected to represent Japan in the WBC, will camp in Arizona, while Red Sox's Masanao Yoshida and Cardinals' Lars Nootvar will camp in Florida on the 20th. However, they are already conducting voluntary training at their campsites and preparing for the WBC.
Padres pitcher Yu Darvish will not participate in the team's training camp in Arizona and will be the only major league player to participate in the Japan national team's training camp in Miyazaki.