The Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto and the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. warmed up together, exchanged laughs and watched intently as the other took batting practice Sunday at Les Murakami Stadium.
Earlier this summer, the precocious rookie outfielders took the baseball world by storm.
Soto and Acuna are among the Major Leaguers who are here to work out before competing against players from Nippon Professional Baseball in the Japan All-Star Series, to be held Thursday through Nov. 15 in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagoya.
Soto, who turned 20 last Saturday, batted .292 with 22 home runs, 77 runs, 70 RBIs and 79 walks in 116 games this season.
“I just tried to learn every play, every moment on the field,” he said. “I was one of the youngest players on the team so everybody tried to help me and talk to me.”
Acuna, 20, hit .293 with 26 home runs, 78 runs, 64 RBIs in 111 games for a young Braves team that won the National League East.
“We had a great season. I’m glad the team was able to stay healthy the whole season and get far as a team,” Acuna said through interpreter Luis Castillo.
Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who is from Venezuela, is already very impressed with his countryman Acuna.
“He’s young, but he knows how to play this game and he plays hard,” Suarez said. “He’s unbelievable, he’s got a lot of talent and a lot of ability to play this game. He’s going to be a big guy.”
The Nationals and Braves played 19 times in 2018, so Soto and Acuna faced each other quite a bit despite not starting the season in the majors.
“It’s an honor to have played against Ronald,” Soto said. “It gives me energy to keep improving because I want to be at his level as well.”
Said Acuna of Soto: “I had the pleasure of playing against him this year and I saw how great of a player he is. I look forward to watching him grow as a player in the coming years.”
Soto, of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Acuna, of La Guaira, Venezuela, come from countries where baseball is a way of life.
According to MLB, 84 players from the Dominican Republic and 74 from Venezuela were on 2018 opening-day rosters. Puerto Rico was third with 19 foreign-born Major Leaguers.
“Everybody in the Dominican loves baseball,” Soto said. “They live for baseball. They grow up with baseball.”
Said Acuna: “It’s a privilege in Venezuela to play baseball. It’s something they carry in the blood. It’s something that is part of life in Venezuela.”
Los Angeles Dodgers utility player Enrique “Kike” Hernandez said baseball provided hope for his home country of Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria hit in 2017.
“Baseball is something that gives the island something to cheer for, even in the hardest times like last year during Hurricane Maria,” Hernandez said. “We had a good postseason run with myself with the Dodgers and the Astros had a few Puerto Ricans on their club. People back home were having the hardest of times going through Hurricane Maria, but postseason baseball is something to be happy about and something to cheer for.”
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar said he’s going to take advantage of being around the other MLB players.
“It’s a huge opportunity to pick some guys’ brains who I normally don’t get to talk to too much,” he said. “To share a clubhouse with these guys and watch these guys hit and go about their work, I’m going to take some stuff home with me and apply it to my offseason.”
Edgar Martinez, a former Mariners star and current coach in the organization, said he’ll likely be hands off when it comes to coaching the players.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “These guys are all professionals. They’ve had success in the big leagues already. It’s going to be putting them into hitting groups and letting them hit. It’s going to be fun.”
As for the seven-game series in Japan, Kansas City Royals infielder Whit Merrifield can’t wait to play before passionate fans.
Merrifield traveled to Japan late last year to compete on a game show called “Sports Danshi Grand Prix.” A video online shows a shirtless Merrifield hitting a buzzer, running down a ramp and digging a volleyball before it hit the ground.
“I’m looking forward to playing in that atmosphere,” he said. “I’ve heard baseball games in Japan are very electric, a lot of energy and the fans really love baseball over there.”
WHAT MAJOR LEAGUERS ARE SAYING …
… about players with Hawaii ties.
Toronto outfielder Kevin Pillar, on Boston knuckleballer Steven Wright (UH): “It’s always a challenge. He’s throwing the same pitch over and over and the ball has a way of doing different things. If it moves a lot, you’re not going to be very successful.”
Seattle outfielder Mitch Haniger, on Mariners catcher David Freitas (UH): “David’s awesome. He’s a great teammate, a great leader. He was really good for us behind the plate and got some big hits for us down the stretch. He has a really good approach.”
Texas catcher Robinson Chirinos, on Rangers utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa (Mid-Pacific Institute): “He’s awesome. He’s a great player and it’s unbelievable what he did for us this year, playing the infield and also catching. He’ll be in the big leagues for a long time.”
Chirinos, on free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki (Baldwin): “The last two years in Atlanta, he’s played really well. He slowed down a little bit in Minnesota, but the last two years, he’s been playing really well behind the plate and hitting for power again.”
Houston pitcher Collin McHugh, on St. Louis second baseman Kolten Wong (Kamehameha-Hawaii, UH): “He’s a great player, a super athlete. Obviously, a high-caliber second baseman and he’s got a little bit of juice in his bat as well. He’s been a good player since he got in the league.”
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Kyle Sakamoto, Star-Advertiser
