Hiatt suffered a back injury that severely limited his playing time and led to his release.
"I'd go back in a heartbeat, but it's almost impossible once you've been released by a Japanese team."
Injuries are a real problem because of a different philosophy in rehab.
"They have massage therapists rather than trainers," Givens said. "They believe in massage rather than anti-inflammatory medicine. They would massage my arm for hours. I started out strong, but I just lost my velocity. I was throwing in the low 80s by the end of the season."
Compound some of the training methods with a work ethic that borders on the zealous, and the season in Japan can be a long physical haul.
Hitting At Night
Almost every Japanese player religiously follows a workout schedule in the off-season. Gaijin, by contrast, are considered serious slackers.
"The Japanese are so fundamentally sound," Hiatt remarked. "These guys are in mid-season form in January. They have batting cages in the parking lot of the hotel at spring training. They hit at night. "
"They're workaholics," Gossage said. "They asked me if wanted to do it their way. I decided to stick with my own routine. "
"By the time the season starts, they'll be dead tired," Hiatt added.
Americans are usually excused from reporting to spring training, but some players attempt to keep up with the Japanese Joneses.
"Everybody respected me, because I did their style of training," Givens said. "I threw 49 pitches in a bullpen session. [Fumiya] Nishiguchi threw 329 pitches in his first bullpen and followed it with a 250-pitch bullpen a few days later. He was one of the best pitchers in the league, then they wondered why he was tired at the end of the season."
Japanese Media
Newspaper and TV coverage can surpass even the most suffocating New York media.
"The reporters are ridiculous. It's 20 times worse than here," Givens declared.
Just like the American press, slumping players are subject to the daily fishwrap’s scorn.
"If you're playing for one of the Tokyo teams and you're struggling, you'll be in the papers every day," according to Hiatt.
Why live a day in time zones away from home where the demands and expectations of the job are brutal?
