Yusei Kikuchi with interpreter Yusuke Oshima at the Rogers Centre on June 29.Mark Blinch/The Globe and Mail
Half an hour before Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi was expected to warm up ahead of a game against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates in May, he hit a road block. Literally.
Kikuchi was scheduled to start that day, and had driven in on his usual route on the Gardiner Expressway. For reasons that will be explained later, he exited onto Yonge Street toward the Rogers Centre. Except this was the morning of the Toronto Marathon. It’s the day each year on which tens of thousands of runners shut down the downtown core, bringing road traffic to a grinding halt – including, on that morning, Kikuchi.
The first person Kikuchi called wasn’t one of his coaches or trainers. It was his newly hired interpreter, Yusuke Oshima. Within minutes, Oshima set off from the Rogers Centre on foot, to try to find Kikuchi.
Officially, the job Oshima was hired for in April was to help the Japanese-born-and-raised Kikuchi with language translation. Kikuchi speaks conversational English, but when it comes to high-stakes interactions – talks with his teammates and coaches that require precision and nuance, where the smallest mix-up can mean the difference between winning and losing – he relies on the Toronto-born Oshima. If Kikuchi is Tom Selleck’s Mr. Baseball, then Oshima is his real-life Yoji.
But unofficially, Oshima’s job includes helping Kikuchi navigate off the field, too. The pitcher has been in Toronto for little more than a year. So from sunup until sundown, Oshima is glued to his side. He’s part cultural-liaison, part personal assistant, part local navigator – an extra set of eyes and ears for the pitcher as he makes his way around a new city and culture.
“I smooth things over. Make sure he’s comfortable,” Oshima says. “Make sure he’s good to go every fifth day when he pitches.”
Yusei Kikuchi walks the field with Yusuke Oshima at the Rogers Centre on June 29.Mark Blinch/The Globe and Mail
On any given day, this can range from dealing with English-speaking contractors at Kikuchi’s house, co-ordinating with his son’s school, or scheduling Kikuchi’s medical appointments. He even does Kikuchi’s wife’s banking.
“During the season, it’s really important for me to concentrate on baseball only,” Kikuchi said through a separate interpreter hired by The Globe and Mail. “I don’t need any other stress.”
Case in point: The morning of the marathon. After Oshima was dispatched from the Rogers Centre, the plan was to find Kikuchi’s car on foot, freeing up the pitcher to jog over to the stadium. So Oshima ran around downtown, texting ‘where are you?’ every few minutes.
But then his phone died.
By the time he finally powered up again, Kikuchi had already made his way to the stadium.
Kikuchi recounted this from the dugout at Roger’s Centre one recent afternoon, as Oshima sat next to him, glum-faced. The usually stoic pitcher was dissolving into giggles.
“And then,” he said – gleefully – “everybody had to go look for Yusuke.”
Yusei Kikuchi works out as Yusuke Oshima looks on at the Rogers Centre on June 29.Mark Blinch/The Globe and Mail
Oshima may be a new hire, but the two already speak with the easy familiarity of siblings. Kikuchi is two years older, and razzes Oshima like a kid brother.
He hired Oshima, he said, because he seemed trustworthy, smart, and easy to be around.
“I have to spend a lot of time with him – more than with my own family,” Kikuchi said. “So it’s fun to joke around with him.”
Oshima interjected to correct the second interpreter.
“Make fun of,” he said. “He said fun to make fun of.”
Just three months ago, Oshima was working as a sixth-grade teacher in Markham, Ont. Born to Japanese immigrant parents in Toronto, he’d grown up obsessed with baseball – playing the game as a kid, and following both the U.S. and Japanese leagues. He kept up with the game as an adult, working as an assistant coach for the University of Toronto team.
So in late March, when he heard the Jays were looking to hire an interpreter for Kikuchi (whose previous long-time interpreter moved back to Japan), he applied immediately.
He was called for an interview, and then another, and then another. After about a week, he was invited to a video conference with general manager Ross Atkins, along with Kikuchi himself. A few days after that, he was invited to come to the clubhouse. He’d been hired.
“I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is a dream come true.’”
For Kikuchi, it was a good time for a reset as well. When the former Mariner first joined the Jays last year on a three-year, US$36-million contract, it was with some fanfare. He was another star added to a glittering rotation, which already included the recently acquired Kevin Gausman and José Berríos. But that first year was, by all accounts – including his own – a disaster. He produced a dismal 5.19 earned-run average over 100 innings, and was relegated to the bullpen by the end of the season.
So this year, he committed to a fresh start. He’s been working to build confidence. He’s stopped using social media. He’s even got a new look, sporting, in recent weeks, a scruffy new beard.
“Last year, I felt disappointed,” Kikuchi said through a translator. “This year, I want to be in really good form. I want to make sure we win.” He came back during spring training looking like a new player, and this season has posted a 4.24 ERA.
He won’t say whether his new sidekick has anything to do with it. It’s important, he said, for both of them to remain humble.
Which brings us back to the morning of the marathon. Oshima swears that he had warned Kikuchi ahead of time of the road closures.
But whether it was Oshima’s fault, Kikuchi’s fault, or simply lost in translation, depends on who you ask.
“I told him to get off at Spadina,” said Oshima, taking off his ball cap and rubbing his forehead. Talking about it still stresses him out.
Kikuchi looks dubious. He’s asked if it was Oshima’s fault.
The pitcher looks up and answers in English for the first time.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.
The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.
The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.
Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.
The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.
The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.
Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.
Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.
Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.
RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.
Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.
They’re one step away.
Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.
Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.
Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.
This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.
“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.
The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.
Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.
“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.
Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.
“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”
The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.
New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.
The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.
“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”
Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.
“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”
The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.
The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.
While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.
“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.
Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.
It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).
Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.
“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”
But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”
“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.
The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.
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