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Welcome to New York
Going one-on-one with Yankees' new import Igawa
Posted: Thursday January 4, 2007 1:45PM;
Updated: Thursday January 4, 2007 1:45PM
Kei Igawa's baseball career has not been an unfettered ascent. In 2001, at
the maddeningly precocious age of 20, the Japanese southpaw joined the
starting rotation of the Hanshin Tigers. He went 9-13 for the last-place
club, but finished with a 2.67 ERA -- second in the Central League.
The next season his stats improved to 14-9 and 2.49, and he won his first
of three strikeout titles. In '03 the Tigers snagged the Central League
pennant and Igawa -- 20-5 record with a league-leading 2.80 ERA -- was named
both MVP and winner of the Sawamura, the Nippon equivalent of the Cy Young
Award.
After that, his career graph shows a series of downward jags. Though Igawa
led the league in strikeouts (228) in '04, his victories dropped to 14
while his ERA ballooned to 3.73. In '05, his whiff total fell even
farther (145) and his ERA rose to 3.86, fifth among Tigers starters.
"I keep my own rhythm," Igawa says. "Which sometimes backfires." When
his signature change-up stopped changing, he lost that rhythm altogether
and was exiled to the minors. Happily, he regained it last spring,
finishing the '06 campaign with a 14-9 mark, a 2.97 ERA and 194 Ks.
Last fall Igawa asked Hanshin to auction his negotiating rights to the
highest-bidding major league team through the posting system. In
December, the New York Yankees won the rights -- bidding more than
$26 million -- and signed Igawa to a five-year $20 million contract.
Igawa looks to fit at the back end of a rotation that includes
Chien-ming Wang, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte.
We caught up with him recently at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan,
where he had come to take his team physical.
SI: Hideki Matsui is nicknamed Godzilla. What's your favorite Japanese
film monster?
Igawa: I have none.
SI: Not even Mothra or Rodan?
Igawa: I never watch horror films.
SI: The Boston Red Sox made a Mechagodzilla-sized splash this offseason
by bidding more than $51 million for the rights to Japanese ace Daisuke
Matsuzaka and signing him to a $52 million, six-year contract. Did the
hard-line shenanigans of his agent, Scott Boras, hurt Matsuzaka's image
in Japan?
Igawa: I have no idea. Please ask Daisuke directly.
SI: How have you fared in head-to-head competition against Matsuzaka?
Igawa: We pitched against each other during the Inter-League season last
year. I don't remember the details, but we both did our job as the
starters.
SI: Are you guys friends?
Igawa: Since we pitched in different leagues, I've never talked to him
at length. But we'll both have the opportunity from now on.
SI: Who's your favorite American ballplayer?
Igawa: I have a tremendous respect for all big leaguers. I do not have a
particular favorite.
SI: How about a personal hero?
Igawa: The goalkeeper for Belgium's national soccer team.
SI: And your favorite historic figure?
Igawa: Mitsukuni Tokugawa, a feudal ruler known for his political influence
in the early Edo Period.
SI: Tokugawa was a gourmand who claimed to be one of the first Japanese
to eat ramen. What's the most exotic food in your fridge?
Igawa: Water.
SI: What has been the greatest embarrassment in your life?
Igawa: I've lost my wallet four times. I got it back every single time.
SI: What do you like most about New York City?
Igawa: The energy. People are filled with pride.
SI: And dislike?
Igawa: No manners in driving. Lots of horns.
SI: What did you spend your first paycheck on?
Igawa: In Japan, I bought candy. In the U.S., I left tips at the St. Regis.
SI: What kind of hitters give you the most trouble?
Igawa: Fast-running singles hitters. They make me throw a lot of pitches.
SI: What kind do you most like to face?
Igawa: Free-swinging power hitters.
SI: What impresses you most about the American game?
Igawa: The greatness of your baseball tradition. I'd like to learn the
culture itself.
SI: What's the worst thing that has ever been written about you?
Igawa: Ask the Japanese media.
SI: Your favorite film actor?
Igawa: Ken Watanabe of The Last Samurai and Letters from Iwo Jima.
SI: Do you have a secret ambition?
Igawa: That's secret.
SI: What is the question are you most asked at parties?
Igawa: "When did you start playing baseball?"
SI: Your favorite book?
Igawa: The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, Robert Whiting's book about Japanese
baseball.
SI: What's the coolest part of your job?
Igawa: Pitching complete games.
SI: And your motto?
Igawa: Quest.
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