◆Pre-season game: DeNA 9-2 Rakuten Eagles (7th, Shizuoka)

Rakuten Eagles 's Kenta Maeda, pitcher returned to Japanese baseball after 11 years, gave up 5 hit 2 runs in 4 innings in his second start in an exhibition game. Reflecting on his first appearance on mound in about two weeks since February 22 when he faced the same DeNA in Ginowan, Okinawa, he said, "It's been a while since my last appearance, so I planned to throw a lot today, and I think I was able to clear that hurdle."

He also faced DeNA's Tsutsugo, whom he was looking forward to but never got to play against last time. In his first at-bat, struck out out looking on change-up, and in his second at-bat, he allowed a timely hit, resulting in a draw. "I was really happy, and I had a lot of fun. It's hard to have fun once you get into regular season. I gave up a hit, but I'm glad I got to play against him," he said with a laugh.

Of the 73 pitches he threw that day, 24, or about one-third, were foul balls. At first glance, it may seem like he lacked decisive power, but the battle-hardened veteran explained the reason behind his "difficult pitching."

"I'm still pitching without looking at any data or the characteristics of the batter. If I keep that in mind, I think things will change. Today, I was just thinking about pitching to that spot, but if I could have a more thorough meeting and think about where the batter is weak, or this count, this ball, etc., then my pitch selection would change. Today, I was getting hit with foul balls like that, so I got stubborn and threw the ball with the feeling of wanting to make him swing."

This is his first return in 11 years, and apart from some veterans like Tsutsugo, there are very few hitter he has faced. Since the start of camp, his top priority has been his own training, and he is not yet at the stage where he can pitch while watching the opponent, which seems to be a major factor in the number of pitches he needs to throw.

Although he threw a lot of pitches, his characteristic control was still intact, as he never once put count at 3-0 or 3-1 against the 16 hitter faced.

With about three weeks until the start of the season, he is expected to pitch in two more exhibition games. On this day, he was seen exchanging words with home-base umpire as he left mound.

"I asked if the balls we're using now are the same as the balls used in regular season. I was told that the balls we're using now aren't kneaded (with sand before use), so when the season starts, umpire will knead them properly, so that will change."

On his return, he faced some common NPB issues, such as feeling uncomfortable with the unique shape mound at local stadiums. On this day, he also tried catch during his team's batting practice, something he hadn't done in the US.

The trial-and-error mound will continue until the season opener, but he is on track to finish well, with his fastest straight ball reaching 150 km/h, according to the team's measurements. Next time, I will probably pitch at ground the home of the 12-ball team. I'm looking forward to pitching at a professional team's home ballpark because I'm sure I'll feel differently about pitching there.