Boston Red Sox: Should Fans Be Upset Hideki Okajima Signed with the Yankees?

In a word…no, they should not be upset at the news, reported earlier today by Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com, that 36-year-old left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima has agreed to a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. The terms were not disclosed, but the deal apparently includes an invitation to spring training as a non-roster player.

OK, I guess that you can feel a small twinge of pain at contemplating one of the 2007 Red Sox heroes wearing pinstripes. It's a knee-jerk thing, kind of like how you feel when the girl YOU dumped starts dating someone else.

But let's be realistic here; Oki is not an icon like Luis Tiant, or even Johnny Damon. Those moves to the Yankees caused real heartaches among the faithful. Okajima's departure for the dark side should be far less upsetting.

How many of you even remember the last two lefty relievers who went from the Red Sox to the Yankees? Jay Schreiber of the New York Times Baseball Blog points to side-arming Mike Myers, who pitched for the Red Sox in 2004 and 2005 before joining the Yankees in 2006 and 2007, and also Alan Embree, who joined the Yankees in 2005 after pitching for the Red Sox the previous year.

Hey, Embree and Myers were both part of Boston’s historic comeback against the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series (as well as the World Series sweep of St. Louis). Bosox fans did not sweat those defections, so let's not worry about Okajima. 

Yes, he was an absolute stud for the Red Sox in 2007, quietly coming into his own in the shadow of his much-better-known countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka. In 69 innings that year, Okajima posted an ERA of 2.22 and phenomenal 0.97 WHIP. In tight situations he was virtually unhittable; with runners in scoring position, he faced 30 batters and only three got hits off him. He walked no one and struck out nine in that situation. Late in close games overall, batters hit only .183 against him.

In 2008 he did almost as well, with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

Although Okajima is not a starting pitcher, he also seemed to fall victim to what Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated calls the "Third Year Wall." Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine told Verducci, "The anecdotal assessment suggests starting pitchers [from Japan] have a two-year window of success followed by a rapid decline, followed thereafter by disappearance. Even a lot of the relievers have had success quickly, reaching a hot peak followed by a rapid decline."

Okajima fits that description to a "T." By 2010, those clutch stats had all but disappeared. With runners in scoring position batters hit .250 against him, and he walked as many as he struck out (five in 25 plate appearances). Late in close games, hitters tattooed him at .340 clip. 

He spent most of 2011 at Triple-A, posting decent numbers; but even his 2.29 ERA never earned him a recall to Boston after May. According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, scouts attributed those good numbers at Pawtucket to his deceptive delivery, which fooled minor leaguers who had not faced him before. However, major league hitters had figured him out after a couple of years. "That left Okajima's 87-mph fastball much more hittable than it was in 2006 and 2007," concluded Abraham.

That outcome was not what Okajima had in mind when he signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal at the end of 2010 to remain with the Red Sox. As Brendon McGair of the Pawtucket Times wrote a month ago, Okajima was routinely passed over every time the parent club had an opening for a lefty reliever. "The most glaring example came when Boston signed 38-year-old Trever Miller in late August and later added him to the 40-man roster following Pawtucket’s season."

McGair adds that Okajima supposedly hung around Boston after the minior league season ended, just in case the Red Sox chose to activate him. Even with the big pitching collapse in September, that call never came. Okajima then chose free agency in early October.

There is little reason for Red Sox fans to be concerned.

In the December 13 Boston Herald, Gerry Callahan described Tim Tebow's passing delivery this way: "He throws with all the style and rhythm of Hideki Okajima."

I don't think he meant the comparison as a compliment.