They’re Shipping Out to Shape Up

The plane had not yet landed when Bill LeSuer noticed the two dozen reporters assembled nearby. Surely they were awaiting the arrival of celebrities. LeSuer had driven to Los Angeles International Airport to pick up two Japanese pitchers arriving for several weeks of physical therapy and conditioning.

As the passengers disembarked, LeSuer could barely extend his hand to welcome the pitchers before they were swallowed by the sea of cameras, microphones and note pads. The pitchers were the celebrities.

The Japanese are enthralled by the progress of their players in American baseball, and that fascination extends from the field into the training room. So, when Koji Uehara and Akinori Otsuka, two of the top pitchers in Japan, flew to California for a specialized conditioning regimen believed to be unavailable in their homeland, the Japanese media chronicled the journey.

Uehara, 25, who rejected a $3-million offer from the Angels three years ago, won 20 games as a rookie for the Yomiuri Giants in 1999. Otsuka, 28, saved 24 games for the Kintetsu Buffaloes last season. Each paid his way to fly here for an 18-day program at the Sports Medicine Institute in Orange.

“They didn’t come over because they were injured,” said Joan Boesel, director of physical therapy at the clinic. “They came over to improve their performance.”

LeSuer, a muscular therapist, and Tom Wilson, a strength and conditioning coach, formerly worked for the Angels. When the club signed Japanese pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa in 1997, LeSuer and Wilson helped devise strength and flexibility workouts that added 3 to 4 mph to Hasegawa’s fastball.

Those results did not go unnoticed in Japan. Ta Honda, a former Angel scout now working as a scouting consultant in Japan, referred Uehara and Otsuka to the Orange County clinic, where LeSuer and Wilson now work.

“The techniques and skills of baseball are not that different [between Japan and the U.S.],” Honda said. “The significant difference between Japanese baseball and American baseball is in physical fitness and treatment. I feel Japan is far behind in those categories.”

Uehara and Otsuka emphasized that Japanese players lift weights, run and participate in standard conditioning programs. LeSuer said the Japanese pitchers have taught him stretching exercises commonly used in Japan.

But Japanese teams stress drills, spending many more hours on the field than American teams. Interested players seldom find the time or facilities necessary for specialized exercises that loosen muscle tissue or increase range of motion in the shoulder.

In Japan, the players drew widespread attention, but not universal acclaim, for their decision to train here. Otsuka said an older generation of coaches and fans did not understand why the players wished to leave the country for conditioning and treatment.

“Some people said, ‘Why?’ Some people said, ‘Good for you,’ ” Otsuka said through an interpreter.

“If we play well this year, maybe people will accept what we’re doing,” Uehara said through the interpreter.

The interpreter for Uehara and Otsuka doubles as a cameraman, following the players through their routines and documenting them for the benefit of Japanese players and trainers.

No matter how many games Uehara wins this year, or how many games Otsuka saves, each player says he plans to return to Orange County next winter. Honda says other Japanese players will follow.

“That’s a definite thing,” Honda said. “Word of mouth among players is strong about this.”