Sayonara, old friend

By Neill Thupari

With the departure of Koji Uehara after three seasons with Baltimore, Oriole fans must now cope with the fact that the beloved reliever's celebratory scenes will soon be a distant memory.

It’s funny how things rarely pan out the way you expect in life.

For instance, this article was never supposed to be about Koji Uehara.

You see, last Friday night, Jeremy Guthrie, the veteran right-handed pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, took the mound against the New York Yankees and pitched an absolute gem. Guthrie, who has been at the center of numerous trade rumors for a few years now, appeared to have given Oriole fans a parting gift with his 7-inning, 4-hit, 1-run performance that was reminiscent of his first full season with Baltimore in 2007.  I write that it was a parting gift, well, because that was honestly what it was billed as in the days leading up to the start.

It was pretty much understood by those within the organization that Friday’s start under the lights in the Big Apple was an audition of sorts. O’s Manager Buck Showalter withheld Guthrie’s start date until that game, close to the trade deadline, giving his suitors a chance to see him against one of the best teams in baseball.

And Guthrie delivered big time.

I’ll admit it, I treated each pitch like an extended goodbye for a good friend. Kicking back with a few others, we tossed out stories from 2007, Guthrie’s breakout year with the Orioles, when he established himself as a bona fide starter. Unfortunately, the rest of the team never got him the run support he sorely needed, leading to an astonishing two-year run in the majors (‘07-08) where he pitched 366 innings with an ERA of 3.65, but went just 17-17.¹

The few years since then have been frustrating, to say the least, as Guthrie, who is widely known as a better pitcher than his numbers suggest, remained committed to the Orioles despite their failure to build a contending team around him. Still, my buddies and I sat and admired Guth one last time as he stoically worked his way in and out of jams, ice water running through his veins.²

Or so we thought.

Come Monday, with the trade deadline officially passed, the Detroit Tigers, thought to be first in line to trade for Guthrie, had balked on a deal with the Orioles, leaving the grizzled hurler stuck on yet another hapless Orioles squad that has shown few signs of turning things around.

Instead, it was Koji Uehara who found a new home in the majors, with the Texas Rangers.³ Although I suppose I should have seen it coming, it hit me harder than I ever thought it would.

Back in January of 2009, the Orioles did something that was truly unprecedented in the team’s illustrious history⁴: they signed a Japanese pitcher named Koji Uehara, adding him to the Orioles’ starting rotation.

At the time, the groundbreaking move was seen by players and fans alike as a newfangled commitment to thinking outside the box by a front office desperate to put together a winning baseball team. People were excited about the move possibly opening the door to bigger and better players coming from the Far East, but at the very least, signing Koji was a step in the right direction.  

As anyone following the Orioles will tell you, things didn’t really work out as planned with Koji. But nonetheless, as Buck’s Birds tore through the second half of the 2010, it appeared that he had found his home in the Orioles bullpen.

After dealing with a number of injuries soon after coming to America, Koji settled in nicely as the closer last season, saving 13 out of 15 opportunities while compiling 55 strikeouts and a 2.86 ERA over 44 innings. I’m not saying that we should start building his bust in Cooperstown because of these numbers, but he was consistent and reliable, two things that were novel concepts to Oriole fans.

With the signing of Toronto closer Kevin Gregg during the past offseason, Koji came into 2011 in more of a setup role in the O’s bullpen, and to say that he has come into his own this summer would be a serious understatement.

If you’re into statistics, let me throw a few out there for you. Koji’s last 15 innings as a relief pitcher read as follows: 15 IP, 0 ER, 22 K’s, 2 BB. His WHIP⁵ this season is a staggering 0.69. If the season ended today, he would have the lowest WHIP in a single season of any pitcher, starter or reliever, in the history of baseball.

Read that last sentence again, it’s not a typo.

And if that’s not good enough, his career WHIP of 1.00 is the lowest career WHIP since 1890. Koji’s also recorded a 1.72 ERA this year while striking out 62 and giving up just 8 walks in 47 innings of work. Not too shabby.

More than statistics can show, however, Koji has become one of the most beloved Orioles on this year’s team, an individual that fans young and old have grown to admire, respect and love. He’s well liked by his teammates, he’s never shy about exchanging an awkward high-five or slap on the backside, and he comes across as a genuine person, happy to be a part of a Major League team and city, regardless of what the standings say.

I had the pleasure of seeing Koji last year at a Ravens game, his first ever in Baltimore. He donned his brand new purple Ravens jersey and received one hell of an ovation when he showed up on the big screen. In fact, he didn’t stop smiling for the entire game. Three hours plus in the steaming heat of M&T Bank Stadium, and the man’s smile never left his face. He was happy. He was accepted.

He was home.

After a few years of doubt and wondering, the 35-year-old Uehara had found his home away from home, and the city that he loved so much loved him right back. In going to more than a few games this season at Camden Yards, the cheers continued for Koji, and arguably got louder with each game. It was a wonderful sight to see, and something I’m proud to say I was a part of.

Then, this past Saturday, news broke that Koji had been traded to the Texas Rangers. I remember hearing the news, and immediately turning on MASN to see if there was a press conference. There wasn’t anything spectacular or noteworthy, but just a brief bit of interaction between Koji and the news reporters following the Orioles dreadful double-header Saturday in New York.

"There are two contradicting feelings. Part of me says that a contending team wants me, and that's gratifying,” Uehara said through his interpreter Jiwon Bang. “At the same time, Baltimore­--I've been there for two years. It's really sad.”

On his fans, Koji was concise, but heartfelt.

“I just want to thank the fans for their cheers and everything.”

About his teammates, Koji said, “We're not going to be on the same team anymore, but if they have time to check me out, that would be great.”

Finally, when asked which teammates he would miss the most, Koji paused for a moment and somberly replied, “Everybody,” his eyes welling up as he turned and walked away from the Baltimore reporters.

Baseball is just a game, like any other professional sport. Players come and go, just like managers, GM’s and even owners, all them playing their respective piece in the puzzle that is the professional sports world. As fans, we become desensitized to the process of signing and releasing players, forgetting about their families and loved ones, choosing instead to focus on the salaries and statistics that whet our fanatic appetites.⁶ Watching Koji say goodbye, though, meant more to me than just the usual dollars and cents that drives so much of sports.

It hit me how much this team and this city meant to him. All those times we showered him with cheers, he took every single one to heart. He was, and remains, loyal to the Baltimore Orioles and their fans because of the opportunity they afforded him, sticking by him when things weren’t looking so great. He truly did not care about stats or records; he just wanted to do his best. He wanted to throw a few more high-fives with his teammates and smile his way home.

In that sense I believe Koji’s different than just about any baseball player. It’s been tough for him to get acclimated to people, cities, cuisines, being on the road and even settling down and buying a home in Baltimore. In that way, it’s as if he’s worked so hard to find this perfect home away from home, and now he has to throw it away and start over.

Right now, the Texas Rangers are one of the best teams in the league, hands down. They’re leading the AL West, and appear poised to make another run at the World Series that they came so close to capturing last year. Looking ahead to the playoffs, the only questions analysts have raised concerned their weak bullpen. After trading for Koji and former San Diego Padres reliever Mike Adams, all fears about their middle relief have dissipated, and thus far, it’s been a pretty good time to be a Rangers fan.

The Orioles, on the other hand, are not going to make the playoffs this year, let alone contend for a World Series. In fact, they’re not even going to come close next year, and maybe even the year after that. Conceivably, the Orioles won’t be a decent team in the MLB until well after Koji turns 40 years old.⁷

I know that Koji has made it clear that playing for a contender isn’t at the top of his list of priorities, but I can imagine that whatever trepidation he feels at this moment in moving to Texas will soon give way to excitement and anticipation come playoff time.

So as Orioles fans digest that tough realization and come to grips with losing a favorite of theirs for seemingly the rest of his career, I urge fans in Baltimore and across the country to not forget Koji. Don’t forget his high fives, and don’t forget how enjoyable he made an otherwise listless season at Camden Yards.

Because what Orioles fans must remember is that Baltimore and its fans were his first love in the United States, the love he’ll never forget, the love that made him feel welcome, and the love he’ll appreciate for the rest of his life.

And come October, when he comes in for the Rangers in a big spot, I hope you cheer him on loudly and proudly, pumping a fist or two as he sits batters down and flashes that trademark smile on his walk back to the dugout.

I know I will.

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[1] Put him on Boston, New York, Philly, hell, even St. Louis and San Diego, and you’re looking at a back-to-back 20-game winner. No one can dispute this.

[2] At this point, I had everything ready to go for my Guthrie farewell piece. Meeting him in the summer of 2007, throughout his whole journey as an Oriole, I was mentally and emotionally prepared to give him his due as when he left town.

[3] Yes, I know Derek Lee left the O’s as well, but I don’t care about him, nor should O’s fans be expected to. Nice guy, class act, great guy in the clubhouse, but no one in Baltimore has any longstanding feelings for Derek.

[4] And thankfully it didn’t involve an embarrassing loss that made them the laughing stock of baseball.

[5] Walks + Hits/(Innings Pitched) for those sabermetric fans out there.

[6] I recently found out that Koji’s family had settled in Baltimore and his children were just starting school. Now they’re forced to uproot their lives and change again, learning the culture of another new city.

[7] He’s 36 right now, and his current contract has him pitching through next year. Given his stamina issues, I don’t see him pitching too much longer after that.