Rookie right-hander Hayato Takagi, who is 5-0 and won the Central League season's first pitcher of the month award Friday, is making the transition from corporate league standout to pro starter look easier than it's supposed to be.
The 25-year-old Takagi, the Giants' third-round draft pick in the fall, told Kyodo News last week at Tokyo Dome that his success has been a matter of simply sticking to what worked for him over seven seasons with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagoya.
"More than something you would call an adjustment, I've done my best to apply all the things I've learned," Takagi said. "My intent is to pitch within myself. I have defined myself by the way I've solved the problem."