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The story
Pitcher Shintaro Fujinami (32), who was released by DeNA at the end of this season, took part in an MLB-hosted baseball clinic at an elementary school in Fukuoka City. Appearing in the uniform of his former team, the Orioles, he reportedly told the energetic kids there that he “wants to give it another shot.” The thread was split between comments cheering on a comeback and others pointing out his years-long control problems (“nocon”) and mental fragility, with some detailed analysis replies suggesting stiffness in his lower body as the root cause.
Shintaro Fujinami: “I Want to Give It Another Shot” — Inspired by Kids at Baseball Clinic, “I’ve Kept My Body Moving” Even After Leaving DeNA
Pitcher Shintaro Fujinami (32), who was released by DeNA at the end of this season, took part in an MLB-hosted baseball clinic at an elementary school in Fukuoka City on the 6th.
Wearing the uniform of the Orioles, the team he played for during his time in the US major leagues, Fujinami smiled and said, “Seeing how energetic the kids were made me want to give it another shot myself.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Willpower doesn't fix wild control.
I mean, you're the one who hits people with pitches.
It's not about the money — teams just don't want to burn a roster slot on him.
Looks more like dodgeball than pitching lol
Worse is the attitude that he doesn't even see beanballs as a problem.
Though I bet his physical talent really is something.
But the nerve to land a contract every year despite not producing results — that's actually a pretty strong mentality.
Though when he criticized Kanemoto, he also said some things critical of the front office, so maybe that's a tough ask?
If he posts about it on X (Twitter), maybe the Fighters would pick him up.
Randy Johnson: "You'll listen to me, right?"
doesn't he kind of look like "Fvji" (i.e., Fujinami)?
Not even a little.
Although if he just gets pounded as a result, what's the point…
And it's too late for him to turn into a finesse pitcher working off breaking balls and movement anyway
Since he couldn't turn it around in the majors or at DeNA even with AI, I feel like he's already done for.
The guy throws wild during warm-up catch into the stands full of spectators — throwing any softer than that would probably be rough for him.
Try getting hit once by a 160 km/h fastball.
I used to hear a lot about pitchers doing brutal running drills to build up their lower body and stabilize things — is that not how it's done anymore?
Fujinami's upper body is one of the best of all time, but his lower body — hips and ankles — is fatally stiff.
Fix that and he could still be a star even now.
If he landed with Chunichi under manager Kudo, isn't there a chance he could turn it around?
When he throws all-out he can top 160 km/h, but he gets slip-pitches that hit batters, so he can't throw at full effort.
In games his ceiling is around 155, and whether it's because he's babying his control or not, he gets hit hard even in the minors. These days that kind of velocity isn't even rare for a pitcher.
Re: #66
He's (probably) always been doing lower-body strengthening, which is why he can throw hard. But he lacks the repeatability to throw with the same correct form pitch after pitch, so his release point drifts every time and his control never settles.
Though I doubt they'll actually do it.
Manager Kudo might actually be able to rebuild him!
Would he turn into another Itoi?
There are yips cases where a guy pitches fine but throws wild on a simple toss to first, so you can't really rule it out.
He's got the speed, so it really is a waste.
There'll be more injuries.
Sounds like something an American would say.
Background and Key Points of This Story
Fujinami took on MLB challenges with the Orioles in 2023 and the Mets organization (among others) in 2024, then joined DeNA in 2025 — but failed to fix the control problems (“nocon”) that had long dogged him, and was released at the end of this season. The idea raised repeatedly in the thread — that stiffness in his lower body and hips is a factor behind his control issues — is something multiple commentators have pointed to before as well, standing in contrast to the consistently high marks his upper-body ability receives. Meanwhile, the view that teams avoid signing Fujinami not for financial reasons but because they don’t want to spend a foreign-player or active-roster slot on him (reply 68) touches on a side of NPB’s realities that rarely gets discussed, suggesting factors beyond pure talent evaluation are at play. Whether he makes a comeback will hinge not just on his own motivation, but on these kinds of structural constraints too.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisupo Sokuhou+) thread “[Baseball] Shintaro Fujinami: “I Want to Give It Another Shot” — Inspired by Kids at Baseball Clinic, “I’ve Kept My Body Moving” Even After Leaving DeNA.”
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