A Sign of Good Weather
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
RAFU SPORTS EDITOR
Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007

Citing the balmy climate and the comfort of his family, Hiroki Kuroda is introduced as the newest member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Photos by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo
New Dodger Hiroki Kuroda pretends to throw a pitch from the Dodger Stadium mound, as welcome messages flash on the message boards behind him.

Kuroda will have to adjust to the never-ending crush
of Japanese media, who will surely follow his every move.

DODGER STADIUM.–After pulling the gleaming white jersey over his dress shirt and tie, a somewhat still nervous Hiroki Kuroda stood atop the Dodger Stadium pitcher’s mound for the customary introductory photos. He did so under crystal-clear skies on a sunny, 70-degree Los Angeles Sunday.

That’s a big reason he’s here.

The Dodgers pulled out all the stops to laud their newest free-agent signee, conducting a rare Sunday news conference. Kuroda’s face was splashed across the jumbo TV screen above the left-field bleachers, and welcome greetings—in both English and Japanese–were on electric displays around the inner perimeter of the stadium.

Impressively, the team even had a pair of Kuroda bobblehead dolls on display–scarcely 24 hours after his $35.3 million, three-year contract was signed.

“With the signing of Kuroda-san, we’re a better team,” said Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. “We went into this offseason with the objective of making our team better and not trading our young players who have so much promise. I would like to congratulate Ned Colletti for achieving that objective.”

Kuroda, who’s contract includes a $7.3 million signing bonus, seemed pleased but visibly intimidated, not only by the crush of media that had gathered to see him at the Stadium Club, but also by the expectations that come with his contract.

“I haven’t yet pitched here, and for a team to think that highly of me, perhaps because of the success of Japanese players that have come here and succeeded, is something I’m very thankful for,” Kuroda said in Japanese.

“I’ve never had a contract this long, and in Japan, it’s an unbelievable contract.”

Kuroda, 32, made around $3 million pitching for Hiroshima in 2007, and was highly coveted by several teams, most notably the Seattle Mariners. In fact, the Seattle offer was reported to have been around $3 million more than the deal L.A. was offering. In the end, several factors made up Kuroda’s mind.

“The number one thing for me was what was best for my family,” Kuroda said. “I wanted to play in an environment that was the best for me to succeed and the Dodgers seemed like the best choice.”

“I’ve heard that there is a large and active Japanese community here in Los Angeles, and also I think the warm and sunny climate here in California is the best environment for me to compete,” said Kuroda, whose 5-year-old daughter attends an elementary school in which English is spoken. He still has difficulty with English, but said he’ll begin to study in the coming months.

There was also the input of Dodgers closer Takashi Saito, a long time friend of Kuroda’s, who met with him in Japan to discuss the team.

“Saito-san told me that this team is competitive and aims for a championship every year,” Kuroda said. “That’s something I want to be a part of.” Kuroda passed a physical for the team Saturday at Centinela Hospital and headed back to Japan Monday, a schedule that forced the scheduling of the Sunday news conference.

The signing of Kuroda means the Dodgers–who admittedly were in search of more pitching–won’t need to give up some of their valuable young players to get another strong arm. Kuroda figures to be a second or third starter in a rotation that includes Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and possibly Chad Billingsley.

The team has been very reluctant to discuss trading some of their up-and coming stars, including James Loney, Andre Ethier and the superbly athletic Matt Kemp.

With a fastball into the mid-90s, a slider, forkball and the pitch known in
Japan as “shuuto,” Kuroda was 12-8 with the Carp last season with an earned run average of 3.56. His career record in Japan is 103-89 with a 3.69 ERA.

“Our expectation is he’s going to be a real solid pitcher for us, that he’ll make a lot of starts, pitches a lot of innings,” said Colletti, the Dodgers general manager, citing the work of various arms of the organization to make the deal happen.

"Some of the words used to describe him are ‘warrior,’ ‘competitor,’ someone who, as the game gets tougher, gets stronger,” Colletti said.

The decision to go after Kuroda is hardly a snap judgment for the
Dodgers. Colletti said the team has been thinking about him for more than a year and he’s been on the radar for L.A. for longer than that.

Though the jersey he wore for the cameras Sunday referred to next season with the numerals 08, Kuroda said he understands that he’ll be wearing 18 when the season begins. That number is revered in Japan by pitchers; Matsuzaka wears it, as did the legendary Tsuneo Horiuchi who pitched for the Yomiuri Giants in the 1970s and 60s.

Unlike Matsuzaka, the price to obtain the services of Kuroda doesn’t include the posting fee commanded by a Japanese team to negotiate with one of their players, as his contract with the Hiroshima Carp ended with this past season. The Boston Red Sox paid the Seibu Lions more than
$50 million simply to conduct talks with Matsuzaka.

Kuroda’s statement in Japan to announce his departure for the U.S. was reportedly a tearful affair in which he stated that he was leaving Japan to take the next step in his career. He has already begun to prepare for the transition to the majors, even to the extent of playing catch with an American ball to become accustomed to the differences. While taking the mound for photos Sunday, he noted the differences in the size and composition of the hill.

“One of my goals here is to contribute to a world championship in any way I can. For the Dodgers fans, I want to pitch well and make everyone happy,” Kuroda said.