Surviving the first few days of spring training is the initial step for most first-year foreign players in their adjustment to life in NPB. Japanese clubs don't pull many punches during camp early on, and feature a much heavier workload than teams in MLB and other western leagues.
Jamie Romak, a new infielder for the Yokohama BayStars, got his crash course on Day 1.
"I remember my very first day, I hit for pretty much an hour and a half straight," he told The Japan Times at Yokohama Stadium earlier this week. "My hands were just destroyed, and I was exhausted. I'd never done anything like that before. In the (United) States, we take four rounds of six swings. Here, we hit for 10 minutes straight, and then more off the tee. I think physically adjusting to the amount of work was huge."