"That was a great feeling, pitching in a big crowd like this, with big support from the fans," Okajima said, through interpreter Jeff Yamaguchi, before cracking a joke. "I thought, I'm retiring."
When the Red Sox got to Japan, it was not only a homecoming for Daisuke Matsuzaka. It was one, obviously, for Okajima as well. And while much of the focus was on Matsuzaka, as it has been throughout his tenure with the Sox, there was still anticipation for Okajima's first appearance. Which, it just so happened, came against those Giants.
Back home. Back in his old stadium. Back in his comfort zone. It was, as Sox manager Terry Francona noted, a change of sorts for Okajima. Instead of the other relievers taking Okajima out, say, to a restaurant, for the first time he was the one leading the group.
Though the Japanese fans haven't yet had a chance to welcome Matsuzaka back, Okajima did quite nicely yesterday. In fact, despite getting through the entire postseason, when asked the last time he had seen that many camera flashes, Francona said, "When Daisuke faced Ichiro."
But yesterday, Okajima was the one everyone wanted to see. Interview, too.
Not long after he pitched, and before the game had ended, Okajima stood in a hallway leading from the Sox dugout to the clubhouse, with a multicolored, multi-logoed wooden board behind him and dozens of media members in front of him. The contingent, Japanese and American, was so large that Julian Tavarez and Manny Delcarmen were forced to slip behind the signage, squeezing between that and the wall, to get to where they were going.
Even the opposing manager, Tatsunori Hara, who had both played with Okajima and managed him with the Giants, spoke of the reliever with fondness.
"He is someone I have fought side by side with," Hara said, according to Globe translator Daigo Fujiwara. "I feel real happy that he has been such an important player for the Red Sox, and I'm looking forward to how he pitches in his second year."
