The Forgotten Giant

Shinjo left on the bench in World Series madness

By Brian Liou
Special to AsianWeek

Ignored, forgotten, flung away — I’m not quite sure how exactly to describe it. But amid the 42,707 mildly berserk fans Tuesday night at Pac Bell Park, the city’s most important game in 13 years, a once-promising Giant vacated the minds of the Bay Area baseball collective.

For someone with such intriguing curiosity but also lugging such high expectations; for someone initially welcomed city-wide with open arms — San Francisco center fielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo has literally disappeared from the face of Giants planet.

A mere blip in the minds of Giants fans, unseen and swept under from the craze of World Series chaos, Shinjo has long been forgotten. Heralded as the next best leadoff hitter south of Ichiro — the pesky kind able to get on base at will —Shinjo has instead done an about face. He’s a mere Ichiro facsimile — a copycat.

In other words, a bust.

Though it’s completely unfair to compare Shinjo with his Seattle compatriot, the once starting Giants center fielder hasn’t delivered on any of the promises the Giants said he’d fulfill.

For one, he hasn’t delivered in the clutch as he did with the Mets last season. This year, with 362 at bats, Shinjo drove in 37 RBIs. With the Mets, he clubbed in 56 RBIs in 400 at bats. And though his power numbers remain constant (nine homers this season, 10 the last), Shinjo hasn’t nearly done the things the Giants (not to mention its fickle fans) thought he would do.

It’s completely not Shinjo’s fault. Thrust into the leadoff position, Shinjo listened intently to the Giants coaches, who instructed him to be more patient than before. Mistake number one. Shinjo’s not a patient hitter. He’s aggressive, he’s free swinging. He’s not Ichiro.

Mistake number two: dumping Shinjo toward the bottom of the order, then ditching him completely for a has-been, once-was-something Kenny Lofton. San Francisco placed a short window of faith on Shinjo and cast him away to city novelty, a cute ornament on the cold bench.

The only consolation has been the 30- year-old’s superb defensive work. He tracks down screaming flyballs with such an easy, almost lazy gait. He whips throws seemingly behind his head with such manic force for someone only 6-foot-1, 185 pounds (he looks a bit more waifish than that), just begging runners to advance on him.

But naturally that’s not enough. Someone’s got to get on base in front of the likes of Rich Aurilia, Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds, and a leadoff man hitting .238 wasn’t going to cut it.

So the Giants and general manager Brian Sabean, obviously envisioning a playoff ride without the help of Shinjo, enlisted the help of 35-year-old Kenny Lofton from the Chicago White Sox.

Shinjo, on the other hand, got a hardy pat on the back, a “You’ve done good, now get out,” speech and a nice seat next to the medical trainer.

“I’ve never experienced this before,” said Shinjo through an interpreter after the Giants’ 10-4 loss to Anaheim in Game 3 on Tuesday night. “Ever since I’ve been playing, I was always an everyday player.”

Standing with his back turned to our locker room interview, the handsome and strapping Shinjo looked a bit sunken, like a wallflower looking in from the outside at a whirlwind party.

He answered with what seemed like a bit of annoyance, but answered nonetheless with grace. He expressed disappointment, but when asked how he has dealt with it, he found himself at a loss for words.

“It’s something in my heart, it’s hard to describe,” said Shinjo. “I do still have a lot of confidence in myself, in my heart, but it’s been very hard. “But I’ll be back next year.”

Perhaps, but at what capacity? As a mere Asian community magnet? Was the Shinjo acquisition a mere Giant ploy to attract a more multiethnic crowd to its lovely park? Why gamble on Shinjo as a leadoff man when the guy doesn’t fit the prototype?

I wonder if the Shinjo project was merely two-fold. Get a guy who could create excitement in the city’s obviously substantial Asian contingent in the Bay Area and pretend he can be your next Ichiro.

All whimsical theories, but if true, is that racial profiling at its best, or what?