Ishii Has No Fear of Pitching Again
Dodger pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii never understood what all the fuss was about. Yes, his rookie season came to a sudden and gruesome end when a wicked line drive off the bat of Houston’s Brian Hunter hit Ishii in the head last Sept. 8, fracturing his skull and forcing surgery in which a small titanium plate was inserted in his head.
But was it really necessary, as some Dodger front office and medical personnel suggested, for the Japanese left-hander to see a sports psychologist over the winter in an effort to overcome the potential fear of returning to the mound?
“Instead of seeing a psychological doctor, I wanted to see an English doctor to improve my English,” Ishii said through an interpreter Friday, when he joined several teammates for a final voluntary workout in Dodger Stadium before heading to Florida for spring training.
“I overcame the problem myself. If I face the same situation again, naturally, I would be scared, but I’m not going to be thinking about that when I take the mound.”
About the only concession to the injury Ishii plans to make this spring is an adjustment to his follow-through that will put him in a better position to defend after he delivers a pitch.
Otherwise, Ishii is looking forward to a far more relaxing experience in Vero Beach this year, as opposed to the stress test that was spring training 2002.
Because of last winter’s lengthy contract negotiations with the Dodgers and a delay in obtaining a work visa, Ishii reported to camp a week late.
He struggled with the grip on a baseball that felt larger than the ones he used in Japan, he struggled with his command, he struggled adjusting to a new country and culture and struggled to find a comfort zone amid the constant barrage of a Japanese press that followed and critiqued his every move.
If Ishii was frazzled, it didn’t show; he struck out 10 in his major league debut and went 5-0 with a 3.03 earned-run average in the first month of a season that ended with a 14-10 record and 4.27 ERA.
“Against the batters, I had the advantage last year because they didn’t know about me,” Ishii said. “This year, they know me and I know them, so we will be on equal footing.”
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His waistline is a little trimmer, his biceps a little bigger, and his commitment a little stronger. If third baseman Adrian Beltre doesn’t meet the expectations of so many Dodger executives and fans this season, it will not be for lack of work.
“I hope it’s time for me to do that,” Beltre said of the elusive 30-homer, 100-RBI plateau, a level he has yet to reach in five seasons with the Dodgers. “I can’t tell you I’m going to do that because I’ve never done it before. What I do know is I’m working hard for it.”
Beltre, who turns 24 in early April, has been a regular at the Dodgers’ three-times-a-week workouts since Jan. 10. He batted .257 with 21 homers and 75 runs batted in in 2002, a season marked by hot streaks and slumps, and is striving to be more consistent and productive in 2003.
The annual trade rumors swirled around Beltre last season, but they didn’t seem as loud this winter. Though he has been much maligned since his Dodger debut in 1998, battling numerous injuries, inconsistency and a controversy surrounding his underage signing in the Dominican Republic, Beltre has now been a Dodger longer than any current player except pitcher Darren Dreifort.
“Every year, it’s something with me, whether something is really happening or not,” Beltre said. “Trade rumors are part of the game. You can get traded if you’re not doing good, or if you’re doing too good and the team doesn’t want to pay you. I don’t want to get traded, but I can handle it.”
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Dreifort, sidelined for the past year and a half because of elbow and knee injuries, and right-hander Kevin Brown, who was limited by major elbow and back injuries to 10 starts last season, have been medically cleared to join Dodger pitchers and catchers for their first workout Feb. 13, according to their agent, Scott Boras.
