Baseball feature flashback: A look ahead to Shigetoshi Hasegawa’s second season in the major leagues

This feature on pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa appeared in The Rafu Shimpo, Los Angeles’ Japanese-English newspaper, in April 1998.

Hasegawa Ready for His Sequel

After a season of major adjustments, Angel pitcher is ready to start his second year in the majors as a reliever, which suits him just fine.

By Ed M. Odeven
RAFU CONTRIBUTOR

TEMPE, Ariz. ー The Japanese media frenzy has disappeared, but Shigetoshi Hasegawa hasn’t.

Now in his second season with the Anaheim Angeles, the 29-year-old reliever from Kobe, Japan, is relieved he’s no longer the center of attention.

During last spring’s Cactus League, Hasegawa was forced to deal with three major obstacles: a limited knowledge of English, adjusting to the American style of baseball and the constant presence of the Japanese press who chronicled his every move.

“I didn’t like that (media attention),” he admitted candidly. “Too many people.”

Now, Hasegawa relishes the privacy he…