There aren't many ways to fool Brad Eldred any more. Eldred has been in Japan for four seasons and is currently working on a fifth with the Hiroshima Carp, so he's almost seen it all.
The majority of Eldred's time has been spent playing the other five Central League teams, with brief interludes for interleague play, which has allowed him to build up a sense of familiarity with the league's pitchers.
"You get to know the pitchers a lot more," he told The Japan Times. "You kind of know what they're trying to do to you and the way each team likes to pitch you. Every team likes to pitch me a little bit differently, so you kind of have a good idea what you're coming into when you come into a series."