https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/frank-herrmann-on-pitching-in-japan/
Frank Herrmann on Pitching in Japan
by David Laurila - August 3, 2017
Frank Herrmann is acclimating well to baseball in Japan. In his first season i
n NPB, the 33-year-old Harvard alum has a 2.08 ERA, and is averaging better th
an a strikeout per inning, in 36 relief outings for the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Prior to taking his talents to another continent, Herrmann appeared in 36 game
s with the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies over parts of four MLB
seasons.
Herrmann shared his thoughts on several facets of the NPB experience — and co
mpared one of his Rakuten teammates to Masahiro Tanaka — earlier this week.
———
Herrmann on transitioning to NPB: “I’ve been setting up all season, and am 2
5 of 27 in hold opportunities, so I would say I’ve transitioned well. I would
attribute that to my velocity (92-96) which is something teams here seek, and
to my strike-throwing ability.
“Teams in Japan have plenty of homegrown players that can spin the ball, thro
w strikes, are are fundamentally sound fielders and contact hitters. What they
tend to lack is power bats and power arms. In my experience, I don’t see the
m training for power or quick twitch. They are more focused on throwing 100-pi
tch pens, running long distances, and taking a thousand ground balls, than the
y are in being explosive. That’s not necessarily an indictment on Japanese ba
seball — which is surprisingly good — but more a reality of how things are.
”
On bullpen usage and roles: “They adhere to roles pretty well here. The amoun
t of off days helps with that. They aren’t afraid to throw guys 4-5 days in a
row if need be, though. The loose rules in the US — three days in a row, or
three out of four days, usually gets you a couple days off — don’t really ap
ply here. It’s more feast or famine. I pitched 13 of our first 19 games but a
m currently on an seven-game, nine-day drought. That’s just one of many adjus
tments for foreign players.”
On throwing programs and bullpen sessions: “Guys throw a lot here. Like, A LO
T. Guys long toss pretty much everyday during batting practice. All bullpen pi
tchers throw bullpens scattered throughout the game, starting in the second in
ning. If you are a non set up guy or a young pitcher there really isn’t even
an option.
“In spring training, pitchers routinely throw 100 pitch bullpens. In fact I a
lways found it odd that the first question reporters would ask in spring train
ing is for a pitch count on my bullpen. Definitely a change from MLB organizat
ions where teams tend to stress ‘saving your bullets’ and quality over quant
ity.”
On off-speed pitches and the NPB ball: “You see a lot more off-speed pitches
here. Guys don’t throw as hard, but they can spin it. Also, everyone seemingl
y throws a variation of a fork or a split. Perhaps it’s because the balls are
a little smaller and tackier relative to MLB balls.
“I’ve tightened up my breaking ball this year, and perhaps it’s due to the
balls — I can’t say for sure. My curveball was very good in Triple-A last ye
ar, too, but it lacked consistency in my MLB stint, which caused my bloated nu
mbers. It’s certainly plausible that the balls could be a factor.”
On working with his catchers: “I have always been a guy to shake my catcher o
ff more than most — for better or for worse. I tend to pitch with my fastball
more than most guys here. I would say I’m free to pitch however I want as lo
ng as I get results. Our catcher can speak a little English, especially as it
relates to baseball and pitching, so that helps.
“One thing that is consistently maddening is when pitchers get ahead 0-2, cat
chers tend to set up so far off the plate that even if you hit your target it
’s a ball. There seems to be a universal fear here of giving up 0-2 hits.”
On 26-year-old teammate Takahiro Norimoto, who leads the Pacific League in win
s and strikeouts: “Nori could pitch in the big leagues. He competes like few
guys I’ve ever played with. He challenges with a hard 92-96 mph fastball, and
he’s got a wipeout split and at times a plus slider. He just finished a run
of eight games in a row striking out 10 or more batters, breaking a record onc
e held by Hideo Nomo.
“One area he could develop in order to get to the next level would be managin
g his pitch count. He is a strikeout artist, but he generally throws 110-120 p
itches to get through seven or eight innings. If he is able to add on a cutter
or sinker to steal some quick outs he could move from a third or fourth start
er profile (in MLB) to a number-two type.
“This may seem like a lazy comparison, but he reminds me of his former NPB te
ammate, Masahiro Tanaka. It’s just that many American guys don’t rely on the
fastball-fork combo. Norimoto currently has a better fastball than Tanaka.
“Perhaps the most impressive thing about Nori is his down to earth personalit
y and work ethic — two important traits were he ever to attempt a jump to the
MLB.”
On analytics in NPB: “It seems most teams are starting to put in place analyt
ics and teams of people to decipher Trackman data, etc, but I question how muc
h of this information is used in the decision-making process. It’s seemingly
very much instinct-based decisions, and what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type
of calls.”
On the atmosphere at NPB games: “All of the games here are loud with a great
atmosphere. People are constantly cheering on top of blaring horns. Ever hitte
r has his own cheer song (pitchers don’t have cheer songs) and it doesn’t ma
tter what the score is — the fans are cheering. There is no heckling or bad m
outhing whatsoever, but it is a very intense crowd. Most of the games are indo
ors, so the noise always plays a factor.”
Five things he likes about NPB:
1. Games start at 6 pm.
2. Same time zone travel-wise.
3. No pitchers shagging in BP.
4. Bullpens are an inside, air-conditioned area as opposed to on the field.
5. Every Monday is off, and sometimes you get two days a week off. It’s basic
ally a minor league number of games over the course of a major league schedule
, which helps keep players healthier and allows teams to play their best guys
almost exclusively.
Three things he doesn’t like about NPB:
1. Incessant bunting from the first inning on, to bunting with one out to move
the runner to second.
2. There are 12 teams split into two divisions — the Central League and the P
acific League — and we only play the teams in the Central three times each, w
hich is 18 games.The rest of our games are against the other five teams in our
division, the Pacific, which is 25 times each.
3. Practice on “off days,” though my team has been good about giving us time
off.
鶴蔓談日職投球的投球經驗
1.日職練習時的投球數量太多
2.牛棚連續出賽天數過多
3.教練做決策似乎憑直覺較多而非運用數據分析
4.對則本昂大的直球評價比田中高，看好則本挑戰大聯盟，但他得降低他的每局用球數
5.2好0壞時捕手都站很開，這裏的人似乎很怕2好0壞時被打安打.
6.不喜歡日職整天短打
7.不喜歡日職休兵日還在練球
細節自己看原文
這裏的鄉民素質都很高應該不用翻譯