Biographical

Portrait of Hideki Okajima

Hideki Okajima P

Player Cards | Team Audit | Depth Chart

Career Summary
Years G IP W L SV ERA WARP
18 266 250.3 17 8 6 3.09 3.9
Birth Date12-25-1975
Height6' 1"
Weight195 lbs
Age48 years, 4 months, 1 days
BatsL
ThrowsL
WARP Summary

MLB Statistics

Historical (past-seasons) WARP is now based on DRA..
cFIP and DRA are not available on a by-team basis and display as zeroes(0). See TOT line for season totals of these stats.
Multiple stints are are currently shown —Click to hide.
YEAR Team Lg G GS IP W L SV H BB SO HR PPF H/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/9 GB% BABIP WHIP FIP ERA cFIP DRA DRA- WARP
2007 BOS MLB 66 0 69.0 3 2 5 50 17 63 6 103 6.5 2.2 0.8 8.2 0% .238 0.97 3.39 2.22 82 3.25 67.3 1.7
2008 BOS MLB 64 0 62.0 3 2 1 49 23 60 6 107 7.1 3.3 0.9 8.7 0% .256 1.16 3.64 2.61 87 3.47 74.0 1.3
2009 BOS MLB 68 0 61.0 6 0 0 56 21 53 8 110 8.3 3.1 1.2 7.8 0% .276 1.26 4.23 3.39 101 4.54 97.3 0.5
2010 BOS MLB 56 0 46.0 4 4 0 59 20 33 6 112 11.5 3.9 1.2 6.5 0% .344 1.72 4.61 4.50 102 4.61 104.1 0.2
2011 BOS MLB 7 0 8.3 1 0 0 7 5 6 0 110 7.6 5.4 0.0 6.5 0% .280 1.44 3.42 4.32 84 3.33 77.5 0.1
2013 OAK MLB 5 0 4.0 0 0 0 7 2 1 1 100 15.8 4.5 2.3 2.3 0% .353 2.25 7.32 2.25 103 3.22 77.2 0.1
CareerMLB2660250.3178622888216271078.23.21.07.840%.2781.263.943.09923.8783.53.9

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.
Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.
YEAR Team Lg LG G GS IP W L SV H BB SO HR PPF H/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/9 GB% BABIP WHIP FIP ERA cFIP DRA DRA-
1995 YOM npb JCL 1 1 5.0 0 0 0 5 2 9 0 9.0 3.6 0.0 16.2 0% -.455 1.40 -3.47 0.00 0 0.00 0.0
1996 YOM npb JCL 5 1 12.7 1 0 0 13 9 8 0 9.2 6.4 0.0 5.7 0% -.765 1.73 -0.15 0.00 0 0.00 0.0
1997 YOM npb JCL 25 19 109.3 4 9 0 92 59 102 7 7.6 4.9 0.6 8.4 0% -.506 1.38 -0.40 0.00 0 0.00 0.0
1998 YOM npb JCL 14 12 62.3 3 6 0 61 32 54 7 8.8 4.6 1.0 7.8 0% -.581 1.49 0.42 0.00 0 0.00 0.0
1999 YOM npb JCL 37 3 69.7 4 1 0 42 28 77 6 5.4 3.6 0.8 9.9 0% -.324 1.00 -0.97 0.00 0 0.00 0.0
2000 YOM npb JCL 56 0 72.3 5 4 7 53 31 102 4 6.6 3.9 0.5 12.7 0% -.358 1.16 -1.70 0.00 0 0.00 0.0
2001 YOM npb JCL 58 0 62.0 2 1 25 62 39 70 5 9.0 5.7 0.7 10.2 0% -.500 1.63 -0.28 0.00 0 0.00 0.0
2002 YOM npb JCL 52 1 55.7 6 3 0 42 22 58 8 6.8 3.6 1.3 9.4 0% -.386 1.15 0.43 0.00 0 0.00 0.0
2003 YOM npb JCL 41 0 38.7 2 3 0 45 20 29 6 10.5 4.7 1.4 6.7 0% -.696 1.68 5.18 4.88 0 0.00 0.0
2004 YOM npb JCL 53 0 46.7 4 3 5 33 20 53 5 6.4 3.9 1.0 10.2 0% -.354 1.13 3.56 3.08 0 0.00 0.0
2005 YOM npb JCL 42 0 53.0 1 0 0 55 19 56 10 9.3 3.2 1.7 9.5 0% -.529 1.40 4.61 4.75 0 0.00 0.0
2006 NIP npb JPL 55 0 54.7 2 2 4 46 14 63 5 7.6 2.3 0.8 10.4 0% .299 1.10 2.58 2.14 0 0.00 0.0
2007 BOS MLB AL 66 0 69.0 3 2 5 50 17 63 6 103 6.5 2.2 0.8 8.2 0% .238 0.97 3.39 2.22 82 3.25 67.3
2008 BOS MLB AL 64 0 62.0 3 2 1 49 23 60 6 107 7.1 3.3 0.9 8.7 0% .256 1.16 3.64 2.61 87 3.47 74.0
2009 BOS MLB AL 68 0 61.0 6 0 0 56 21 53 8 110 8.3 3.1 1.2 7.8 0% .276 1.26 4.23 3.39 101 4.54 97.3
2010 BOS MLB AL 56 0 46.0 4 4 0 59 20 33 6 112 11.5 3.9 1.2 6.5 0% .344 1.72 4.61 4.50 102 4.61 104.1
2010 PAW AAA INT 3 0 2.3 0 0 0 6 0 0 1 23.5 0.0 3.9 0.0 0% .455 2.61 8.94 19.57 0 0.00 0.0
2011 BOS MLB AL 7 0 8.3 1 0 0 7 5 6 0 110 7.6 5.4 0.0 6.5 0% .280 1.44 3.42 4.32 84 3.33 77.5
2011 PAW AAA INT 34 0 51.0 8 1 0 39 9 48 3 6.9 1.6 0.5 8.5 0% .259 0.94 2.64 2.29 83 2.98 60.9
2013 OAK MLB AL 5 0 4.0 0 0 0 7 2 1 1 100 15.8 4.5 2.3 2.3 0% .353 2.25 7.32 2.25 103 3.22 77.2
2013 SAC AAA PCL 37 0 42.7 1 3 1 40 9 45 5 8.4 1.9 1.1 9.5 0% .299 1.15 3.61 4.22 86 3.49 75.9

Plate Discipline

YEAR Pits Zone% Swing% Contact% Z-Swing% O-Swing% Z-Contact% O-Contact% SwStr%
2008 998 0.4820 0.4238 0.7565 0.6029 0.2573 0.7897 0.6842 0.2435
2009 1026 0.4864 0.4396 0.7805 0.5772 0.3093 0.8090 0.7301 0.2195
2010 834 0.5000 0.4556 0.7605 0.6235 0.2878 0.8038 0.6667 0.2395
2011 161 0.4472 0.3851 0.7581 0.5556 0.2472 0.8500 0.5909 0.2419
2013 71 0.4789 0.4085 0.8621 0.5882 0.2432 0.9000 0.7778 0.1379
Career30900.48640.43530.76810.59710.28190.80560.69200.2319

Injury History  —  No longer being updated

Last Update: 12/31/2014 23:59 ET

Date On Date Off Transaction Days Games Side Body Part Injury Severity Surgery Date Reaggravation
2010-08-06 2010-08-28 15-DL 22 20 Right Thigh Strain Hamstring -
2010-02-20 2010-03-04 Camp 12 0 Bilateral Lower Leg Soreness -
2008-05-15 2008-05-20 DTD 5 4 Left Wrist Soreness -

Compensation

Year Team Salary
2013 OAK $
2012 NYA $
2011 BOS $1,750,000
2010 BOS $2,750,000
2009 BOS $1,750,000
2008 BOS $1,250,000
2007 BOS $1,250,000
YearsDescriptionSalary
5 yrPrevious$8,750,000
5 yrTotal$8,750,000

 

Service TimeAgentContract Status
4 y 84 dOrpheus Sports1 year (2016)

Details
  • 1 year (2016). Signed by Baltimore as a free agent 2/16 (minor-league contract). With performance bonuses, may earn $1M in majors.
  • 2014-15. Japan (Softbank and Yokohama).
  • 1 year (2013). Signed by Oakland as a free agent 2/11/13 (minor-league contract). May opt out of contract if not on Major League roster by 6/1/13. Contract selected by Oakland 5/17/13. DFA by Oakland 9/3/13. Sent outright to Triple-A 9/7/13. Elected free agency 10/13.
  • 1 year (2012). Signed by NY Yankees as a free agent 12/28/11 (minor-league contract) (later voided because of shoulder injury). Signed by Softbank Hawks of Japan.
  • 1 year/$1.75M (2011). Re-signed by Boston as a free agent 1/10/11. $0.55M in performance bonuses. Okajima may become a free agent after 2011 season.
  • 1 year/$2.75M (2010). Re-signed by Boston 1/14/10 (avoided arbitration, non-guaranteed deal). Performance bonuses: $50,000 each for 55, 60, 65, 70 games.
  • 2 years/$2.5M (2007-08), plus 2009 club option. Signed by Boston as a free agent 11/06. 07:$1.25M, 08:$1.25M, 09:$1.75M club option. Club must exercise option or grant Okajima free agency after 2008 season. 2009 option vested at $1.75M 9/08.

2019 Preseason Forecast

Last Update: 1/27/2017 12:35 ET

PCT W L SV G GS IP H BB SO HR BABIP WHIP ERA DRA VORP WARP
Weighted Mean?????0.0?00?.0000.000.00?0.00.0

BP Annual Player Comments

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BP Articles

Click here to see articles tagged with Hideki Okajima

BP Chats

DateQuestionAnswer
2013-01-29 14:00:00 (link to chat)Hi Daniel, What currently is the most intriguing Rumor still out there?
(Frank from Singapore)		Whoa, Singapore - I believe that's the first time I've answered a question from thousands of miles away from North America!

The Bourn situation is the most intriguing at this point, especially with Justin Upton no longer making headlines, but it's also interesting to look at teams that seemingly will need to make trades before Opening Day yet have been quiet to this point. The Diamondbacks, for example, have indicated that they won't be moving any of their remaining outfielders, but a look at their roster (http://www.mlbdepthcharts.com/2012/10/arizona-diamondbacks-2012-13-offseason.html) suggests that there are still too many players for 25 spots.

Considering that Hideki Okajima led-off today's Roundup, roster-based speculation like that might be the best we've got. (Daniel Rathman)
2008-02-29 13:00:00 (link to chat)Dear Mr. Fox, Before my question, I must tell you that I have been a Cubs fan since my high school days in Niles, and I must say I really appreciate your blog piece on Goose Gossage. Now, about utilizing pitching f/x data: Your late piece on gyroball and Matsuzaka seems to bring light to the "deceit" of a pitch's movement. A surprising success of reliever Okajima last season had puzzled me. I tracked his pitching f/x data, and his pFx is weird. His pitches around upper 80mph moved WILDLY horizontally, ranging from a 10 to 15-inch apart from any trajectory line. I read mlbtraderumor's interview with Royal minor pitcher Brian Bannister. He talked about the sidespin of Jake Peavy's fastball that allows the pitch to move randomly and confuses batters. Is there any study on the effect of sidespin affecting batters' visualization of it? And had Okajima's pitches carry a similar, if not the same, effect of such pitches such as Peavy's or gyroball's?
(Dorasaga from Taipei, Taiwan)		Wow good question.

After I saw your question I went and pulled down Hideki Okajima's PITCHf/x data. I have 573 pitches for him which go into the post season.

In perusing his cannonical pfx chart he throws his three primary pitches (fastball, changeup, and curve) probably 90% of the time with his fastball ranging from 85 to 90, his changeup high 70s to 85, and his curveball from the low to mid 70s.

But in looking at the chart his fastball doesn't seem to move too much horizontally as compared to other pitchers. It sits in the 0 to 5 inch range whereas many pitchers see a tail of 5 to 8 inches on their fastballs. His changeup does tail 5 to 9 inches or so and drop about 5 inches more than his fastball.

What you may have seen is that his vertical component for the fastball registers in the 10 to 15 inch range but you have to remember that those values represent the difference from a pitch thrown with no spin. So in other words his fastball has a "rise" of 10 to 15 inches as compared to a theoretical reference pitch. In reality most pitchers see a range of 8 to 13 inchdes in this component and so his fastball may ride a little more than some others (which would be attributed to more backspin, not side spin) but it certainly doesn't tail any more.

Since you mentioned Jake Peavy I should mention that John Walsh at THT has done some great work on calculating the run value of individual pitches which you'll probably want to check out. But to directly answer your question I haven't seen anything specific on side spin or visualization of that. (Dan Fox)


BP Roundtables

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PITCHf/x Pitcher Profile

A Collaboration between BrooksBaseball.net and Baseball Prospectus - Pitch classifications provided by Pitch Info LLC


Although he has not thrown an MLB pitch in 2024, Hideki Okajima threw 3,829 pitches that were tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2007 and 2013, including pitches thrown in . In 2013, he relied primarily on his Fourseam Fastball (87mph), Change (83mph) and Curve (77mph).