There were a lot of factors that contributed to Shogo Akiyama’s struggles in the first month of the season.
He was still learning Major League pitchers. He didn’t have a normal spring training to prepare for the season. He said the increase in velocity was one of the biggest differences between MLB and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Another thing that Akiyama wished he did earlier in the season was the way he took pre-game batting practice. He asked coaches to throw more offspeed pitches to him.
“Batting practice here is a bit monotone compared to Japan, or rather, it goes by quickly,” Akiyama told Japanese reporters, according to a translation provided by NHK’s Ryosuke Oshimizu.