We are solidly in the season, and Asians in Baseball stay hot!
First, Masanori Murakami - the first ever Japanese player in MLB - throws out the first pitch at the Giants game, and we talk exceptionalism and burden of representation.
Then, position players are making moves: Bo Bichette goes 4-for-4, Christian Yelich steals home, and Corbin Carroll triples in two in a row! But in a sad twist of fate, Lee Jung Hoo’s rookie season ends early following last week’s shoulder injury.
And if you’re watching good MLB pitching you’re watching Asians in Baseball! Shota Imanaga and Yu Darvish make history, Yusei Kikuchi is dedicated to his off days, Yamamoto is rolling (shoving?!?!), Brennan Bernadino holds it down for the Red Sox bullpen, and Bryan Woo shakes off a scare in his first start with a solid W.
Finally, Ohtani continues to flex! He invites Albert Lee, a pediatric patient, to throw out the first pitch on his bobblehead night, finally gets the right sized suit to pull up to LA City Hall for Ohtani Day on 5/17 (but Kim has thoughts about his shirt choices), and caps it all off with his first walk off as a Dodger.
Toronto Life article about Kikuchi: https://torontolife.com/city/blue-jays-pitcher-yusei-kikuchi-day-off/
Yamamoto pitching overlay video: https://tinyurl.com/5n6dx74s
