Tadahito Iguchi's body clock is a bit out of whack, so when he hit a home run on his second day of major league baseball spring training, it was a rather remarkable accomplishment.
Yeah, sure it was just batting practice, but he's still trying to shake off jet lag after arriving at the Chicago White Sox spring camp two days ago.
"Not bad for 3 o'clock in the morning," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said on Thursday.
"Yesterday was a little strange. I didn't sleep well," Iguchi said through an interpreter.
Iguchi's homer off veteran reliever Cliff Politte will surely be big news back home in Japan where there is a 15-hour time difference.
His every move is being monitored by about two dozen Japanese journalists and cameramen. Every ground ball he fields in practice is charted. He has his own news conference in a yard next to the complex.
His presence is a much bigger stir than a year when ago when Japanese saves leader Shingo Takatsu joined the White Sox.
Iguchi, signed to play second base, will make US$2.3 million this year and US$2.4 million in 2006. Chicago has a US$3.25 million option for 2007 with a US$250,000 buyout.
Now he's working to adjust to just about everything. He had visited the US about 10 times previously, including a trip to the 1996 Olympics where Japan won the silver medal in baseball.
"Coming straight to the big leagues from Japan is different. I grew up in this game and went through every level," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
"Today it is tougher. I don't think it's because of the language and the culture, but because they are in the spotlight right away," he said. ``When you come from Japan and come straight to the big league level, you have something to prove. I think Shingo last year did a tremendous job and I'm expecting the same with Iguchi."
Iguchi, 30, batted .333 with 24 homers and 89 RBIs last season. He's won two stolen base titles, three Gold Glove awards and been an All-Star four times.
In his eight-year Japanese career with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, Iguchi hit 149 homers and stole 159 bases to go with a .271 average.
"Fortunate," he said of his homer off Politte. "Not really surprising, but I'm not a home run hitter. I just need to get hits."
Takatsu struggled in spring training a year ago (6.75 ERA) but finally got untracked and then took the closer's job in mid-June. He was 6-4 with a 2.31 ERA in 19 saves and became such a popular figure at US Cellular Field that the White Sox started playing a gong over the public address system when he was called into a game.
Iguchi, expected to dislodge Willie Harris at second base, noted that major league pitching seems to have more movement than he's used to.
He also noticed that preseason training workouts are rather quick and fast-paced in contrast to the more methodical eight-hour practice days in Japan.
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