Regardless of whether or not you think bringing him in was a good idea, I have a feeling that Akinori Iwamura is going to make quite the impression on Pirates fans over the next year, half year, or next few years. “Aki” should be both productive and exciting, no matter how long he wears a Pittsburgh uniform.
Iwamura uses a glove made of crocodile skin. Seriously, how awesome is that? He also wears the coolest sunglasses you’ll ever see. He started the phenomenon that was the “RayHawk” last year in Tampa Bay, even getting manager Joe Maddon to sport the stylish new haircut. Want more? In the 2006 WBC he was nicknamed “Japanese Lightning” and before coming to the U.S., Iwamura played for a team called the Tokyo Yalkut Swallows.
Aki is respected by his teammates and can create a spark on the field. In a spring training game vs. the Yankees in 2008, Shelley Duncan slid hard into Aki at 2nd. Rays OF Jonny Gomes (followed by the rest of the team) came sprinting in from the outfield and started a brawl –...
