Being "the other Japanese pitcher" on the Boston Red Sox has allowed Hideki Okajima to bask in relative obscurity throughout much of spring training.
But during the Sox' nut-crunching loss to the Royals in the 2007 season opener, Okajima found himself thrust into the spotlight, indoctrinated into that exclusive club of rookie pitchers who gave up a home run on their very first pitch.
KC's John Buck, who clubbed Okajima's first official MLB offering into the stratosphere, claims he saw it coming.
"I knew it was his first pitch in the big leagues," Buck said. "I figured he was going to try to be aggressive with his first guy, so I was just looking for my pitch out over the plate. He happened to throw it right there. It was a good pitch to hit, a fastball."
Of course, by the time Okajima gave it up in the bottom of the sixth, the game was pretty much out of reach for the Sox, who were done in by an imploding Curt Schilling, an effective Gil Meche, and some of the worst base running gaffes this side of the Fresno Beer League Softball Invitational.
Hopefully, Hideki-san can put it all behind him. After all, that Lee Smith fella gave up a home run in his first outing as a Red Sock. And he turned out okay.
