Roki Sasaki: ‘I’ll stick to being me’
With all of baseball likely tuning in, the former Chiba Lotte Marines righty will take the hill after two convincing spring outings since signing with the Dodgers in January.
Twenty teams sought his services after being posted by the Marines for bidding to big league clubs during the off-season.
Led by their Japanese superstar trio, the Dodgers have completely taken over the country since arriving on Thursday for the season-opening series against the Cubs.
Yamamoto will start the first game on Tuesday followed by Sasaki the day after, but it is ironic that the 23-year-old will make his MLB debut on Japanese soil in a ballpark he is well familiar with.
So Sasaki’s debut will not be the full-blown debut he may have been expecting.
“Yesterday, today, the crowds have been massive and the atmosphere has been fantastic,” Sasaki said after the Dodgers lost 3-0 to the Hanshin Tigers in their final tune-up before the season opens.
“But with each day, the tension mounts towards the day I pitch. I hope I can erase any worries and be ready.
“I’m not doing anything differently as far as my routine or preparation is concerned. But the team workouts are different so I just try to control what I can, when I can.”
Sasaki is certain to be overcome by a wide range of emotions on Wednesday. Yet Dodgers manager Dave Roberts plans to give his pitcher all the time and space he needs.
“I think that Roki understands how important this moment is for him, for his family, the Japanese people,” Roberts said.
“So I think that I don’t want to add to the pressure. Sometimes I just like to let it just play out and that’s what I’m going to do.”
If things do play out as Roberts hopes, the Dodgers will be one happy campers as Sasaki has absolutely baffled hitters this spring behind his knee-buckling splitter and improving fastball.
“For a while, I’ll be facing all the hitters for the first time so I’ll be trying to figure out how effective my fastballs and splitters are,” Sasaki said. “The response I’ve had so far has been good. I’ll stick to being me.
“I need to focus on believing in what I have. I need to believe that if I perform up to my capabilities, it will lead to results.”
