Watching Hirokazua Sawamura's first few spring training outings, it was clear the pitcher had some adjustments to make.
New baseball. New mound. New strike zone. All of it was different from what the 33-year-old was used to in his native Japan.
But as we sit here, 21 games into the 2021 season, there has been one change that stands out for Sawamura ... and it has nothing to do with actually playing the game of baseball.
"In terms of the adjustments, I would say weight change is the biggest one," the pitcher said through a translator Saturday morning. "When I was in Japan, it was pretty easy to maintain my weight. The diet is obviously different, so it was pretty easy to maintain my weight. After coming here because of the jet lag and changes in the environment and everything it was harder to maintain my weight. I think I’m getting used to the weight change and the environment change and I have been able to keep up with my weight.
"I lost weight. Just a little bit because of the difference in diet it was harder for me to bring back my weight. But right now I’m at a good weight."
Sawamura, who is listed at 6-feet, 212 pounds, appears to have solved his problem thanks to one simple purchase.
"I would say the white rice is the biggest difference," he noted. "I couldn’t get a rice cooker for a long time and after I got that finally I was really glad I was able to finally eat white rice. I think the difference in the daily life, I think time will solve that."
Sawamura is coming off securing his first major league win, throwing 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief after the exit of starter Martin Perez. Thus far, he has proven to be one of the most reliable relievers for Alex Cora, totaling a 1.80 ERA in his 10 innings, holding opponents to a .182 batting average.
There continues to be some adjustments on the field, as well, with Sawamura still looking for better consistency from his go-to pitch, the splitter. The flow of the game has also been somewhat of a switch, with an instance from Friday night's win highlighting that reality.
"With a 2-0 count Vazqy (Christian Vazquez) called for a slider but that was something I had never done in Japan, throwing a slider on a 2-0 count," Sawamura said. "The splitter is the biggest pitch in my pitch selection and I’ve been able to throw the splitter pretty well, locate it where I wanted to. It was a pretty good outing."
For more on Sawamura's path to the Red Sox, click here.
