New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga did not hold back regarding his frustrations with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Senga had been vocal about his desire to head stateside for years, requesting repetitively to be posted. The Hawks, however, refused, to post him over that entire time, forcing him to wait until he was eligible for international free agency before he was able to come stateside. Considering the Hawks are the only Nippon Professional Baseball team not to post a player in franchise history, that should not be much of a surprise.
New York Mets pitcher delivers parting shots at SoftBank Hawks
Those frustrations made an impact upon Senga. As relayed by Yakyu Cosmopolitan, he had requested to be posted for five or six years. However, the Hawks told him that no matter how well he performed, they would never post him, although they refused to provide an answer as to why.
Senga was willing to do whatever it took, including having “unrealistic” goals such as having an ERA below 1.00 or a WAR above 8.0. Eventually, it got to the point where Senga said he did not even enjoy playing baseball any longer as his entire motivation came from his teammates and the fans.
If Senga had been unmotivated over the past few seasons, his performance speaks volumes to his ability. He posted a 1.94 ERA and a 1.056 WHiP over his 144 innings last season, striking out 156 batters with 49 walks. While there may be some questions as to how well his performance in Japan will translate to the majors, there cannot be any question about his motivation now that he is stateside.
His dream for the past few years has come true. Senga is ready to be a major league pitcher, having signed his five year deal with the Mets. Now it is up to him to make certain that his dream does not turn into a nightmare.
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga wanted to be posted for years. He expressed his frustrations with the SoftBank Hawks very clearly.