Kosuke Fukudome Tastes Good

At 31, Fukudome is starting a new life, largely on his own. His wife, Kazue, still lives in Japan with their baby boy, Hayato. After Hayato was born in December, Fukudome explained the origin of the name. " Chicago is called the Windy City," he told reporters. "Hayato means windy, healthy, fast and first boy." Fukudome is constantly showing off pictures of Hayato. But when he moved into his downtown Chicago loft in mid-April, he hung only one piece of art on the walls. It was a framed photograph of his Opening Day home run—a snapshot of the moment he had truly arrived in the United States.

WRIGLEY FIELD has seen plenty of one-day wonders over the years. Most famously, Cubs centerfielder Karl (Tuffy) Rhodes hit three home runs off Mets starting pitcher Dwight Gooden on Opening Day 1994, only to hit just five more during the rest of his major league career. (Coincidentally, Rhodes ended up in Japan, where he's hit more homers—412—than any other foreign-born player.) But Fukudome's staying power has nothing to do with the long ball. He will never hit as many home runs as Matsui. He won't steal as many bases as Ichiro. What separates Fukudome is his eye.

From the beginning of spring training Cubs pitchers noticed something odd about Fukudome when they threw him batting practice. He took an inordinate amount of pitches. When games began, his approach was not much different. Most major league hitters, if behind in the count, will swing at any pitch they believe is a strike. Fukudome will only swing at a pitch he believes he can hit. The difference is subtle but significant. "I just try to focus on the pitches I can handle," Fukudome says. "If it's an outside strike that I can't reach, I won't swing at it. I'll just say, 'I'm sorry,' and walk away."

Even in Japan, where hitters are well-known for their plate discipline, Fukudome was unusually selective. His on-base percentage over the last three years was .443, .438 and .430, tops in the Central League each season. This spring he tied for the Cactus League lead with 15 walks in 23 games. And this season he has drawn 19 walks in 24 games, seeing 4.5 pitches per plate appearance, second most in the majors.

Fukudome's stance looks a lot like Matsui's, his bat pointed straight up to the sky, but his swing is more like Ichiro's. As the pitch approaches, he inches forward in the batter's box, sliding both feet forward and often swinging on the move. When he misses, he can look silly, doing a full pirouette. Some managers might be tempted to tinker with Fukudome's form. But Piniella managed Ichiro in Seattle and knows not to mess.

Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry, who had the same role under Piniella in Seattle, recalls having more concerns about Ichiro in his rookie season than he does about Fukudome. Ichiro, after all, swung at pitches outside the strike zone. Fukudome does not.

In an April 16 game against the Cincinnati Reds, Fukudome showed major league pitchers just how serious he is about working counts. He came to the plate in the sixth inning, with the Cubs ahead 10--1, a situation in which hitters generally swing freely. Reds reliever David Weathers threw Fukudome four pitches—two just off the outside corner, two just below the knees. Fukudome took all four, another walk. Afterward Weathers sat at his locker, shaking his head. "That fish ain't bitin'," he said.

Fukudome does not drive only pitchers crazy. Gary Hughes has spent 42 years scouting ballplayers, and none tested his patience as much as Fukudome. When Hughes went to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens to scout for the Cubs, he had never heard of Fukudome. But as he watched the Japanese team, he found himself drawn to their gap-toothed rightfielder. Hughes checked off all the tools that Fukudome possessed—run, field, hit and hit for power. The only skill that remained a mystery was his arm.

It wasn't until the seventh game Hughes watched Fukudome play in the Olympics that he finally got to see him throw. Fukudome had to track down a base hit into the rightfield corner. He gloved the ball, came up firing and in one furious motion threw out the runner trying to sneak into second base. "Holy smokes, he can do it all!" Hughes exclaimed. "At that point I fell in love."

As Hughes walked the streets of Athens, he noticed a display of baseball cards in a hotel lobby featuring many of the Olympians. Hughes grabbed a Fukudome card and brought it back to the United States, where it has sat in his desk ever since. As a special assistant to Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, Hughes immediately recommended that Hendry sign Fukudome. But Fukudome was not a free agent, and the Dragons did not want to post him, which would have allowed major league teams to bid for the right to negotiate with him. In 2005 Hughes flew to Japan to watch Fukudome. The following year he did the same. After the '07 season Fukudome finally became a free agent, and he signed with the Cubs in December for four years and $48 million. "I've never waited so long to get a player I wanted," Hughes says. "I kept that baseball card in my desk for three years. Now, I'm trying to get him to autograph it."