• Otsuka's career statistics in seven seasons with three Japanese teams: 137 saves, a 2.39 ERA, and four strikeouts to every walk he issued.
• His wife's name is Akemi.

• As a youngster in Japan, Aknori's favorite American pitchers were Dave Stewart and Nolan Ryan.

• Aki (pronounced AH-kee) is popular with his teammates. He is a nice guy with a pleasant attitude. He has a quick smile and is a team player; he likes to joke around with teammates.
  
  He plays cards with his teammates and laughs at their jokes. He has educated them on Japanese food.

• "He's street-smart," reliever Trevor Hoffman said. "He's able to intermingle in a cultural situation and hold his own and be one of the guys when he's dealing with the inability to have a complete grasp of the English language. He's willing to completely interject himself in the clubhouse and the community. He pays attention. He cares about the guys in the clubhouse. He's working hard on learning the English language and to be part of it. And, in turn, guys are trying to make him feel as comfortable as possible."
  
  (Tom Krasovic-San Diego Union-Tribune-4/28/04)

• Otsuka wears No. 16 in honor of Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo, who won the Rookie of the Year award as a Dodger in 1995.

• Aki spent most of the off-season before 2005 spring training in Pacific Beach, where he has become a recognizable figure to Padres fans. The only drawback to staying in San Diego, he said, was that he gained weight.

  "Too much hamburgers at In-N-Out," he said with a laugh.

• Aki is a great guy in the clubhouse, friendly, respectful, fun-loving and caring.

• He speaks some English and he is even paid for his own lessons to improve at the language. He uses an interpreter to avoid being misunderstood.

  He also gets help from thoughtful teammates. Eaton, for one, likes to teach him American phrases, and you can only imagine the possibilities.

  A typical tutorial: "brown-nose."

  "A brown nose?"

• In 2006, Otsuka was very instrumental in helping the Japanese win the World Baseball Classic. Otsuka was the Japanese closer during the tournament and got the final five outs in the victory over Cuba in the championship game.

  "My greatest moment ever," Otsuka said. "Japanese are very emotional and that was the happiest day of my life."

  Otsuka said he got so many messages of congratulations that it filled up his cell phone message center. He also had around 500 people post congratulations on his Web page. 

• In San Diego, Otsuka was the setup man for Trevor Hoffman, who enters games to the accompaniment of AC/DC's "Hell's Bells."
  
  Before the March 2006 World Baseball Classic, Akinori decided that his role as Japan's closer required some of Hoffman's mojo, so he called his former teammate and asked if he could lift his theme song.

  "I think," Otsuka told reporters at the WBC, "it gave me his power."
  
  (Kevin Sherrington-Dallas Morning News-3/29/06)

• Otsuka is not only a top-flight reliever but also a best-selling author. Well, maybe not best-selling but he did write a book after the 2006 season.

  Loosely translated, it's called: "Promise of the Mound."

  "It's about my baseball career, playing in the Major Leagues, the World Baseball Classic and when I was playing in Japan professionally," Otsuka said.

  It's also about his mother, who died of cancer when he was 15 years old. She was his inspiration for getting to the Major Leagues.

  "Promise of the Mound" refers to the promise that he made to his mother that he would one day be a professional baseball player.

  "When I was 10 years old I was a baseball player, but I didn't like practicing," Otsuka said. "One day I didn't go to practice and my mom went looking for me. She said, 'If you want to play baseball, you go to practice. If you don't want to play, then quit right now.'

  "I chose to keep playing."
  
  (T.R. Sullivan-MLB.com-6/26/07)
  
  TRANSACTION REPORT

• December 10, 2003: Otsuka signed a two-year contract with the Padres, for just under $2 million. Part of that was a $300,000 payment to the Chunichi Dragons, which doesn't count against the Padres' payroll.

• December 20, 2005: The Rangers sent P Chris Young, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, and OF Terrmel Sledge to the Padres, acquiring Otsuka, P Adam Eaton, and C Billy Killian.

• January 16, 2007: The Rangers and Otsuka bypassed salary arbitration when both agreed to a $3 million contract for 2007.

• Otsuka (pronounced OATS-ka) has an 88-93 mph, four-seam FASTBALL that cuts in on lefthanded hitters, a 12-to-6 CURVEBALL that just drops off the table, and a SLIDER that has a sharp, late break, acting more like a splitter than a slider. In 2005, he worked his CHANGEUP into the mix. He also added a sinking, two-seam fastball that breaks away from lefthanded hitters.
  
  His fastball over the top is deceptive. He relies on deception (via a pause in his delivery) and hitting his spots. The split-finger/slider is his out pitch – a very good pitch that disappears and is 10 or 11 mph slower than his fastball.
• Otsuka is a talented reliever. Having been a closer for the Chunichi Dragons in 2003 (logging 17 saves), the Padres see him joining Rod Beck as a set-up man for Trevor Hoffman in 2004.

• Akinori is best used for just one inning at a time.

• Asked about the difference between American and Japanese hitters, Otsuka said, "American hitters are strong . . . more powerful . . . swing hard and hit fast pitch," Otsuka explained. "Japan hitters smaller . . . and they wait and wait. American hitters big."

  So, that's bad? No, that's good, explained Otsuka. "American hitters have very big strike zone," Otsuka explained with stretched arms as well as carefully selected English words. "Good for me."

• Aki is sometimes animated. After a special strikeout, he might yell, "Yossha (pronounced yo-SHAH)." Loosely translated, in means, "I did it."
  
  On occasion, usually after a big strikeout in a tough situation, he will pump his fist and yell.
  
  UNORTHODOX DELIVERY

• Otsuka has a funky, deceptive, hesitating delivery. He takes the ball out of his glove and puts it back in during his windup.

• May 1, 2004: Otsuka's delivery came under a microscope. Then-Mets manager Art Howe protested a game, saying his delivery was a balk.
  
  As the righthander rocks back to start his delivery, he pulls his pitching hand away from the glove, moves it back into the glove, then pulls back a second time to throw.
  
  Akinori is not the only pitcher to tap his glove while in delivery -- Greg Maddux and Kerry Wood are two notable "tappers." But Otsuka appears to have much more separation. Aki might be guilty of a balk if he separates the ball from the glove with men on base, but he doesn't do that. The dispute was with the bases empty.

• To throw with maximum force, he has learned to exhale while delivering the ball.
  
  "I grunt, like those tennis players," Otsuka says with a smile. "You can't throw without breathing."
  
  BREAKDOWN VS. LEFTIES AND RIGHTIES

• In 2004, the righthanded Akinori allowed a .214 average with just one home run in 37 innings pitched to lefthanded batters, and only a .183 mark with 5 homers in 40 innings vs. righthanded batters.

• In 2005, Otsuka held lefthanded batters to a .207 average and 2 homers in 121 at-bats while righthanded hitters had a .263 average and one home run.

• In 2006, Aki allowed lefthanded hitters a .287 average with 3 home runs in 115 at-bats, but held righthanded batters to a .190 average with no homers in 105 at-bats.

• In 2007, Otsuka held lefthanded hitters to a .172 average, while righthanded batters hit .262. But no batter hit a home run off Aki in 2007.

• As of the start of the 2008 season, Otsuka had a Major League career record of 13-15 with a 2.44 ERA, having allowed only 12 home runs and just 190 hits in 232 innnings.

         POST-PLAYING CAREER POSITIONS

• 2017: Otsuka was the Bullpen Coach for the El Pason Chihuahuas (PCL-Padres).

• July 19, 2007: Otsuka went on the D.L. with tendinitis in the forearm/elbow area of his right arm. An MRI showed no serious or structural problem, only inflammation in the muscle and elbow.