How Okamoto is handling the Major League learning curve

MILWAUKEE -- Kazuma Okamoto is still in the early days of his transition to Major League Baseball, where every single thing is new.

At each stadium the Blue Jays visit, it’s his first time there. Each city, each hotel, each restaurant and airport, it’s his first time. Just about every pitcher Okamoto faces and every batter in the box as he stands at third base? Brand new. The currency, the culture, the language, all of it.

This is why the Blue Jays went into this entire process with patience already built in. It’s what Okamoto has earned from his career in Japan and what he deserves while he’s adapting to all of these things at the same time, but the Blue Jays still need to balance that patience with the urgency of competing in the American League East.

Through the early weeks of the season, we’ve seen it all from Okamoto, good and bad. He had some incredible moments during the opening homestand, which made it clear just how crucial he can be to this lineup when it’s all working. Since then, we’ve seen some of the struggles that can come on the other side of these adjustments. That’s brought strikeouts in the box and some unsteady moments in the field, but the Blue Jays still have every reason to believe in the player they signed to a four-year, $60 million deal.

The biggest adjustment: In the box
This is the one we knew was coming, even after the early success. While the gap has certainly shrunk, pitchers in MLB throw harder and with more movement than the average pitchers Okamoto would have been facing in Japan’s NPB.

The Blue Jays want to see Okamoto get back to “bigger moves and more aggressive moves,” as manager John Schneider put it. Okamoto is a strong, physical player. Really, it’s more of a hockey player’s build than a baseball player’s, which is the Canadian way of saying he has big, strong upper legs. He can generate so much power when he really lets loose, but we haven’t seen that on every swing recently.

“To be honest, I obviously want to hit more,” Okamoto said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “Over the long course of a season, I know there are going to be ups and downs, and that’s not different from playing in Japan. I think this is just a little lull right now, and hopefully I can get it going soon.”

From the very beginning, the likeliest outcome for Okamoto’s first season was that he’d only show flashes in the first half, then settle into more of a groove down the stretch. As long as he continues to take information and lessons from these early challenges, that’s still the likeliest way this ends.

In the field: Learning the bounces
The biggest adjustment defensively hasn’t been fielding. It’s been the field itself.

“The most important thing is getting used to the fields over here in MLB,” Okamoto said. “Every day, I’m practicing, getting my feet wet, taking lots of reps at third base to see how the ball bounces off the ground. That’s primarily what I’m focused on.”

The other difference? In Japan, he doesn’t have Aaron Judge turning on a fastball, ripping a 118-mph ground ball to third base. He’s had to play much farther back than he’s used to, which isn’t terribly foreign to Okamoto, but it’s still another change.

“Yes, I’m definitely getting used to it,” Okamoto said. “It’s definitely different than playing in all the time like overseas. It is much easier to play deeper at third base.”

Off the field: A new life in Toronto
Part of the Blue Jays’ sales pitch to Okamoto was the city of Toronto itself, and it’s an easy sell.

“The city is beautiful. Sometimes, I look out the window and think, ‘Am I in Japan?’ Toronto kind of gives off a Tokyo vibe,” Okamoto said.

It’s such a multicultural city, too, so while the comforts of home are still far away, a familiar meal at a local restaurant can go a long way. He’s learning his way around some of the North American staples, too, including the postgame spreads at home and on the road.

“I really like the sandwiches and the quesadillas,” Okamoto said, cracking a big smile.

Someday, none of this will be new. Okamoto will travel to Milwaukee for a second time and to New York for the seventh time. That's when we’ll begin to see the full version of Okamoto, but it all needs to happen one day at a time.