Sources: Daily Sports / Sports Hochi
Hanshin manager Akihiro Yano announced to the media on March 8 that he plans on using 9th-year right-handed pitcher Shintaro Fujinami as the Opening Day starter. The original plan called for Yuki Nishi to get the nod for the second straight season, but asthmatic symptoms forced him to leave spring training early on February 23. Nishi pitched a couple of shutout innings on March 5 against the SoftBank Hawks, but shifting him over to the bottom half of the rotation has several advantages early in the season. For one, the Tigers face the Carp, then host the Giants and Carp before going to Tokyo Dome to face the Giants again in the early part of the week (March 30-April 22). Nishi went 3-1 and had a 1.77 ERA against the Giants last season, and is 10-1 in his career against the Carp, including 4-0 in 2020. What’s more, this will give Nishi one extra start in preparation for the season, as he will be able to go on March 9, 16 and then 23rd (farm) to build his stamina back up.
As for choosing Fujinami over more established pitchers like Koyo Aoyagi (two straight seasons in the rotation) and Takumi Akiyama (11 wins last season), Yano said the decision considered “all aspects.” Fujinami has a flair like no other pitcher on the team. Despite just 1 win total in the past two seasons, he started his career at Jingu Stadium (where the Tigers play on Opening Day) and won 10+ games in each of his first three seasons, straight out of high school. Furthermore, the manager has said all along that the team does not just “hand out” starting jobs to players, but that they have to earn it. Fujinami has really shown himself hungry and more mature this spring, having pitched 12 innings total so far in practice games, and giving up just 1 earned run. For his hard work in Okinawa, Fujinami was named “MVP” of the camp sessions.
Yano also has said, “If we expect to win the pennant this year, we need to try something a little different. There is something special about Shintaro, and if we can start strongly with him, it will create some good momentum for the whole team.” He continued by expressing his hopes for the resurrection of Fujinami’s career: “By season’s end, hopefully, he will have caught up with Yuki (Nishi) and even surpassed him. That’s how good he is.”
Kyuji Fujikawa, former closer and now columnist (and special assistant to the Tigers) also expressed his approval of this decision. “He just needs to go out there and play his game. This decision was the manager’s, not his, so he does not need to shoulder any extra responsibility.” For that matter, there are many other teams who are starting the season with their aces on the bench: neither Kodai Senga (Hawks), Yudai Ohno (Dragons), Masato Morishita (Carp), or Masahiro Tanaka (Eagles) is pitching on March 26.
Your thoughts on this decision are most welcome in the comments section!