TORONTO \u2014 Kazuma Okamoto stood in the middle of Toronto\u2019s dugout with a circle of teammates before Sunday\u2019s game. It\u2019s part of a new pregame tradition, with Blue Jays players and coaches taking turns saying something they\u2019re thankful for in that moment. They collectively bow after each shares their gratitude.<\/p>\n
The ritual began during Toronto\u2019s trip to Anaheim. The circle is growing, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sometimes taking part, Eloy Jim\u00e9nez smiling along and other coaches recently joining in. The things they\u2019re thankful for are wide-ranging. One recent participant was thankful for potstickers. After Saturday\u2019s win over the Cleveland Guardians, Okamoto joked he was thankful for the reporters who cover the Jays.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it makes Kaz feel a little bit more welcome,\u201d manager John Schneider said of the new routine, \u201cor just a little bit more part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That comfort has fed into Okamoto\u2019s results, too. Before going hitless in Sunday\u2019s series final \u2014 a 4-2 win to earn Toronto its second series win in a row \u2014 he entered the day with nine hits, three homers and a 1.274 OPS in his previous seven games.<\/p>\n
For that reason, Schneider hopes the Jays keep bonding through their expressions of gratitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell you I\u2019m thankful for Kaz,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all part of Okamoto becoming one with a new team after 11 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants. On Friday, for example, Schneider walked through the clubhouse after a loss to the Guardians. In the otherwise quiet room, the manager spotted two teammates he never expected to be deep in a conversation.<\/p>\n
Okamoto and Jes\u00fas S\u00e1nchez, two new Jays from different countries and with different first languages, were chopping it up minutes after the defeat. That, Schneider said, showed him just how comfortable Okamoto has become one month into his big-league career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how that was going,\u201d Schneider said of the teammates\u2019 chat. \u201cI didn\u2019t even ask them what they were talking about. But it\u2019s one of the little things.\u201d<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez understands what it\u2019s like to join a team filled with players who speak a different language. Born in the Dominican Republic, the Spanish-speaking outfielder first played in North America, at 18, in the Tampa Bay Rays minor-league system.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez sensed early this season that Okamoto was looking for support and advice. The outfielder decided he could provide it through patchwork attempts at conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve tried to be there for him, just trying to talk to him,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said Sunday through team interpreter Hector Lebron. \u201cSometimes we don\u2019t understand each other, sometimes we do. I\u2019ve tried to learn some Japanese words, he\u2019s teaching me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever S\u00e1nchez said after Friday\u2019s loss must\u2019ve been good advice, as Okamoto sent a towering ball to centre for a 425-foot blast the next day. It was his second deep drive in as many days.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy teammates have been awesome,\u201d Okamoto said through his interpreter, Yusuke Oshima. \u201cThey welcomed me with open arms since Day 1, and they\u2019ve had my back through the ups and downs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the Jays signed Okamoto for $60 million in the offseason to produce on the field. Under contract for the next three seasons after 2026, Toronto hopes he\u2019ll be a core part of the lineup that can provide the blend of contact and power that made the 2025 batting order so threatening.<\/p>\n
Over the past week, Okamoto has popped out of the clubhouse four hours before first pitch, joining Toronto\u2019s small group of regulars at early batting practice. As 1990s alternative rock filled an empty Rogers Centre, the Japanese third baseman mixed in with Myles Straw and Davis Schneider against the high velocity machine, jogging to the plate when it was his turn.<\/p>\n
Okamoto has made some swing adjustments, working with hitting coaches David Popkins and Lou Iannotti, to close off the front foot in his stance and to better cover the high-and-away part of the zone. Both of his gargantuan home runs this weekend came off outside fastballs.<\/p>\n
Those results are, undeniably, part of the third baseman\u2019s increasing comfort in Toronto. But there are subtler signs, too. To see them, just look in the dugout minutes before a game or walk through the clubhouse after a loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s really likeable,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cHe\u2019s really funny. Results help too, he\u2019s been going really good the last week. That helps. But he immediately, it\u2019s easy to see, is a guy you can kind of gravitate towards.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 Kazuma Okamoto stood in the middle of Toronto\u2019s dugout with a circle of teammates before Sunday\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82,507],"class_list":{"0":"post-631722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-toronto-blue-jays"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}