Yoshitomo Tsutsugo is not your typical No. 2 batter. Or is he? The answer probably depends on the brand of baseball you prefer.
The BayStars slugger isn't a speedster nor much of a bunter. He's a destructive force at the plate with 193 career home runs — at least 20 every season since 2014 and 17 so far this year. Tsutsugo, a maestro in the cleanup spot, isn't one who moves runners over, he's the one who drives them in.
He's the antithesis of an archetypal NPB No. 2 hitter. So there were a few arched eyebrows last week, when Yokohama manager Alex Ramirez decided to stick Tsutsugo in the No. 2 spot for the first time in his career.