On Wednesday, about 200 members of the media shadowing every move of Shohei Ohtani made their way to a hotel for his much-awaited news conference in Tempe. A day later, on a drizzly Thursday morning some 35 miles northwest of there, the media contingent stationed at the Peoria Sports Complex swelled by maybe a dozen as Japan’s other latest import stepped in front of the cameras for his official introduction.

“Good morning,” he began. “My name is Kazuhisa Makita. Call me Maki. I am happy to be here with … ”

The 33-year-old reliever paused as he searched for the final word he wanted to express in English.

“… Padres.”


Makita’s initial question-and-answer session before the Padres’ first official workout darted from his desire to start his major league adventure in sunny San Diego to the support system assembled in A.J. Preller’s baseball operations department to the origin of the under-handed delivery so rarely seen on this side of the world.

The look had intrigued Preller for years. It could become more than a minor curiosity around the game if Makita baffles hitters the way the Padres envision.

“His knuckles are dragging the ground,” Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley said with a smirk. “Whenever you’re doing something drastically different that hitters don’t see a lot, they are usually going to have a tough time with it.”

Not the velocity, mind you: Low-80s fastballs are perfect for batting practice.


It’s the rise from his shoe tops.

It’s the sideways spin.

It’s the Bugs Bunny, pop-up curve — think 45-55 mph — that freezes a hitter just when he thinks he’s locked onto the release point.

Reliever Tom Wilhelmsen got a look at one during Thursday’s warm-ups.


A really, really long look at it.

All the veteran right-hander could do was laugh.

“He threw that curveball and it just didn’t seem like it ever wanted to get to me,” Wilhelmsen said. “It’s pretty unique. I’ve played catch with a lot of people in my days, but not quite with somebody who throws it from underneath his knee.

“It was fun to see it come out of his hand.”


Of course, Makita didn’t always throw that way.

In fact, he was a relatively bland three-quarters hurler when a coach approached him his freshman year at Seisei Kogyo High School in Japan. The torque in his delivery, the way he pivoted, led him to believe that Makita could pull off an underhanded pitch.

He was right.

“It was easy going into it,” Makita said through an interpreter. “The first time I threw it was able to throw the ball comfortably. I think it fit.”


He added: “There’s not many underhanded pitchers. I think it gives me a distinct advantage as far as batters not seeing the angle.”

Utilizing the odd look, Makita saved 22 games for the Seibu Lions as a 26-year-old rookie in Japan. He started 110 games in seven years there. He’s pitched exclusively in relief the last two years as he eyed a move to the United States, a goal he first set while pitching for Japan’s 2013 World Baseball Classic team.

Exactly how Makita fits in the Padres bullpen will develop over the next six weeks. It will evolve from there.

For now, Makita is content to simply attempt to fit in on a new continent.


The Padres, he said, were an ideal landing spot for such a transition.

The team already employed three former Japanese big leaguers in Hideo Nomo, Takashi Saito and Akinori Otsuka. Their director of applied sports sciences, Seiichiro Nakagaki, spent 11 years with Japan’s Nippon-Ham Fighters. A newly-hired interpreter, Kenji Aoshima, will accompany him throughout the season.

Still, there will be challenges.

Baseball in the United States is the pinnacle of the sport. His English is a work in progress. Then there’s the tall order of remembering dozens of names learned in a short period.


Toward that end, Makita was poring over a roster with his teammates’ mug shots minutes before Thursday’s introductory news conference.

“The hardest part right now,” Makita said while smiling, “is learning everyone’s faces and names. I’m going back and forth. Even though I’ve introduced myself — ‘Nice to meet you’ — I’m having to say that two times, three times to the same person.

“I’m a having a little bit of difficulty there, but I’m having fun and enjoying the attention.”


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jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutSanders