Thursday morning in Tokyo was a time for endings and beginnings. For one Japanese superstar, it was the end of long, mythical career. But for Yusei Kikuchi, his storied career began a new chapter yesterday morning, as he made his major league start in his own native land, becoming the first international player to debut in his home country. It’s unfortunate that Kikuchi’s start was overshadowed by Ichiro’s retirement (Ichiro Forever), but he was quite impressive in the five innings he pitched.
Since the Tokyo Dome isn’t equipped with TrackMan or PITCHf/x cameras, these two games were played in a data vacuum.