Sources: Nikkan Sports / Hochi
Message from the translator: Keep in mind that these are not the exact words spoken by the guys. The press conference is not viewable by the public, so this is a translation of the Japanese translation of their words.
New Hanshin import pitchers Jon Edwards (32, Indians) and Joe Gunkel (28, Marlins AAA) held a press conference at team headquarters in Nishinomiya on the 28th. Here is a transcript of the main Q & A:
Questions for Both
How are you feeling?
Edwards: I’m very excited to be a part of the team. I’m ready to do whatever I can to help the Hanshin Tigers win.
Gunkel: I’m very grateful that the Tigers reached out to me and offered me a contract. I’m prepared to do what I can to adjust to Japan and Hanshin Tigers baseball as quickly as possible.
What were your thoughts when you received an offer from the team? What did you know about Hanshin at that time?
Edwards: I was really excited. The way that the Hanshin Tigers were explained to me is that are rich in tradition, and that they would compare to the Boston Red Sox in the United States. Obviously, very excited to experience that and be a part of it. I just want to get familiar with the team as soon as possible, learning about Japanese culture and baseball.
Gunkel: When I heard there was an offer from Hanshin, I just wanted to sign the deal. I was really interested in Japanese baseball, and can’t wait for the season to start.
What are your impressions of Japan?
Edwards: When I woke up this morning and saw the sun rising, I thought it was a really beautiful country.
Gunkel: I just got to the airport yesterday, but I’ve noticed a lot of things that are quite different from America. I want to get used to Japanese culture as soon as I can.
What are your strengths as a pitcher?
Edwards: I think my strengths are my slider and I throw a hard fastball. I hope I can help the team win and do my part in the bullpen in any way I can.
Gunkel: My strengths as a pitcher are I have good control and I throw a lot of strikes. I try to get hitters to hit the ball in play early on the ground. So I’m not necessarily trying to strike people out every time up. I like to throw to both sides of the plate and throw all my pitches in any count.
Questions for Edwards
When you signed the deal you talked about holding leads for Kyuji Fujikawa to throw the 9th. So you’re looking to come out of the bullpen?
Edwards: I’ll do whatever the team needs from me. I have met Fujikawa, we played together in the States a little bit, we had an opportunity to talk a little bit and ask him questions about Japan and what that was like, so I think that he will be a guy that I can kind of lean on, and he will be able to help me adjust to the league and see the ways that my stuff might work well here. Whatever the manager sees fit is when I will pitch.
What advice did you get from Fujikawa and Spencer Patton (BayStars)?
Edwards: First, just to be myself. Also that my offspeed stuff will play well here. I think the combination of high heat and offspeed stuff should work.
You’ve had multiple surgeries – talk about overcoming them to play here in Japan.
Edwards: I think it’s kind of fate that I overcame hardships and now I’m here in Japan. I feel like I’ve got a lot I can learn from playing here in Japan, and that this comes at a perfect time in my life.
Questions for Gunkel
You heard a bit about Japanese baseball from Scott McGough (Swallows). What do you feel you already know about Japanese ball?
Gunkel: When I got the offer from Hanshin, I asked McGough a few questions. First, he told me that one of the keys to understanding Japanese baseball is to accept the culture and how baseball is played over here. Also, it’s important to have good communication with my teammates.
What type of pitching are you going to show us?
Gunkel: Hitting both sides of the plates, throwing balls that look like strikes and strikes that look like balls. Hopefully throw off the hitters’ timing and get a lot of grounders.
Questions for Both
What are your goals for camp and the upcoming season?
Edwards: I feel like I’m ready for camp. I want to throw a lot of innings during the year, helping the team as much as possible.
Gunkel: I hope to use camp to get me ready to throw deep into games during the year. I hope to talk things over carefully with the pitching coaches and catchers. I want to get some ideas of the best ways of attacking Japanese hitters. I hope that by throwing a lot of innings, I can help the team out.
Finally, give a message to the fans, and include some Japanese if you can.
Edwards: I’m really excited. I can’t wait to experience Japanese culture and play baseball here. I’m really excited to wear the Tigers uniform. Arigato!
Gunkel: My message to the fans would be I’m going to do my best to give my 100% effort every time I go out there on the mound. I just want to bring respect and honor to the game of baseball and to the fans and to the organization. My favorite word so far would be sugoi!