Nippon
Ham relief ace
Erik Schullstrom
talks about playing in Japan and
cooperating his way to the top
 Call him a reliever. Any attempt to
more narrowly define Erik Schullstrom's role on the
Fighters' pitching staff would be impossible. He's thrown
middle-relief, mop-up, and set-up. More recently he's
been the team's closer. But, as he knows, that can change
any moment.
An overpowering reliever in the
pre-season, 29-year-old Schullstrom soon found himself in
trouble. After surrendering three runs over his first
three regular season appearances, he saw less and less
time on the mound. By early May, manager Toshiharu Ueda
announced that the six-foot-five Californian would begin
pitching middle relief. The demotion was short-lived.
As his communication with coaches
and catchers improved, the right-handed fastball pitcher
began asserting himself on the mound. By the end of May,
Schullstrom had racked up a 3-0 win-loss record and two
saves. Already he has proven himself one of the Pacific
League's toughest closers -- and he's got a PL-best 1.69
ERA to prove it.
Schullstrom made his big league
debut with the Minnesota Twins in 1994, proving himself
handy with a glove and ball: 13 innings, 13 strikeouts,
2.77 ERA. But the following season his pitching became
more erratic and he was sent down to the minors.
Looking for more stability and a
regular paycheck, Schullstrom soon began looking for work
overseas. But before arriving in Japan, he spent one
turbulent but remarkable season in Mexico. Despite laying
in bed for a month with typhoid, he came back and
finished the season with an impressive 0.39 ERA.
The following interview was
conducted Monday, June 1, 1998 by telephone.
Latham: Before I ask you
about how things are going now, I'd like to ask you a few
questions about your past. I heard you were in Mexico
last year and that you pitched well (3-1 record, 0.31
ERA), but that you had also caught typhoid and were
bedridden for weeks. If you were that sick, how were you
able to put up such impressive numbers? What happened?
Schullstrom: I was in a city
called Monclova which is the second biggest steeling
center -- Pittsburgh being the number one in North
American -- and Monclova happens to be number two as far
as steel mining. The company that owned our team was the
steel factory. So I went down there. It was an "out
in the middle of nowhere" kind of city and the
restaurants weren't really that good.
I went with our manager to go eat
after one of our games -- he asked me to go dinner with
him -- and it was just a little hole in the wall
restaurant. He said it had good food, so I ate everything
and I had some chicken. Everything was fine until the
next day at the field and I was just out. I was
laying on the training table and I couldn't get up or
walk around. I was really tired and I ended up being in
bed for three weeks. So it was pretty rough.
Latham: When you got back
were you able to pitch at full speed? Or did you have
some trouble?
Schullstrom: Well, no, I had
a lot of trouble. What had happened -- it is really rare
-- but typhoid fever can spread into other parts of your
body. And what had happened to me, for whatever reason,
is it had gone into my throwing shoulder and caused
arthritis. But I didn't know what the heck was going on ,
and the team didn't know what was going on. I saw all
these doctors and the Mexican doctors didn't know what
was going on.
So they thought I had been faking
it. I had been having a really great season, so they
thought I was faking it so that my statistics would stay
the same. And they told me that. They actually came up to
me and said, "We think you're lying." So I was
like, "I don't know what to tell you guys, you can
send me home, but I can't throw." So they decided to
release me.
The next day I signed with the
number one team in the league. Their manager was an
American and they had a couple of American people in the
front office and they said, "Don't worry about it,
we'll get the right medicine to clean it up." All I
needed were the antibiotics but my first team wouldn't
give them to me... they were giving me painkillers only.
I did the antibiotics for two weeks and I was ready to
pitch full speed after that. So it actually cost me about
a month and a week.
Latham: After that how much
time was left in the season?
Schullstrom: It was about --
including playoffs -- about another month. So I was able
to finish up the last month.
Latham: I understand you got
several offers from other teams after last season...
Schullstrom: Actually, right
as I was coming back and starting to throw I guess teams
were starting to see that my statistics were really good
and I was throwing well and they were calling my agent --
the Angels, for instance, Cleveland was calling -- and
they wanted me to go and play AAA. But they wanted me to
leave before the end of the season in Mexico, and I
didn't want to do that. I wanted to finish the season
there in Mexico because they have playoffs.
And I had played AAA baseball
before and it's not that great, it's not all it's cut out
to be. And it's just a lot of politics in the United
States. So I wasn't really that interested. I was more
interested in winning a championship. Mexico is not the
best place in the world, but I was happy where I was at,
so I just decided to stay.
Latham: And you eventually
decided to come to Japan. But you had played baseball
here before, right?
Schullstrom: Well that was
when I was in high school. The youth baseball -- thirteen
to fifteen year olds -- in my area was called "Babe
Ruth." And [in my hometown of Alameda] they've been
doing a goodwill tour every other year. The Japanese
teams would come to the United States and every other
year we would go to Japan. It was kind of a joint thing
between the cities of Fresno and Alameda -- they would
select nine players and have tour. This was in 1984. I
got chosen to play on the team, so I got to come over for
three weeks and tour the country and live with host
families and everything, which was a pretty good
experience. But that was a long time ago.
I played a little over a year in
the big leagues with Minnesota and after that I felt I
fulfilled my goal there. I didn't think I would be a guy
that would stick around for maybe ten years in the Major
Leagues. So I wanted to go to greener pastures as far as
making some good money, being able to stick around for a
few years and, you know, establish myself. I felt Japan
was the best way to do it.
But it was really hard. My agent
was trying for a year to get me over here. After having
the great season in Mexico, I actually switched agents,
and my new one had a really good relationship over here.
They were able to get me a tryout in November to come
over. And so that's what happened.
Latham: In 1994, your stats
with Minnesota were good, but the following year you had
a 6.89 ERA. Was there some kind of problem?
Schullstrom: Well, in '94 I
pitched real well the whole season, even in the Major
Leagues. And '95 came around and it was after the strike,
so we didn't know exactly when we were coming back... and
it was my fault.
I had gone to Venezuela and I'd
hurt my arm down there pitching, but I'd kept pitching
and kept pitching and kept pitching. And the Twins wanted
me to stay down there, so I did. To try to get my arm
better, when I came home, I just wanted to do nothing.
But in doing nothing, I didn't really run or get myself
in shape 'cause I was thinking it was gonna be another
month before the strike got situated. Lo and behold the
strike ends. Two days later, I'm off to spring training
and I'm not in any condition to start pitching. So I hurt
my groin and in turn that kind of hurt my arm. Then they
sent me down to the minors, and called me back up. And I
wasn't doing real well. Physically, I wasn't ready. And
it was totally my fault.
But, on top of that, at the
beginning of the season they wanted me to learn a
forkball and use that instead of my curveball. I had
never thrown one before so I tried that for the first
month and my ERA was up to like 14.00. So I had a meeting
with the coach and I said, "I can't do it. I don't
want to throw this forkball, and it's not working."
And in the middle three-and-a-half or four months my ERA
was around a 1.80. I got it all the way down to under a
3.00. And they're like, "OK, you're doing that well
now -- let's go back to the forkball."
I was pretty stupid. I started
throwing the forkball again -- which was a mistake -- and
I started getting hit and being wild and my ERA went up
through the roof again.
Then they decided to take me off
the roster. But I should've stayed with the organization
-- which in retrospect was a mistake not staying --
because they treated me well and they were honest which
is not always the case with any of the minor league
organizations. So I signed with Boston, which was a
mistake. But, oh well, that led me to the path that I'm
on now. And here I am, so I'm happy now.
Latham: Japanese leagues
have a reputation for wanting their foreign players to
come to spring training in top physical shape. They are
also known for shifting pitchers around and getting them
to change their delivery and pitches... the same sort of
thing that caused you trouble in Minnesota. Have you
experienced any problems with this in Japan?
Schullstrom: Yeah, well...
As far as the tryouts went, that was November 2nd.
I only had four days notice, so I wasn't in throwing
condition at all then either. But they saw me throw and
they saw the videos and they said, "We're gonna sign
you, but we want you to come in really good shape."
And they kept warning me every day. Every coach would
come up to me and say, "Hey, in spring training it's
going to be really difficult." So I started training
really hard and got myself into pretty good condition.
But Japanese-wise, I wasn't in condition to go through
the camp.
In any case, when I got to spring
training they kind of let me do my own thing. They didn't
really push me too hard. As the season progressed they're
always hounding me to get into shape and do all that
stuff. As far as the conditioning, it wasn't that great a
problem, but just because -- as opposed to other teams --
they kind of let me do my own thing and prepare myself
and not hurt myself.
As far as adjusting to the Japan
style, they're always saying that too. They're always
telling me, "Japan's baseball is different... you
have to do this and this and you have to do that, and you
have to pitch this way, and you have to throw this pitch
and this and that and that." You know, you try to do
your best to listen to what everyone has to say. And for
the most part they're giving you good advice. But you can
only do so much, and you can only try to change -- you
know, I'm 29 years old -- I can't change that much. And I
can't do everything that they ask me. So I try to do
everything -- at least try it -- and if it works, it
works, if it doesn't, I just forget about it. And I think
that's kind of what everyone tries to do here.
Latham: Suppose you try
something, it doesn't work and you forget about it. Do
you have coaches coming back to you asking, "Why
aren't you doing what we said"?
Schullstrom: Yeah, sometimes
they do, and you really can't discuss it. You're better
off just agreeing with whatever the coach says. What
compounds the problem as far as that, the Fighters, have
thirteen or fourteen coaches whereas at the big league
level you only have maybe six or seven. And even in the
minor leagues you only have two or three for each team.
So you don't have a whole lot of opinions going on.
Here, you have guys hounding you
about every little thing all the time and everyone --
outfield coaches and catching coaches -- is coming up and
telling you what to do. The conditioning coaches are
telling me, "I can steal your signs," for this
and that. It's just too much. It's overwhelming having
all of these people telling you what to do. You're better
off, like our translators always say, "Agree with
whatever they say. Just agree with them. Say, 'Yes, yes,
yes.' And then do your own thing."
Latham: Have you had a
situation where coaches gave you conflicting advice?
Schullstrom: No, no, I
haven't had that yet. I've had some mix-ups where I was
sat down by the catching coach, who came up to me after
the first couple of games when I did bad and I was
throwing a lot of fastballs. And I'm predominately a
fastball pitcher. He said, "Well, since you don't
know anything about Japan baseball, why don't you just
thrown whatever the catchers are calling and let them do
it?"
But he just came up and said that
without talking to his catchers first, because I had been
doing that. All the catchers were doing was calling
fastballs. So I had to tell him, "Hey, you need to
talk to your catchers -- you need to get together with
them -- 'cause I'm throwing what they want me to throw.
They're the ones who aren't mixing the pitches up for me.
I'd be happy to do it." But after he and I had that
conversation, I started to do better.
Latham: Last year, none of
the Nippon Ham catchers did very well, at least in terms
of offense. Defensively, how do they look to you? Are
they calling good games?
Schullstrom: Uh...
defensively... see, it's weird. Our starting catcher at
the beginning of the year was [Masanori] Taguchi. Now,
he's hurt his knee on a collision at home plate, so he's
in the minor leagues. Then we had [Michihiro] Ogasawara,
and he hurt himself, he broke his finger. And in the same
game, [Kazuhiko] Yamashita -- who's another catcher,
older guy -- got spiked in the leg and had twelve
stitches so he missed a couple of games. So we made a
trade at the beginning of the season. We have this guy
[Toshihiro] Noguchi from the Yakult Swallows, and he's
done a great job. The other guys were OK... Ogasawara is
young and he's not real comfortable catching-wise. And
Taguchi was OK, but he wasn't much of a hitter.
And Noguchi's not that strong a
hitter, but he's strong defensively, and he's an
intelligent guy. He makes the pitchers feel comfortable
-- at least I feel comfortable -- on the mound. And he's
got a strong throwing arm. He's a great defensive catcher
and when you've got a catcher that good, it doesn't
matter if he hits or not as far as I'm concerned.
Latham: Especially with the
kind of run support the rest of the Fighter's line-up has
been giving...
Schullstrom: Well, yeah, so
far... lately, maybe not. We have a really super hitting
team and we're far and away the best hitting team in the
Pacific League.
Latham: Recently, there have
been some Japanese pitchers going over to the states, so
now a lot of people are wondering what other Japanese
players have a chance of doing well in the Major leagues.
Do you see any players on your team who could make that
jump?
Schullstrom: You know, I was
asked that last night. It's so difficult to try to guess
who's gonna be going over there because a lot of players
you see -- like Kevin Mitchell or superstars from the
Major Leagues -- come over here and are flops. But then
you see some career AAA guys who never got a chance in
the United States come over to Japan and do great -- like
Bobby Rose did. So it's tough to tell.
But off our team, it's usually the
pitchers who are the guys who I think would do really
well in the United States. So I think maybe [Tsuyoshi]
Shimoyanagi and [Tsutomu] Iwamoto would probably have the
best chance. On offense, [Atsushi] Kataoka, at third
base, and Yukio Tanaka might have a chance.
Latham: You had mentioned
that some players like Kevin Mitchell come to Japan and
do very poorly while others like Bobby Rose do great.
What do you think makes the difference?
Schullstrom: I think so much
of being over here is having to adjust mentally to all
the differences in baseball. Baseball is different on the
field, you know -- they bunt a little more, they hit and
run and do the little things. But I can see where a
superstar player who is established -- who got babied and
pampered and had things done so much their way because
it's so much more an individual thing in the United
States -- [could have problems in Japan]. Here, it's all
about the team and it probably causes those guys
headaches having to listen to all the coaches.
I think maybe that's it -- you've
got to have an open mind and a willingness to try to
adjust and accept that you're here and you have to do
things their way. I'm sure the guys who do poorly are the
guys who say, "I'm doing it my way, and screw the
world, I'm a superstar and I can do whatever I
want."
I've only been here for two months,
so I don't really have that great an idea about it. But I
think the guys who are going to do well are the guys who
have an open mind and are willing to do the things that
the Japanese management wants them to do.
Latham: Some players have
tried to do what the team wants them to do but have had
entirely different problems. This year, the Chunichi
Dragons signed pitcher Kevin Jarvis who had a strong
regular season debut, then -- the night before he was to
make his second start -- the team told him they were
going to acquire a new foreign pitcher. The next day,
Jarvis was distracted and gave up a lot of runs. Within a
three weeks, he's on the farm team. The Dragons,
apparently, see nothing wrong with putting a little heat
on their foreigners. Have the Fighters done anything that
has caused problems for you or made you feel under
pressure?
Schullstrom: I haven't had
too many problems. I came over here as a closer and I
had... you know, the two games that I gave up my runs in.
And I only gave up three runs -- I gave up two runs one
game and one the other -- but I wasn't very sharp. And
all of a sudden I didn't pitch. Previous to that, I
hadn't pitched, so I only threw two innings in
three-and-a-half weeks, and I didn't know what was going
on. They were probably having second thoughts, going,
"Hey, is this guy cut out for it?"
But no one was approaching me and
talking to me and telling me what was going on. Meanwhile
-- and I'm sure this is the same for every other team --
the coaches always, every day, have meetings before and
after the game to discuss things... but they don't really
discuss things with the players. I think for me, that's
something that might be easier if they tell you where you
stand. As far as Jarvis... sure you're gonna get nervous
and you don't like to see them have an extra couple of
guys laying around and sitting in the minor leagues
waiting to steal your job. So that's gonna make you
nervous and it's gonna affect your performance.
But the Fighters don't do that.
They've been pretty honest and they're gonna give you a
chance. Like Nigel Wilson. He and Jerry Brooks both have
two year contracts -- they were in no imminent danger
last year. But the first month last year, Nigel Wilson
did terrible but he kept playing ever day and they threw
him out there and he ended up leading the league in home
runs. But some other teams you see...
For instance, Fukuoka's Ryan
Thompson had a bad series, and then he's not playing any
more. So I think it's just a matter of the team and the
manager and how patient they are. They don't seem too
patient with the gaijin, but as far as our team, I think
they're pretty good.
Latham: Your manager,
Toshiharu Ueda had a reputation several years back for
being a real hard-nose. There's one pretty famous picture
of him, for example, kicking a catcher who dropped a
ball. But after his wife and daughter got involved with
the "Moonies" a few years back, and he took a
leave of absence from the team, he seems to have
mellowed. What is your impression of Ueda?
Schullstrom: Well, I don't
know anything about him previously. I think he's a great
guy. He's friendly -- you know he doesn't speak very much
English at all -- but he comes and sits next to you and
he tries to be friendly with the American players.
And you know, of course, he wants
to win and he gets angry and yells at players, but no
more than anyone else I've ever played for. And so far I
don't have any problems with him. If you do good or bad,
he's still behind you one-hundred percent as long as you
show that you want to win and you're with the team and
you want to have the team win the championship.
So he's been pretty good. He's
taken us, the Americans, out to dinner and he's invited
us to go again. He's a regular guy as far as I'm
concerned. So I'm having no problems with him and I don't
think any of the Japanese players have too many problems
with him either... at least I don't hear any grumbling or
anything.
Latham: Yakult manager
Katsuya Nomura has a tendency to blame others when his
team doesn't win. Have you seen that with the Fighters?
Do any of the coaches blame players -- particularly the
foreigners -- when things go bad?
Schullstrom: Sometimes you
get the feeling of it, but things here are different.
Sometimes I'll hear Wilson or Brooks mention that if they
don't hit a home run one game, the coaches will be real
vocal about it and say, "Hey, we need you guys to
hit a home run or we won't win."
In our meetings -- we have a
pitchers meeting every day -- they'll just go through the
previous day... In the United States, they don't really
do it. It's really kind of hush-hush -- if you did
poorly, let's forget about it.
Here, they don't. They say,
"Well, Schullstrom yesterday you gave up two runs on
two hits and pitched terrible and why'd you do this and
why'd you do that? And this was wrong and this was
wrong." But that's just how they do it here, and
everyone accepts it. So you just can't take it too
literally. I mean, they're just pointing out what
mistakes you made and what you need to change. But, as
far as being blamed or anything, I haven't been blamed.
To my face, I haven't been yet, but who knows? I hope I
wont.
Latham: About a month ago
there was a short article in the Nikkan Sports
which quoted Ueda as saying, basically, that
"Schullstrom looks good but he's been a little
shakey in his last few appearances so we're going to move
him into the middle relief role." In the last few
weeks, however, you've been pitching much better and
you've picked up a few saves. Has your role been
changing? Have you been told that you're going back to
closing?
Schullstrom: You know what,
it was before our infield practice -- two or three days
ago -- and it was just me and Iwamoto and Ueda sitting on
the bench while the other players were stretching, and
Ueda just kind of said something under his breath. He
said something in Japanese to Iwamoto -- Iwamoto speaks
English -- and Ueda points his finger and does his thing.
I didn't understand it, but Iwamoto told me, "Yeah,
you've been pitching real well, and you're gonna be the
closer."
We have two pitching coaches there,
and the whole time they were both saying, "Be
patient, you're going to become the closer again. Just
relax and do your job." So, who knows what I'm
doing?
They haven't really sat me down and
[told me] what I'm doing, so it's still kind of up in the
air. But I pitched the other day and in a clear situation
as a closer. I pitched the seventh and the eighth inning
and it was supposed to be the closer's turn which is
[Junji] Kuroki at the moment. I think he's our closer.
And he hadn't even pitched in ten days. It was a clear
situation for the closer, and they didn't pitch him...
they pitched me.
I still don't know what's going on.
As far as I'm concerned I'm trying to do the best I can
here so I can come back the next season and play. So I'm
just going to do whatever they ask me to do, and not
complain -- just do my job and try to do well.
Latham: A lot of people
think a closer should only pitch one inning, but it looks
like the last two games you relieved (May 28 and 29) you
pitched the seventh and eighth inning and then the
seventh through the ninth inning. Do you think that's too
much?
Schullstrom: Well, I don't
like to pitch that extended a period and I think all
short relievers would rather pitch just one inning. I
mean if it were up to me, I would come in the ninth with
no outs and no one on. But that's not always the case.
Every manager handles it differently. Sometimes they'll
let 'em go two. I think three innings is a little bit too
long. That's kind of another reason I think I'm not quite
packing up the closer's role 'cause they have me warming
up in the sixth and seventh inning when you typically
you're only gonna throw in the eight and ninth. But
again, whatever they want me to do...
But as far as three innings, I
don't like throwing three innings because I'm not going
to be able to throw the next day, and I'm gonna be a lot
more sore. I can throw one inning a day for ten days in a
row and not have a bad arm.
Latham: Last year, after
Terry Bross -- who now pitches with the Lions -- quit the
Swallows he got a lot of offers from other teams. He
didn't say who they were, but he implied that some Major
League clubs had been calling. Now if you continue to be
successful this year and get offers from the states,
would you be interested in going back to the Major
Leagues?
Schullstrom: Well, see,
that's the whole point. When you get an offer from a
Major League team, that's not necessarily a guarantee of
getting the money that's written on the paper of you
contract, where here [in Japan] it is.
I mean, when you get an offer from
the states, they'll take you to spring training and see
how you do. If you make it through all the politics and
all that junk, then you start the season with a team. And
still, that's no guarantee that you're gonna be with the
team. Sure I'd like to give it another shot in the Major
Leagues, but for now, I'm perfectly content here.
I'm happy, they're treating me
well, I have a great living situation as far as my
apartment and everything, and I've met a good group of
friends. You know I'm really not that interested in going
back to the United States and playing. I'd be just as
happy to stay here and play two or three years and do
this. I mean, I'm having a great time.
Latham: If after two or
three years you leave the Fighters, do you have any plans
for after your baseball career?
Schullstrom: You know
what... I had gone to school as an art major. This was
about two or three years ago -- I went to school and I
only went back for a semester. I left college in 1990 but
I didn't graduate... I had a year left. But I changed my
major to art and I started going back to school, and that
seems like something I want to get [back] into. But for
now, I'm really up in the air. I'm more undecided now
about my plans after baseball than I was four years ago.
So I really don't know what I would
do... maybe become and agent or a scout or something for
a Japanese team. Hopefully I won't have to think about
that for a couple of years and maybe I'll have enough
connections by then. Playing all around the world and
playing for as long as I have -- not like I've been
playing for twenty years or something -- but I've met
quite a few people in pretty good spots as far as being
in business, so hopefully those will come in handy when
the time is right.
Latham: Speaking of
connections, didn't George Bush come to see you play one
day in Hagerstown when he was President?
Schullstrom: Oh, no, that
wasn't Hagerstown, that was Fredrick [Maryland]. He came
to see the game or... I don't know exactly what... We
didn't get to meet him or anything. It was just a big
thing where the secret service was at the door of the
locker rooms. Above the stadium they had secret service
guys with sniper guns and everything. And I think he was
only there for a couple of innings 'cause by the seventh
inning all the stuff had disappeared. So I didn't even
get to see him, but he was there.
Latham: Were you pitching
that day?
Schullstrom: I don't know. I
don't remember. Maybe it was a bigger deal for my mom
than it was for me [laughs].
Latham: Was that around the
same time you threw your no-hitter?
Schullstrom: That was 1991
against the Indians, I threw a no-hitter. You know what's
funny about that -- not real funny, to me it wasn't --
but I threw a no-hitter and the very following game I
gave up four consecutive home runs. Which is a record, I
guess a few people have done that, a few pitchers have
given up that for the dubious distinction of having four
home runs hit off ya.
And then... I didn't get any
publicity for throwing a no-hitter, but after that it was
a really funny thing. They're like, "Oh, wow! He's
really inconsistent."
My father was walking and he was
listening to [syndicated radio host] Paul Harvey -- you
know how Paul Harvey talks, "The rest... of the
story..." And then he said my name: "Erik
Schullstrom... of Alameda..." or whatever, and my
dad said he just stopped in his tracks and was like,
"Where's the hidden camera? What's going on here?
This has got to be some kind of joke, right?" And
then he proceeded to listen to Paul Harvey make fun of
me.
So that's the only reason anyone
knew I threw a no-hitter was because afterward I got
killed.
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