Jim Allen Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

  You could call them fire and ice. You'd have to look hard to find two more different managers than the Chunichi Dragons' Senichi Hoshino and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks' Sadaharu Oh. Hoshino and Oh, long-time rivals as players and later managers in the Central League, meet again tomorrow as their teams open the Japan Series at Fukuoka Dome.
  Hoshino, whose fiery diatribes have scalded umpires and his own Dragons players alike over the years, is a fierce competitor who wears his passion for winning on his sleeve.
When Hoshino was a young pitcher for the Dragons, he was known to walk up to strangers at the Dragons' camp and open the conversation by saying, "Who the hell are you?" Author Robert Whiting says it's just Hoshino's way of saying hello.
  Oh, in comparison, appears aloof and detached, less given to theatrical displays. Oh's fire, or so it has always seemed, burns inside, driving him to seek perfection while maintaining the discipline that was his trademark just as surely as his distinctive one-legged batting stance.
"Oh talks to everyone as if there is no one he'd rather be talking to," Whiting said. "He's a real gentleman."

King of pain
  Hoshino was a feisty left-handed pitcher with a career record of 146 wins and 121 losses as a starter and relief ace for a Dragons team that was slightly below .500 during his 14-year career. Hoshino has always subscribed to the notion that desire to win can overcome the limitations of one's ability. And Hoshino's desire has always burns brightest when it comes to the Giants. After completing his college career as Meiji University's ace in 1968, Hoshino wanted badly to play for the Giants, but they drafted another pitcher, Osamu Shimano first, and Hoshino was snapped up by the Dragons as their first-round pick.
  Hoshino, now in his second stint as the Dragons manager, has had little use for the status quo, and he's never one to leave well enough alone. If an umpire has the nerve to make a close call against the Dragons, he knows he will get an earful from Hoshino. If looks could kill, CL umpires wouldn't be able to buy life insurance. The same goes for his players. This spring, Hoshino banished his backup catcher Eiichi Nakano to the Western League for missing a squeeze sign in an intrasquad game. Hoshino's message is clear: Do it my way or don't play. He'll also take fielders and move them from one position to another--whether they have any experience at their new position or not. This is a common practice among Japanese managers, but Hoshino is one of it's leading practitioners. Likewise, if his team is not winning, then you can expect him to make changes in a hurry.
  When he first signed on in 1987, Hoshino inherited a team that had scored the fewest runs in the league for two straight seasons. Despite playing in the league's best home run park, the Dragons did not even come close to leading the league in home runs. One of the first things Hoshino did as Dragons manager was to go out and get three-time PL triple crown winner Hiromitsu Ochiai. It was a blockbuster deal that helped addressed the team's need to get more runners on base and also hit for more power. In six seasons at old Nagoya Stadium, Hoshino's Dragons led the CL in home runs five times.
  That run came to a screeching halt when the Dragons moved into the vast Nagoya Dome. Hoshino's response to his club's new environment was to add speed. Prior to the 1998 season, he traded offensive pop for defense by sending slow first baseman Yasuaki Taiho along with his backup catcher, Akihiro Yano, to the Hanshin Tigers for catcher/outfielder Koichi Sekikawa and shortstop Teruyoshi Kuji.
  The most noticeable characteristic of Hoshino's teams are the walks they draw. Before Hoshino became their manager, the Dragons hadn't led the league in walks since 1956. Hoshino's Dragons drew 501 walks this season, marking the sixth time his teams have drawn the most free passes in the CL. The Dragons strength is, not surprisingly, their hustle. Center fielder Sekikawa tied for the league lead with 28 infield singles, while rookie infielder Kosuke Fukudome had 24, including 10 bunt singles, while right fielder Kazuki Inoue had 19. With only one legitimate power hitter, third baseman Leo Gomez, the Dragons lack power. Former home run king Takeshi Yamasaki, who would have helped to carry the load, is out with an injury, so the Dragons will have trouble scoring more than a run at a time.
  Knowing runs are going to be hard to come by, Hoshino made a point of emphasizing the need to run the bases aggressively during intrasquad games. The Dragons pitching and defense allowed just 3.39 earned runs per nine innings, the lowest total in the league. Their park keeps some runs off the board, and the starting pitching has ranged from exceptional to mediocre, but the defense and the bullpen are first rate. Given the makeup of his team and his personality, don't expect Hoshino to suffer in silence while one of his starting pitchers get racked. He'll be off to the bull pen in a flash if he thinks it will get him closer to a win.
King of plain

As a player, Oh towered above his rivals as Japan's greatest power hitter. The big first baseman for the Yomiuri Giants hit a record 868 home runs in league play and played in 14 Japan Series. But despite his achievements, Oh is not a very imposing or colorful figure. As a manager, he's always been something of an enigma. Most successful managers have a sudden and dramatic impact on their clubs as Hoshino has done both times with the Dragons.
  Oh's teams, however, have required time to percolate. This year's pennant comes in Oh's fifth year at the Hawks' helm. Under Oh's guidance, the Giants became a force in his third season as manager and beat Hoshino's Dragons to the CL pennant in 1987. It was a loss that Hoshino did not bear well. The following season, Oh finished second, 12 games behind the Dragons, and was finished as Giants manager.
  He took over the lowly Hawks in 1995 and inherited a team in a great pitchers' park with truly awful pitching and defense. Unlike Hoshino, who when given a similar choice opted for speed and defense, Oh decided that the Hawks' future was with power. The Hawks already had a power-laden lineup, but Oh has brought in more, and now the Hawks are one of the best power hitting teams in Japan. But what Oh really wants is a pitching staff that throws strikes. And they do. Three of Oh's clubs have led their league in fewest walks allowed. This year, the Hawks gave up 431 walks, the 2nd lowest total in the PL.

Yomiuri Shimbun

 Pitchers

Dragons
  Shigeki Noguchi, a dominating lefty anchors rotation. Masahiro Yamamoto, former ace, has had troubles this season as has last year's CL rookie of the year Kenshin Kawakami. Kazuhiro Takeda, who came over as free agent from Hawks, provided a lot of stability after Noguchi. Bullpen is anchored by Sun Dong Yol. Dragons use Sun sparingly because middle relief corps of lefties Samson Lee and rookie Hitoki Iwase along with right-hander Eiji Ochiai. With the Hawks boasting many left-handed swingers, look for lefty journeyman Yukinaga Maeda to get some mound time.
Hawks
  Left-handed power merchant Kimiyasu Kudo anchors Hawks rotation. Sinkerballer Kenichi Wakatabe had the best season of his career. Second-year hurlers Tomohiro Nagai and Junji Hoshino complete the Hawks surprisingly stable starting rotation. Hawks bullpen is four-man show although second-year lefty Takayuki Shinohara got bulk of press with 14 wins in relief. Solid closer is sinkerball pitcher Rodney Pedraza, while unsung heroes have been lefty Shuji Yoshida and right-hander Masao Fujii.
Edge: Dragons

First base

Leo Gomez, Dragons
Dragons' regular third baseman and chief power threat. Hits for average but willing to walk if opposing pitchers refuse to challenge him.
Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Hawks
No. 2 power guy is dangerous and similar to Gomez but not nearly his equal yet.
Edge: Dragons

Second base

Kazuyoshi Tatsunami, Dragons
Team leader and gutsy player with 3 gold gloves to his name. Bad wheels have diminished once prodigious defensive and offensive output.
Chihiro Hamana, Hawks
Has little value as hitter except for walks...above average glove.
Edge: Dragons

Shortstop

Teruyoshi Kuji, Dragons
Quick, scrambling fielder with decent arm but without great speed. Hit for atypically high average this season, but he always draws lots of walks.
Tadahito Iguchi, Hawks
Has made great strides defensively although manager Oh concedes that his fielding still needs lots of work. Won't hit for average but has good power.
Edge: Hawks

Third base

Kosuke Fukudome, Dragons
Started the season at short but got shifted to third when Leo Gomez moved over to first. Excellent glove at third with good power.
Hiroki Kokubo, Hawks
One of Japan's top power hitters although hampered by injuries the past two seasons. Now back at third base, his natural position. Appears to be healthy for the first time in years.
Edge: Hawks

Catcher

Takeshi Nakamura, Dragons
Long-time CL standout with good arm. Has lapses behind the plate when calling pitches but more than competent defensively. Has some power but otherwise not an offensive threat.
Kenji Jojima, Hawks
Great hitter with power. Has all the tools to be an outstanding defensive catcher but isn't. One PL coach says he's the laziest catcher he's ever seen.
Edge: Hawks

Outfielders

Left field

Lee Jeong Bum, Dragons
Former shortstop...talented athlete blessed with speed, powerful arm and quick bat; he is, none the less, a very ordinary fielder and hitter.
Melvin Nieves, Hawks
Switch-hitter with great power. Walks but doesn't hit for average. Not defensive asset in left .
Edge: Hawks
Center field

Koichi Sekikawa, Dragons
Gutsy, slashing line-drive hitter and base runner. Came up with many of the big hits the Dragons needed down the stretch. Built to play in the Nagoya Dome.
Hiroshi Shibahara, Hawks
Solid defensive outfielder with powerful arm. Lacks power at the plate but draws lots of walks...Hawks' best base stealer.
Edge: Dragons

Right field

Kazuki Inoue, Dragons
Large guy who has some power, speed and hits for average.
Koji Akiyama, Hawks
On-field leader with tons of Japan Series experience from his days as Seibu Lions' top power hitter. Offense and defensive range is largely history, but remains a smart player and force in lineup.
Edge: Even
Designated hitter

Ryo Kawano, Dragons
Acquired at mid-season from Hawks for shortstop Yusuke Torigoe...low average slugger will take place of injured Takeshi Yamasaki. Backing him up from left side of plate will be Takeshi Aiko, Dragons' chief pinch hitter.
Koichiro Yoshinaga, Hawks
Solid all-round hitter with great eye and good power. If Hawks need a right-handed hitter with pop, we'll see Noriyoshi Omichi.

Ken Marantz Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

  Going into the season, Rodney Pedraza and his girlfriend discussed the logistics of her visiting him in Oklahoma City, the dusty minor league city a short plane trip from their hometown in Texas. "I was with the Rangers and I called her and said 'It looks like I'm probably going to be in Oklahoma City.' She says, 'Oh, that's not bad, from Austin to Oklahoma City, the flight's only an hour.'" Talk about a change in flight plan. "She wasn't real thrilled at first," Pedraza recalled of telling her of the deal sending him to Japan to play for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks.
  "We had had that conversation about being apart and stuff, and we thought Oklahoma City was going to be far away." Instead, air time was stretched to 13 hours, although that hardly compared with the turbo-boost the move gave his career--and his bank account.
  Pedraza, who had never risen above the Triple-A level in eight years as a pro, helped the Hawks break through the dark clouds that had hovered over the organization for the past two decades. On a team that won its first Pacific League pennant since 1973 despite outscoring opponents by only 10 runs and having 25 one-run wins among 78 victories, Pedraza filled the key role of closer far better than even he could have expected. The 1.87-meter, 95-kilogram Pedraza was a late addition to a Hawks' roster that only has one other foreign player, outfielder Melvin Nieves. He joined the team in early April and made his first appearance nearly a month into the season. Still, he was selected to the PL All-Star team and ended with 27 saves, second in the PL to the 31 of the Chiba Lotte Marines' Brian Warren, with a 3-1 record and 1.98 earned run average. A right-hander with good control and decent velocity, he struck out 38 and walked 10 in 59 innings, although his most impressive statistic might be the number of home runs he allowed--none.
  All in a role that was about as familiar to the 29-year-old Texan as the Fukuoka subway system. Throughout his career, Pedraza had been a starter--his minor league record was 65-40 with a 3.82 earned run average. But with the Hawks' rotation basically set and Yakult reject Tsutomu Yamada instilling little confidence as a closer, Pedraza was given a shot on May 8 at finishing off a victory.
  Being a foreign player without a pedigree, it was likely the only chance he would get. Although it was hardly an outing to write home about--he allowed two runs on three hits in two innings-- he managed to close out a 5-4 victory over the Seibu Lions. The job has been his ever since. "It's been different, that's for sure," Pedraza said. "Going out there and pitching every day, sometimes two or three days in a row, it was something completely different for me. I always liked starting and wouldn't be opposed to starting in the future. But it was fun." What made it even more fun was that the Hawks were winning, which provided him with another of the many surprises that made his Japan experience memorable, if not unique.
  On the magical night the Hawks defeated the Nippon Ham Fighters to clinch the pennant, Pedraza got the final two outs of the game, the last by a strikeout. The explosion of emotions on the field and in the packed stands at Fukuoka Dome seemed natural to Pedraza. It was what happened soon afterward that was as bewildering as the plot of a kabuki play. " Throwing him up in the air and stuff, I really didn't know what was going on," he said, referring to the ceremonial tossing of manager Sadaharu Oh. There was more to learn about the protocol of post-game pandemonium. Here is his account of events: "At home, everybody runs onto the field and you jump around and everything, and then you walk off the field. Here, you're supposed to throw him up in the air and we had a big presentation and then we had to walk around the stadium (with the championship flag).
  "Then we go in to celebrate and instead of everybody going in and going crazy with the champagne and beer, we had to go through this little ceremony. It was different for me because I had to sit back and go 'Now what's going to happen?'"

Texas bonus baby
While Pedraza had never foreseen a career path that would take him halfway around the world, that he would become a pro baseball player seemed his destiny.
Growing up in Cuero, Texas, population 7,000, Pedraza starred on a high school team that would have three players selected in the major league draft. Pedraza was taken in the 35th round by the Chicago Cubs, but opted to take a baseball scholarship to Texas University instead.
  In 1991 during his junior year, the Montreal Expos made him their second-round pick, and he signed for a 125,000 dollars bonus. From that point, he began a career that saw him bounce around the minor leagues like a ground ball on a rocky infield. Pedraza spent most of his time in Double-A, making the jump to Triple-A twice, in 1994 and 1996 with Colorado Springs of the Rockies' organization. He said the biggest paycheck he received was 2,000 dollars a month. He spent the winters working on a degree in kinesiology at Texas--part of the deal with Montreal was that the club footed the bill for his education, even after he was out of the organization. Pedraza also did some work at a baseball academy run by former pitcher Lee Tunnell, who played for the Hawks from 1991-93. It was Tunnell who got the ball rolling for Pedraza's move to Japan.
  Pedraza would not say what he's getting from the Hawks, only that it's "quite a bit less" than the 30 million yen generally reported by the Japanese press. However, he added, it was more than all the money he's made so far in baseball, including the 125 grand from the Expos. Whatever the actual amount--probably between 200,000 dollars and 250,000 dollars--Pedraza has been the bargain of the century for Daiei, the department store giant hit hard by the struggling economy. "A raise would definitely seem to be in order," Pedraza said. Despite the sudden influx of cash, Pedraza hasn't transformed into a party-hardy Dallas Cowboy. He prefers to relax at home, popping a rented video into the VCR or chatting with family and friends via e-mail.
  "I try not to let the success I've had this year affect me," Pedraza said. "You still have to do it next year and the year after that. This game is real humbling. You can be going good and doing everything fine and all of sudden, it'll knock you back down. It's like golf--you play a great round and the next time you go out, you can't even get it on the fairway." Pedraza said he looks forward to taking on the Chunichi Dragons in the Japan Series, if nothing for the new aspect of this country it will present.
  "I just want to enjoy it," he said. "Being in Japan itself is a different experience, and then being a closer is a different experience. And now going to the Japan Series is going to be another different experience. They keep coming." When it comes to dealing with the pressure of playing in Japan, this Hawk has landed.

Yomiuri Shimbun

 Daiei's veteran outfielder Koji Akiyama has made his share of acrobatic catches in his 19-year career. But when it comes to the Japan Series, he literally flips out after hitting home runs.
Akiyama, who played in eight Japan Series when he was starring for the Seibu Lions, topped off several home runs by rounding the bases, then doing a back flip onto home plate.
  Akiyama did it in the 1991 Series, when he was named most valuable player for leading the Lions to a 4-3 victory over the Hiroshima Carp. Akiyama performed the flip after hitting a late three-run homer in the seventh and deciding game, which gave current Daiei teammate Kimiyasu Kudo his last Japan Series victory. It was Akiyama's fourth home run of the series, putting him in a group of seven players with four homers in a Series, which naturally includes Daiei manager and former Yomiuri slugger Sadaharu Oh.

 Bring on the rain: "Beat the drum and hold the phone. The sun came out today. We're born gain.
There's new grass on the field." Sure, the Hawks may splurge and open up the retractable roof on Fukuoka Dome, but if it rains, no one is going to mind since unlike John Fogerty's great song "Center field," there's no grass on the field. Well to be precise nobody is really going to care if the sun comes out at all for this year's Japan Series as for the first time in the event's history, all of the games are going to be played indoors. Chunichi, of course, will host games at Nagoya Dome. The series will also be the first one outside of the Kanto area in 15 years.

Yomiuri Shimbun

 It was an odd experience for Dragons' right-hander Kazuhiro Takeda. Having joined the Dragons this season as a free agent after three seasons with Daiei, Takeda broke into tears watching the Hawks celebrate their PL championship on TV. "It was strange," Takeda said. "I was more moved when the Hawks won then when we won our league. "What I am today is largely because of the Hawks and (left-handed ace Kimiyasu) Kudo," said Takeda, who was 32-27 in a Hawks' uniform.
  After Takeda joined the Hawks in a trade from the Nippon Ham Fighters, Kudo took him under his wing. Takeda said, "What it means to be a pro, how to carry yourself...Kudo was my mentor." Takeda discovered, while spending the night at Kudo's home, that if Kudo woke in the middle of the night, he would work out in his weight room, and it left a lasting impression. Kudo, as the senior pitcher on the Hawks' staff, asked Takeda to help with the development of young catcher Kenji Jojima. "Jojima is your responsibility," Kudo told him.
  So, Takeda trained with Jojima in the offseason, but the work extended into league games, when Takeda called all the pitches. After Takeda left the Hawks as a free agent, Kudo told his teammates, "We all have to pull together to make up for Takeda's absence." Kudo vowed last winter that he would pitch the entire season, and he said so to his teammates. Kudo, troubled by pain in his left elbow ever since he joined the Hawks as a free agent in 1995, knew it would be a tough road to make it through the season without missing a single pitching turn.
  Now, Kudo is set to pitch in his 12th Japan Series, a record for pitchers, while Takeda, in his 12th season as a pro, is getting ready for his first. Takeda said of the coming battle, "I didn't make a mistake in becoming a free agent. It's really a great chance...to get pitch against the Hawks and against Kudo and show what I've learned."

Ken Marantz Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

  FUKUOKA -- Sometime during the Japan Series starting tonight, Melvin Nieves might strike out with the bases loaded. He might drop a fly ball, or make a throwing error. As painful to his ego as such miscues might be, the hurt will never be as sharp as the time he waited helplessly for his baby to die. "It changed my whole perspective on life and baseball," Nieves said Friday at Fukuoka Dome. "Every time I see my other two boys, happy and healthy, I wish I had three healthy boys running around the house."
  When the 27-year-old Nieves takes the field for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks against the Chunichi Dragons, he will be wearing a hat with the initials "WABJ" written on the underside of the bill. The "B" stands for Brandon, who would be 2 years old had he survived a heart defect with which he was born, when Nieves' wife gave birth to him and twin brother Jacob on Aug. 1, 1997. Nieves was with the Cincinnati Reds at the time and, while the transaction wire would say he was on the disabled list, he was spending the two weeks in the hospital at his baby's bedside. Brandon died the following April 6, and when Nieves joined the Hawks, he had requested No. 46 in memory of that fateful day. (The number was taken and he had to settle for No. 42.). "Not a day goes by that I don't think of him," Nieves said.
  Such adversity makes the bumps along the road of a pro baseball career seem less jarring, and for a foreign player in Japan, the path can resemble an Olympic mogul course. Nieves joined the Hawks after spring training and did not get off to a very impressive start. He was not in shape when he arrived, having only gotten seven at-bats in the preseason with the Minnesota Twins, and asked to start out on the farm team. "My bad luck, I hit two home runs right off the bat and they said, 'You're ready.'" He wasn't. In his first three-game series, he not only was held to just two hits, but lost a fly ball in the lights that unceremoniously hit him in the thigh. He was sent back down, where he remained for 45 days.
  Still, he never lost faith in himself and continued to work hard, knowing things could always be worse. "When things are not going well, I know it's not the end of the world," Nieves said.
Nieves worked out the kinks and finished the season batting .257 with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs in 89 games. A switch-hitter, Nieves said he has more power from the left side--he hit only one home run batting right-handed--which could pose a factor as Chunichi has two reliable southpaws in Shigeki Noguchi and Masahiro Yamamoto. Noguchi could get the start tonight, but manager Shinichi Hoshino is believed to be leaning toward right-hander Kenshin Kawakami.
  The series will be a reunion of sorts for Nieves and Dragons slugger and fellow Puerto Rican Leo Gomez. The two were teammates twice in the Winter League in their homeland, on the Mayaquez Indians and Santurce Crabbers. "He should be in the big leagues," Gomez said of Nieves. "He had some hard luck." Nieves, meanwhile, will have some extra incentive to beat Gomez and the Dragons. His wife is due to have another baby next May.

Video star: Gomez said he opted to take the bullet train to Fukuoka over flying because he finds travel by rail more relaxing and it allows him to watch a movie on his DVD player. Gomez recently watched "Nothing to Lose," although his attitude toward the hours of video the Dragons watched of the Hawks' pitchers is that there's nothing to gain. "It's better to watch nothing," Gomez said. "If you think you know what's coming, you guess too much. I don't like to guess." Gomez, who led Chunichi with 36 home runs and 109 RBIs, will likely play first base in the opener, assuming lefthander Kimiyasu Kudo starts for Daiei as expected.

Ken Marantz Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

A player of less grit, of less desire to win and passion for the sport, might have sat out the game. But Koji Akiyama, still going strong at 37, refused to let a painfully swollen calf muscle keep him out of the second game of the Japan Series. After all, this is the guy who, after facing the possibility of blindness in his left eye after having his cheek bone broken by a pitch, returned to action just 11 days later.
  "He's been a strong part of the team, even when he's not contributing offensively," says Fukuoka Daiei Hawks teammate Melvin Nieves. "He seems to have a lot of respect from the younger players." In this year's series, the Hawks' first since 1973 and the ninth of Akiyama's stellar career, the veteran outfielder has homered twice, providing his share to an offense that has sputtered to five runs while splitting the first two games. The series continues with the third game tonight at Nagoya Dome, where both teams worked out Monday.
  Akiyama, speaking before Game 2 Sunday night in the players' lounge, acknowledged that, when he was traded to the Hawks from the Seibu Lions in 1994 for Makoto Sasaki, he never imagined he would be back in the Japan Series. Akiyama, a key part of the Seibu dynasty that won six of seven titles from 1986-92, had joined a club that had not finished above third place since 1977. "I always play to win the championship," Akiyama says. "But I didn't think we could. It wasn't until last year, when we seemed to come out of our shell, that I thought we had a chance."
  Akiyama's fierce determination, combined with an easy-going attitude, makes him a healthy role model for the young players that now form the nucleus of the Pacific League champion team. Akiyama, after homering in the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie in the opening game, was hit by a pitch squarely on his right calf one inning later. He came out of the game--after first stealing a base--and was noticeably limping later. But with ultrasonic treatment and intense massaging, Akiyama felt ready to play Sunday. He proved it by leading off the first inning with a home run, the 15th postseason homer of his career. The situation, however, was nothing compared to what he went through Sept. 8, when a fastball from Seibu rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka shattered the side of his face.
  "When I went to the hospital, the first thing I thought was would my eye be all right," Akiyama says, unconsciously rubbing the area near the orbital bone. "After the doctor checked it and said there was no problem, I then thought, 'Can I still play baseball?'" His face swollen like a catcher's mitt and unable to open his mouth more than the width of a finger, Akiyama was told he needed to take two to three weeks off. But he was back at the ballpark before that. Although he couldn't play, his presensce was an inspiration in the final drive toward clinching the PL pennant.
  "It was a relief he was able to come back after such a short time," Nieves says. "Even before getting clearance (from the doctor), he was around us and practicing as much as he could." In his first at-bat since the accident, Akiyama said he felt none of the fear that usually lingers in someone hit in the face--he didn't have time to think about it. Akiyama was in uniform Sept. 19, but did not expect to play. But manager Sadaharu Oh suddenly told him to get ready to pinch-hit and in the frenzied process of preparing, he was too busy to get nervous. Wearing a protective bar attached to his helmet, he struck out. But it was the effort that has made him one of Japan's greatest outfielders that counted. "I didn't have time to think about being afraid of the ball," he says with a smile.
  Now he's making the most of the time he has left in his career.

Jim Allen Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

  The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks earned the right to crow after completing an overwhelming four games to one victory in the 1999 Japan Series over the Chunichi Dragons. The relatively young and inexperienced Hawks, considered underdogs by many, put a quick end to the series by taking all three of the Dragons' home games at Nagoya Dome.
  The Dragons played the whole series as if they were waiting for the Hawks to just give up, go home and be content with runner-up status. This may have been the Dragons' only strategy, since once the Hawks demonstrated that they could indeed play defense and throw breaking pitches for strikes and hit the ball with authority, the Dragons were dumbfounded. They looked like actors in a play who had been given the wrong script as a kind of practical joke.
  After being shut out 3-0 in the opener at Fukuoka Dome by the Hawks ace Kimiyasu Kudo, the Dragons rebounded with a crushing 8-2 win that wasn't as close as the score indicated. The Dragons were headed for home and ready to rock and roll their way to the Central League's third straight series victory.
  There are those who believe that good pitching beats good hitting. The Dragons, who lead the CL in ERA for the second straight season, were knee deep in veteran starting pitchers. Unlike the Dragons, the Hawks depended heavily on three second-year pitchers: 24-year-old Tomohiro Nagai, 25-year-old Junji Hoshino and 23-year-old Takayuki Shinohara. Neither Nagai nor Hoshino had pitched more than a few innings in the PL before the 1999 season. Said first baseman Leo Gomez, "We were told that they only had one good pitcher, and that was Kudo. After him, they weren't supposed to have anybody."
  In Game 3, Nagai held the Dragons hitless for six innings as he, Shinohara and closer Rodney Pedraza combined for a two-hit shutout. Nagai baffled the Dragons. For one thing, he just couldn't seem to find his target. If catcher Kenji Jojima set up inside, the ball came outside and vice versa. This appeared to unsettle the Chunichi hitters as much as the fact that they were expecting to see a steady diet of forkballs and got very few.
  After Junji Hoshino outpitched veteran and former Hawk Kazuhiro Takeda in Game 4, the writing appeared to be on the wall and clearly visible to manager Sadaharu Oh, who started journeyman Masahiro Sakumoto. Sakumoto, a 25-year-old lefty with a career ERA of 4.38, was Oh's choice to start Game 5 against Dragons ace Shigeki Noguchi. Sakumoto was not brilliant, but he pitched well for 2-1/3 innings, and his teamates--and shoddy Chunichi fielding--did the rest as the Hawks tallied all the runs the club would need in a six-run third inning.
  Throughout the series, the Dragons fielding went south, compounding bad luck and physical errors with poor judgement, while the Hawks were playing defense like it mattered. Hiroki Kokubo, with the exception of an embarassing mental mistake in the finale, was spectacular. Tadahito Iguchi at short, Arihito Muramatsu in center and Koji Akiyama in right showed great range and determination in getting to balls that looked unreachable and making good throws. These guys killed most of the rallies that the Dragons did manage to start. And while the Hawks are a young team, they got much needed boost from their veterans in Game 1 as the 37-year-old Akiyama provided the offense in the 36-year-old Kudo's shutout.
  Hawks utility infielder Shikato Yanagita summed up the series this way: "I guess it is true what people say about pitching being the most important part of the game. Our pitchers sure did the job." The pundits were right: Pitching and experience are critical. And the Hawks proved it.