Yankees News: Hiroki Kuroda Did Not Enjoy Pitching In The Majors
By Jason Evans
Hiroki Kuroda was a constant in a New York Yankees rotation that always seemed to be in flux. Whether guys were injured or ineffective, you knew you could give 18 the ball and get a respectable outing from him. What we all didn’t know, is how he felt about pitching in MLB and in America in general. Here’s what he said according to One World Sports:
"“To sum it up in one word, it was ‘tough,'” Kuroda said in the news conference. “In a situation in which I didn’t understand the language and battled to make it through the season, the seven years were — including physically — tougher than they were enjoyable.”"
"When later asked about what he learned as a player while in the big leagues, Kuroda threw out that key word the same way he relies on his out pitch: “In terms of technical aspects, I learned how to make adjustments. As far as mental aspects, I learned how to pitch in tough situations.”"
I’m not surprised Kuroda said what he did. Imagine traveling halfway around the world to do a new job? You’d have some issues doing that as well.
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The 40 year old had double digit wins from 2010-2014.
Kuroda did everything the Yankees asked of him and more. He did the best he could even if it was a tough situation for him. Hopefully he does well in Japan.
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