When he was signed by the Seattle Mariners to a three-year contract for $16.5 million before this season, the concern about Kenji Johjima was whether he could communicate with the pitchers as the first Japanese catcher in the major leagues. Now, several months into his first major league season, and with Johjima having taken crash courses in English, the jury is in. When Joe ― as he is called by his teammates, who have an easier time with that than with his given name ― goes to the mound to talk, George Sherrill, a left-handed relief pitcher, was asked, can he communicate? “Sort of,” he said in the visitors’ clubhouse last week before the Mariners played an afternoon game in the Bronx against the Yankees. What does “sort of” mean? “Well, the English is broken, but, really, it’s easily understandable,” Sherrill said. “You know, baseball is a universal language. Joe knows enough to say something like ‘your shoulder is flying open too quick,’ and so I tighten my delivery a little. But I think I only shook him off twice all year. He’s done a tremendous job.”
What has it been like for J. J. Putz, the Seattle closer, to communicate with Johjima? “It’s like ordering sushi,” he said, with a smile. “You have a certain amount of words in common, and you do a certain amount of pointing.” And when that does not work, said Ron Hassey, the catching coach, “we’ve got the Japanese interpreter in the runway off the dugout.” “But that’s rare,” Hassey added. “All of us understand ‘throw the breaking ball here,’ or ‘fastball inside.’ ” The 30-year-old Johjima, who was an all-star in Japan the previous six seasons, has done well enough that after yesterday’s game, he has caught more innings, 720, than any other catcher in the major leagues. He is hitting .286 with 10 homers and 43 runs batted in, and he is ninth among major league catchers with 28 extra-base hits. Hassey said he had been impressed with Johjima’s work behind the plate.
“Not too many guys run on him,” Hassey said. “He’s got a quick throwing release and he’s accurate. He gunned down Figgins trying to steal one night, and it was no contest.” Chone Figgins of the Angels is one of the league’s top base stealers. On May 19, Johjima, at 6 feet and 198 pounds, took a throw from Ichiro Suzuki in left field and blocked the plate against the charging Josh Barfield of the Padres. Johjima went sprawling but held on to the ball to help preserve a Mariners victory. “He got smoked, but he did the job,” Seattle Manager Mike Hargrove said. It is the kind of play, he said, that added to the confidence of his teammates. And Johjima has striven to achieve that. “My biggest concern was gaining the reliance of the pitchers,” Johjima said through an interpreter. “That they have confidence in the pitches I call, and the way I handle their pitches.” Hargrove said he did not know how Johjima was able to deal so effectively with the newness confronting him ― a new culture, a new language, a new brand of baseball. “I accept the challenge, which is very great,” Johjima said. “I want to be the first Japanese catcher to make it in the big leagues.” He has a wife and three young children in Japan; the youngest, a boy named Keita, was born June 30. Loneliness can surely creep into someone in his position, and it could have an impact on his playing.
“When I go back home, I call my wife on the Internet and we can talk and see each other,” Johjima said. “So it lets me concentrate on baseball. The technology is great. Twenty years ago, I would have had a problem.” Over the recent All-Star Game break, Johjima flew home to see his newborn baby. And what, he was asked, will the boy be when he grows up? “A writer,” he said, immediately establishing his credentials in public relations. Johjima not only speaks to his teammates, but he will also sometimes talk to an opponent. An example of this occurred in a Yankees game last week. When Alex Rodriguez went to the plate, Johjima greeted him with “Hello,” then added something else in English. “I didn’t quite get what he was saying,” Rodriguez said. “And then he pointed. I thought he was messing with me. So I looked over to Jerry Meals.” Meals was the home-plate umpire.“Jerry told me, ‘He says your fly is open,’ ” Rodriguez said. And it was. The zipper was broken. As soon as he could, Rodriguez changed his pants. Johjima shrugged when the incident was related to him. “I was just trying to be helpful,” he said. “I asked him if that was part of his batting routine. And we both laughed.”