Dec 2018 – George Arias

T-Ray (TR): Ladies and gentlemen, today we are here with a former Hanshin Tigers great, someone whose name you have probably heard, though perhaps someone you have never seen play. He was crucial to this team’s success in the past. Mr. George Arias, welcome to the show.

George Arias (GA): Hey, thanks for having me.

TR: Great to have you here. Can you take us through your career line just briefly? Where you started, who you played with over here, and so on.

GA: In 2000, I was with Orix BlueWave. I played there for two years, then I transferred over to the Hanshin Tigers, and played with them for three years. I came home, played in Mexico for a year and a half and then I went back to Japan with the Yomiuri Giants for half a season in 2006.

TR: What was the next step in your life then?

GA: I came back home, and now I have an indoor batting cage facility where I train players. I have three kids, and I did this with the idea of training my kids and getting them into college and potentially pro ball. My oldest is at University of Arizona. He’s a pitcher and got drafted last year by the San Diego Padres. Then I have a daughter who’s 17, and my youngest boy who’s 15, is a hitter. My goal is to train them up, just like all these other kids that I train up in our academy, and hope to get them to the next level.

TR: It must be interesting to see your own flesh and blood in front of you, playing the game. Do you draw comparisons to yourself, or do you see a lot of today’s pro players in them, as far as their swing, their pitching form?

GA: It’s strange in a sense because no parent wants to see their kids struggle. That’s something you have to let go of, though, let your kids go out there and fail. You gotta see how they’re going to handle adversity. I know how I handle it on my own, but it’s different – it’s their journey. You just try to guide them, prep them, and give them the best advice that you can. Not only about the game, but teach them how to be mentally strong. To see them walk through it can sometimes be painful, but then it’s also rewarding, because they trust the process.

TR: Can you tell us a little more about this business? When did you start it, and where are you?

GA: It’s twofold. I have an indoor batting facility called Centerfield Baseball and Softball Academy. It’s 30,000 square feet and is open to the public. We have baseball and softball players come in there and train. Inside of that facility we have a 9,000 square feet non-profit organization where our club ball teams train. They play in tournaments and the older kids go play in showcase events, in front of college coaches and pro scouts. Some get drafted, some get scholarships. So that’s kind of my goal, to get these kids to the next level.

TR: How long have you been doing this now?

GA: I’ve had my non-profit for about 10 years now, and the facility for about 4 years.

TR: That’s in Arizona, is that right?

GA: It’s in Tucson, Arizona.

Making Adjustments to Japanese Baseball

TR: Let’s branch back and talk a little bit about your time here in Japan. How did you first hear about NPB, and what brought you over here. What were your feelings about coming to Japan?

GA: When I was with the Angels, I played with (Shigetoshi) Hasegawa, who was from the Orix BlueWave. He was telling me that the coaches wanted me to go and play in Japan with (Akira) Ohgi-san. At the time, I was in the big leagues, but I ended up going down to the minor leagues, and I remembered what he had said. The only issue I had was that the Angels wouldn’t give me a release to go and play. I’d always been intrigued about Japan, and I think in 2000 when I became a free agent, Japan was there, so we reached out to them. I was truly blessed playing there, and I would definitely like to go back.

TR: What was life like playing for the Orix BlueWave at that time? Ichiro was still there when you got there, right?

GA: Correct. I mean, it was a culture shock, obviously. I’d played baseball in Mexico for about five years, and a lot of Americans who went to Mexico had problems because of the language barrier, but being Hispanic, I could get around. I didn’t experience [the language barrier] until I went to Japan. It was tough, it was hard at first, but adapting to the culture and the people was awesome, let alone getting to play with one of the best players Japan has ever had in Ichiro. He was fun to watch, but sometimes frustrating because he made hitting look so easy. But it was definitely a blessing to watch him perform each and every day at that high level.

TR: Aside from the product on the field, what were some of the differences between playing with Orix and Hanshin, seeing as they are located in the same general area?

GA: The difference is the fan base. The fan base with Hanshin is second to none. They are wonderful. How I describe it to people here is a mix between the Cubs and the Yankees. At the time when I went to the Tigers, they hadn’t been doing well, kind of like the Cubs here, but they always had fans supporting them. One of my friends who was with the Tigers, Greg Hansell, convinced me to go and play for them. He said, “Buddy you will love playing over here. These fans are awesome. You get to play in front of 55,000 people, they will love you and cheer you on. That kind of got me excited, and when I went over there, he was right.

TR: What was attendance like for Orix games back in those days?

GA: Well, it wasn’t 55,000 people. We had some good attendance, but again, playing with Orix was a blessing. The fans there were great as well. The grass infield was beautiful… the coaches, the staff, the players… it was truly a blessing to play there. I don’t know why I truly wanted to make that transition with the Hanshin Tigers, but it was a great move for me and my career… but I’m still grateful for both fan bases.

TR: You were talking a little bit earlier about your good friend Greg Hansell. Who were some of the other guys you got close to during your time here in Japan?

GA: From the Orix side, (So) Taguchi-san, (Akihito) Igarashi-san, (Yasuo) Fujii was our first baseman and DH, (Koichi) Ohshima the second baseman. For Hanshin Tigers, (Akihiro) Yano, who is now manager, (Tomoaki) Kanemoto, (Shinjiro) Hiyama, all those guys became brothers. Obviously, when you win and have a great season, you have more memories. There’s such a bond, with everyone pulling for each other. It’s tough to play during losing seasons, but that’s what made my time with Hanshin so special. We had a great year in 2003. Looking back, the reason we were able to succeed is because not only did we believe in ourselves, but we believed in each other.

TR: Obviously 2003 was a pinnacle moment, as it would be for any player’s career. Were there any moments during that season that stand out in your memory?

GA: Well, individually, I won a Golden Glove, Best Nine, there were a lot of awards that were tight. I remember I was in the home run title hunt that year. My youngest son was born the day we clinched [the pennant]. I remember I came home for three or four days, and they didn’t want me to leave because they wanted me to go for the home run title. When I went back, Hoshino-san, a phenomenal manager, God bless his soul, the very first game, he put me in lead-off because he wanted me to win that home run title. My very first at bat, I hit a home run, so that was really memorable. The coaching staff – Shimano-san, (Koichi) Tabuchi-san, the players, the BP guys, the clubhouse guys, it was special. You take in all that, all the memories, the friendships, like I said, it’s things that I remember to this day.

Memories of Hoshino, Finishing With Kyojin

TR: Do you have any stories in particular about Hoshino? As you said, he passed on in January 2018. It sounds like you were quite fond of him, and he was quite fond of you, too.

GA: Baseball definitely lost a great ambassador of the game, a guy who was very knowledgeable, a guy who got the best out of his athletes. I know that he instilled fear in his players, which can be a great thing. It was sometimes comical in the sense that if somebody messed up, me and Derrick White, we nicknamed Hoshino the field goal kicker, because he would kick the chair in front of him when people messed up. We thought that was pretty hilarious, but that was just him. He expected perfection, he wanted us to play to a higher standard, and that motivated us. All in all, he cared, he loved us, and I think that was a true blessing as a player, to know that a manager cares for his players.

TR: Another thing about Hoshino that you probably know, he was quite anti-Kyojin. Did he or any of your ex-teammates talk to you when you joined them in 2006 and give you a hard time?

GA: No, because we played the Tigers just one series – it went by so fast because I was only there for half a season. My heart belongs with the Hanshin Tigers. I always wanted to go back because I love Japan: the people, the culture, the game, the fan base. They love the game of baseball. The fans are a lot different than ours here. Obviously (here) they don’t sing or anything, and I think that takes some of the fun out of the game. No, I didn’t get any slack (for joining the Giants), really. Even if I did, I probably didn’t understand because of the language barrier (laughs). Things happen for a reason, though. I went back to America, and I would have loved to have stayed with the Hanshin Tigers, but things didn’t work out that way.

TR: I read that you once said something like, “Playing with Yomiuri is a lot of pressure, but playing with Hanshin allowed me to be myself. The game was much more enjoyable.” Can you expand on that a little?

GA: The Yomiuri Giants have a lot of restrictions – the way you dress coming to the field, going to the minor leagues. You can’t wear shorts, you have to wear long pants. It felt a lot more pressured. Hanshin, they let you be who you are, because that’s who made you who you were as a player. Don’t get me wrong, we had boundaries, but within those boundaries we were free to do certain things. That’s what I loved about the Hanshin Tigers. Again, the Giants, they’re like the Yankees are here in the States. Everybody wants to beat them, they hold themselves to a high standard… not that I don’t like the Giants, but I think I put too much pressure on myself to be well-liked, you know, instead of being who I was, which is having fun, playing free, and just going out there and trying to do my best. I was going out there to prove to them that I was a good enough player, and that was more self-inflicted than it was them. It’s just one of those things that you go through in life, and you learn as you’re older. It was something that I probably put more on myself, because it was a new team. I knew that playing with the Giants was a “bigger deal” if that makes sense.

TR: Absolutely. You look at the pressure they put on themselves as a team and as individuals, and the result of that is a whole lot more championships than Hanshin or any other NPB team has. I can see how joining a team like that would almost naturally put that type of pressure on yourself, seeing what’s going on around you.

GA: Yeah, and it becomes difficult. I mean, look at all these superstars who go play with the Yankees. They struggle. And you’re talking about superstars: Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens. They had some good seasons, but if you look at the numbers, they struggled a bit. I think that’s the kind of pressure that we put on ourselves. But that’s [the Giants’] style, and you have to learn to be mentally strong and strong-willed to perform there. Kudos to the players who can go out there and do well.

TR: Playing baseball is a hard enough job without all that pressure on top of it, right? It definitely requires an extra layer of mental fortitude to excel in that kind of environment.

GA: And when you’re not doing well, you have the media talking about you, the coaches are upset, management is upset, fans get upset… it’s a lot of added pressure that athletes add to themselves, when this game is already hard enough to play.

Helping Others Learn from His Experience

TR: So now you get to watch the game from the other side, and help guys and girls get into the game and experience some of the things that you’ve experienced. What are some of the challenges and rewards of your current job?

GA: The great challenge (from the amateur side) is motivating players to have a strong work ethic . From the pro side it’s about being mentally strong. Letting them know that you’re there with them, that you’ve been through the struggles too, and they have to trust the process, focus on the process. If you keep working hard and striving, it’s going to click and get you back on track. I always tell people about my last year in Japan, when I was struggling with the Giants. Tuffy Rhodes said, “You know what? Just keep working, George. Something’s going to click, and when it does, watch out.” And that’s just something you have to do, you just have to keep grinding it out. You can easily mope, listen to the critics, to people talking bad about you, but then you starting doubting yourself, believing you’re not good. It happens to everyone, but those are some of the things I try to instill in players. It’s about being mentally strong… that’s how I’m training my kids. 

TR: It sounds like you took that advice from Tuffy Rhodes, but did anyone else have a big impact on you, especially in terms of the coaching that you do now?

GA: There were a lot of them. Tabuchi-san was one of the hitting coaches, Shimano-san. As for players, Kanemoto, Hiyama was a really big influence. Yano-san was another one. You watch the way they go about their business, and you learn from them. You watch how they carry themselves. You play this game long enough, you’re going to struggle. We’ve all been there, we all know it. The worst thing to do as a coach or athlete is to avoid players who are in that rut. If you can just push them, motivate them, encourage them, let them know you care, it helps ease the pain a little bit.

TR: Sounds like you are taking that kind of approach with your guys. Hopefully you can get some of them out to Japan to the Tigers, to help this team out, too!

GA: Yeah, my eldest son actually wants to go pitch out there.

TR: I’ll send a scout out your way!

Advice for NPB, Shout Out to Yano

GA: I would love to one day go back over there and coach. You know, I think it’s really tough for foreigners to go over there, because there’s just four allowed per team. One year I was with three pitchers, so I was the only hitter in the dugout every single day. It can get tough sometimes, you know? But Tom O’Malley, who was our hitting coach, helped me out tremendously as well. He was there to guide me, help me through games, be with me in the dugout, help with the language barrier, help me understand the coaches’ expectations. I think that’s vital for players to understand. I’m surprised there are not more foreign coaches over there to help the gaijin players out, because it’s tough, you know? Especially coaches who have already played (in NPB)… they know how difficult it can become. They could ease a lot of stress and pain for foreign players, and help them perform better.

TR: O’Malley had an extra stint with the team – he came back until the end of the 2016 season as well. I’ve talked to Matt Murton, and he speaks highly of Mr. O’Malley as well. Let’s bring in an experienced, willing coach like yourself! That would be amazing!

GA: Absolutely.

TR: As you know, Mr. Yano is the team’s new manager in 2019. Have you got any thoughts or hopes about the team for the upcoming season?

GA: I just heard this a couple of weeks ago, that he got the job. Good for him. He’s a great guy, a catcher who understands the game from a pitching standpoint. It’s imperative for coaches to understand that. He’s really smart, he was a smart player. But what I really loved about him was that he is a tremendous person.

TR: It’s an interesting situation with managers here (with Hanshin). You probably have seen that there is more pressure on them than there is on the players.

GA: When it comes to managerial status, you’re hired to get fired (laughs). It’s just a matter of time. What can make a manager impactful is getting the players to believe in your vision. If you can get the team to believe in themselves, like Hoshino did for us, it can go a long way.

TR: Well, George-san, it was great talking with you today. We’d love to have you back on the show again if you’re willing.

GA: Absolutely!