Hideki Okajima

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Full Name: Hideki Okajima Primary Position: RP Height/Weight: 6'1"/194 First Game: April 2, 2007 Birthdate: December 25, 1975 MLB Experience: 1 year Birthplace: Kyoto, Japan Bat/Throw: Left/Left

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[edit] Biography

Hideki Okajima was born on December 25, 1975 in Kyoto, Japan and attended college at Koshien, the site of the Japanese national high school baseball tournament/phenomenon of the same name. After spending the first part of his career playing professionally in Japan, he made the switch to Major League Baseball as a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

[edit] Major League Career

Okajima was signed by the Red Sox for the 2007 season and made his Major League debut on April 2, whereupon he gave up a home run to John Buck of the Kansas City Royals on his first pitch.

Following that home run, Okajima went nearly two months before finally giving up another run on May 22 against the New York Yankees, cementing himself as the set up man for closer Jonathan Papelbon. He posted a first half ERA of 0.89 with two wins and four saves and earned himself a spot on the All-Star roster as the "Final Vote" winner.

[edit] Scouting Report

Okajima gives the Red Sox a good lefty arm out of the bullpen, something that they've been lacking for a number of years. For Yoimuri, Okajima collected a 2.18 K/BB ratio and struck out 9.39 per 9 innings of work, while very infrequently giving up the long ball (1 homer almost every 10 innings over his career in Japan).

When he joined the Red Sox in 2007, Okajima was expected to serve as a situational lefthander out of the bullpen. However, he rapidly exceeded all expectations, and proved to be a very reliable bullpen arm, occasionally filling in for closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Okajima's pitching style is somewhat unorthodox, in that despite the fact that he records strong strikeout numbers, he does not throw hard.

Instead of velocity, he relies on a combination of deception and movement on his pitches. He combines a straight over the top delivery with a sudden, violent, downward jerking movement of his head just prior to releasing a pitch. As a result, when he throws a ball, he is actually looking at the ground, not the hitter. Hitters have said that the movement of his head is distracting, and that they have a hard time picking up the motion of the baseball.

Okajima's fastball is only average, ranging from 85 to 89 mph. Although he does not throw hard, he locates the pitch extremely well, and is unafraid to throw it at any time.

In addition to his fastball, Okajima features several potent offspeed offerings. He is famous for his incredibly deceptive changeup, which he throws with a split finger grip. The pitch is thrown in the low 80s, and features extremely late, downward movement. It moves away from righthanders, and inside to lefthanders. The pitch is so deceptive that Okajima frequently makes hitters swing at pitches well outside of the strike zone. This pitch has been nicknamed the "Oki Dokie". He also features a classic overhand curveball, which he throws in the mid 70s. This was his out pitch in Japan. Today, he mostly relies on his changeup as an out pitch.

In addition to his pitches and deceptive throwing motion, Okajima has an extremely poised, calm mound presence. He pitches carefully, but is never tentative, and he is unafraid to challenge hitters when necessary.

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[edit] Trivia

• Okajima's first Major League pitch was a home run surrendered to John Buck on April 2, 2007 at Kauffman Stadium.
  • The Kansas City Royals won the game 7-1.

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