This year is no different. As of Tuesday, the Swallows' 3.40 team ERA was second to the Chunichi Dragons, whose pitchers get an enormous boost from playing in the vast cavern of Nagoya Dome.
But while Yakult's pitchers give up more than their share of home runs at Jingu, the Swallows' defense, led for the last 10 years by catcher Atsuya Furuta, is extremely good at keeping runners off base. So when opposing hitters reach the "home run seats," as the first section of Jingu's outfield stands is called, there is frequently nobody on base at the time.
Unfortunately for Swallows fans, the results in the past three season have been modest and, even worse, monotonous. In 1998, the season before flight leader Tsutomu Wakamatsu took over, the Swallows were 66-69 and finished fourth. With all the efficiency of a mad scientist in the opening scenes of a horror movie, the silent Swallows skipper then cloned off two more 66-69 fourth-place finishes.
But as every horror-movie fan knows, the best intentions have a way of turning out horribly wrong. Wakamatsu misplaced his secret formula this season. Instead of reproducing the friendly inoffensive lineup that reminded fans of the team's chubby mascot, he created a monster. The Swallows have mutated into birds of prey.
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The first inkling of the birds' metamorphosis was Mitsuru Manaka. At the beginning of the season, the Swallows center fielder made it look like the Seattle Mariners had picked the wrong Japanese outfielder to be their leadoff hitter. Manaka always solid defensively, was hitting .417 on April 30.
"I just got it going from the beginning of the season," said Manaka at Sapporo Dome. "I was going so well, I didn't press at all. Since then I've just been a lot more confident."
When asked to explain the team's success, Manaka's answer was equally enlightening.
"Our mood is really good," he said. "The whole team is feeling it and we're playing well together."
A little can also be attributed to the fact that outfielder Atsunori Inaba is finally having the season we have been waiting for since he came into the league in 1995. Inaba, who major league scout Bill Singer called the best Japanese player in the Hawaiian Winter League in 1996, has made a career of sprinkling brilliant half-seasons between bouts with injuries and mediocre play.
Inaba, hitting over .300 with 20 homers, scads of doubles and some walks, is at the top of his game. He has been a big plus on a team whose offense has mostly consisted of Furuta and Roberto Petagine--who also joined Manaka among the Central League's best.
"Inaba's been there before, so it's really no surprise," said Manaka. "But this year everyone is hitting better."
It's just the mood?
"That's right," Manaka said with a smile and headed back to the dugout.
Perhaps it is the team's mood, because the Swallows have continued to
play well despite the poor readings from Manaka's mood ring. He hit .355
in May, .286 in June and .182 in August. His bats, that were so hot in
April his teammates used them to warm their hands, have now made the air
conditioning in the Swallows' dugout redundant.
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When the CL won the final home run hitting contest of the All-Star series, it was a surprise that they did so without Furuta. The way the Swallows catcher was giving away souvenirs to the fans in the left-field stands in batting practice suggested he was warming up for something.
Furuta, who turns 36 on Monday, is on track to have the third best season of his brilliant career. Should the Swallows win the pennant this season, it would be hard to find a better choice for MVP.
First baseman Petagine, who was one of the CL's big stars in the All-Star game, is also a candidate to be named the league's top player just by doing what he does every season: hitting for average, hitting for power and drawing lots of walks.
The final member of the Swallows All-Star position-player quintet is Akinori Iwamura. The third baseman has not made any great strides this season at the plate but no one is complaining about his .300 average, his nine homers or his 11 stolen bases. He has done better in the past and he has a lot to learn, but he is athletic, established and just 22-years old.
Perhaps the final big ingredient to the Swallows' explosive mixture has been the steady play Alex Ramirez. He stays in the lineup and has good power while hitting for a decent average. Ramirez wasn't an All-Star, but few teams would pass up a chance to take him if he were available.
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Speaking of available players, one of the big additions to the Swallows this season is a travel-worn right-handed pitcher by the name of Satoshi Iriki.
Iriki stunned everyone in the league by being released by the Giants only to sign on with the Swallows and earn a well-deserved spot on the All-Star roster.
Although less than sparkling in his All-Star appearance, Iriki more than made up for that by getting to relieve his younger brother, Yomiuri Giants right-hander Yusaku, in the first All-Star Game.
Satoshi, older by five years, said that it was something they had never really considered but was indeed a high point in their careers.
"It was very special for both of us," he said. "It will probably never happen again."
A career 24-24 pitcher with a 4.51 ERA entering the 2001 season, Satoshi made it to the summer series by going 9-2 with a 2.41 ERA before the break. He got thumped for four runs in 5 1/3 innings on Tuesday to earn his third loss but don't expect him to get discouraged.
Iriki's secret this season has been to not worry about numbers, something he said he did every year until this one.
"The biggest thing is starting from zero everyday," said Iriki, whose best win total in a season was five. "Don't worry about six wins or seven wins. Start fresh everyday."
And what is his take on his new team's success?
"Our mood is unbelievable," he said.
What else would you expect?
The Hot Corner appears each Thursday in The
Daily Yomiuri .