Rookie Fukuoka Softbank Hawks skipper Kimiyasu Kudo showed off a little of his old form on Sunday when he pitched batting practice for the first time.
The 51-year-old Kudo, a 200-game winner during his career, worked quickly in an 89-pitch session to two-time batting champion Seiichi Uchikawa, who knocked 15 of them over the fence at the Hawks' spring training facility.
"That's so like him (Uchikawa)," said Kudo, who last played in 2010. "He was like (Hall of Famer Hiromitsu) Ochiai. I got a sense for how hard it is to strike him out."
It appears the skipper took a turn on the hill to give the club's coaches and batting practice pitchers some rest, and it also gave the fans a thrill.
"I was really happy (to face him)," said Uchikawa, who was a teammate of Kudo for three seasons in Yokohama. "How does he get such good late movement despite not throwing hard?"
Pitching coach Yoshinori Sato said, "He knows how to pitch."
