Genial Hasegawa Working Magic as Closer

Red Sox stood on all three bases Monday night. It was the bottom of the 11th inning. There were no outs. The Angels led by one run, which didn’t seem nearly enough.

So here came Shigetoshi Hasegawa, slim as salad lettuce, not at all fierce looking and wearing the biggest smile possible.

“This was going to be fun,” Hasegawa said. “With all the people cheering against me and all the weird things which had happened in the game already, I could hardly wait to get out there and throw the ball.”

But the bases were loaded. The fans were heckling. The game was so crucial.

“Yes,” Hasegawa said, “I know that. Why wouldn’t I like that?”

Meet the humblest closer you’ve ever seen. Meet the politest closer you could imagine. Hasegawa is 5 feet 11 inches. He weighs 175 pounds. He does not have a handlebar mustache or a beard or wild hair to make him look fierce.

If the Angels are to stay in the battle for the American League wild-card spot, they will need Hasegawa to keep smiling and keep bending batters to his will. There may not be a bigger key to the Angels’ fortunes.

Hasegawa will not blow through a lineup with his fastball or scare anyone with his stare. He is a closer by attrition right now, the replacement for Troy Percival.

“But I am not Troy,” Hasegawa said. “I don’t want to be Troy. I’m just holding down his place. Don’t call me the closer because I’m not the closer. I’m the set-up man. OK?”

And, smiling or not, Hasegawa did not win the game. After getting a double-play ball, which was almost a triple play, Hasegawa gave up a bloop single that produced two runs and gave the game to the Red Sox.

Before that single, Hasegawa had pitched 23 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in 15 appearances. That’s the second-longest scoreless streak by a relief pitcher this season. Additionally, Hasegawa hadn’t given up an earned run in 30 2/3 innings over 19 appearances.

Can’t ask more than that of a set-up man. Or a closer.

Nobody told Hasegawa he was going to replace Percival. . “I guess I just kind of did it,” he said.

Hasegawa, 32, became a baseball player because his father, Masatoshi, was a grade-school baseball coach and a catcher in softball and baseball leagues in Japan.

Masatoshi taught his son about the art of location, of never deviating from a game plan, of doing what you want and not being tempted to overpower a batter when you aren’t an overpowering pitcher.

It is his control, Angel pitching coach Bud Black said, and his iron will that makes Hasegawa so good at what he does.

“What makes a relief pitcher reliable and functional is his ability to be resilient,” Black said. “It is the ability to be able to come ready to pitch every day, both mentally and physically. [Hasegawa] has those qualities.”

While Black says he always has high expectations from his pitchers, he did use the word “awesome” to describe Hasegawa’s three-inning appearance against the Yankees in New York last week.

For three innings, in the raucous, rude, rowdy atmosphere of Yankee Stadium, Hasegawa didn’t give up a run while the Angels were overcoming a five-run deficit in the ninth inning and finally winning, 9-8.

“Oh, that was much fun,” Hasegawa said. “I’m a little bit of a crazy guy and a guy would be crazy not to have so much fun on that day. You are playing the world champions in their home and all the people want you to make mistakes.

“That was about as exciting a moment as a relief pitcher can get,” Black said, “and Hasegawa handled it perfectly. It was fun to watch and I think Shiggy had fun doing it.”

There’s not much doubt that Hasegawa is anonymous around the country. Heck, the Angels are anonymous around the country.

Back home in his native Cincinnati last weekend, an Orange County resident was recounting to his former baseball coaching buddies how much fun it was watching the Angels and Darin Erstad. When Erstad’s name was mentioned, one of the coaches apologized and said he wasn’t very familiar with Erstad.

So there’s no chance he’s even heard of Hasegawa.

This doesn’t bother Hasegawa. He came to the United States and the Angels three years ago against the wishes of his mother, Hiromi. Hasegawa didn’t come to the United States to become famous. Rich perhaps, but not famous. Hasegawa giggles when he says this.

But then he gets serious. His parents have never come to the United States to see him pitch. He goes home for a month in the off-season but he would love for Masatoshi and Hiromi to come to Anaheim.

“They say they’ll come,” Hasegawa said, “if we are in the playoffs.”

And if that happens, even people in Cincinnati might hear about him.

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Diane Pucin can be reached at her e-mail address: diane.pucin@latimes.com.