Munenori Kawasaki was the only member of the Japan Breeze to have faced Leones del Escogido starter Johnny Cueto previously, having gone 0-for-4 against him with a strikeout. In the Caribbean Series opener, Kawasaki went 1-for-2, bunting a pitch up the third base line for a single in the third.
Kawasaki, who played in Major League Baseball from 2012-16 with Toronto, Seattle, and the Chicago Cubs, was the antithesis of the quiet, reserved Japanese players who had come before him, playing up his linguistic challenges for laughs that made him a viral video star when he discussed why he eats bananas.
Let me refresh your memory:
Unfailingly polite, as the Japanese are, Kawasaki obliged World Baseball Network with an interview before the Japan Breeze’s debut against the Domincan Republic’s Leones del Escogido and their starter, Johnny Cueto, on Saturday.
“Yes! Wow! Legend!” Kawasaki said, mimicking Cueto’s stuttering delivery. “Yes, four times! I remember! … He have so good command, just wow! Nasty! nasty fastball, nasty breaking ball, just great quickness. Number one pitcher!”
Hoping to get a humorous answer, I asked Kawasaki if he hoped to get revenge on Cueto for those four at-bats in 2014, and he said via a translator, “I’m really happy to be going against him again.”
In a sport that takes itself too seriously far too often, Kawasaki is a breath of fresh air playing for the Japan Breeze here at the Caribbean Series. – Leif Skodnick
What Were You Thinking? – The press seating here in Mexicali is in the outfield, and without the benefit of a tv monitor, I wasn’t exactly sure what happened when Kelvin Gutierrez scored for the Dominican Republic in the third inning of the matinee against the Japan Breeze. When I looked up, I saw the home plate umpire point to Gutierrez and then the plate, so I first thought a balk had been called. World Baseball Network’s Brandon Kramer texted me that the Japan Breeze catcher, Yamata Satoh, corralled the wild pitch using his mask. A player can’t use a piece of his uniform or equipment to trap the ball, and if they do, the runners advance one base. Thus, Gutierrez scored and Junior Lake advanced to third. It was just another thing that went awry for the Japan Breeze in their Caribbean Series debut. – Leif Skodnick
The First Dinger – Sandber Pimentel‘s pinch-hit homer for the Leones del Escogido to lead off the top of the sixth was the first homer of the 2025 Caribbean Series. The ball cleared the wall in right center after leaving Pimentel’s bat at 106.2 mph, traveling 367 feet before it was caught by a fan using his hat. – Leif Skodnick
First Invitee Without a Season – The Japan Breeze are the first invitee to play in the Caribbean Series without playing a winter league season. Prior to stepping on the field against the Leones del Escogido on Saturday afternoon, they had played only one game against the Liga Venezolana All-Stars at Estadio Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela, on December 10 and lost 3-1. – Matt Tallarini
WBN Caribbean Series: https://worldbaseball.com/league/serie-del-caribe/
Photo Credit: The Japan Breeze made their debut in the Caribbean Series on Saturday. (Photo Courtesy of CBPC)