Even before his contributions in a Memorial Day victory over the Twins on Monday, new White Sox infielder/outfielder Rikuu Nishida was skipping and chuckling through the clubhouse and on the field.
The 25-year-old native of Osaka, Japan, had a lot to be happy about. The Sox had just promoted him from Triple-A Charlotte to make his major-league debut at Rate Field, batting ninth and playing right field in the same lineup with countryman Munetaka Murakami. Nishida, who understands and speaks English but still had an interpreter at his side, giggled his way through a pregame interview session with reporters in the dugout.
“I’m really, really happy, excited, but really nervous at the same time,” Nishida said through the interpreter. “I still can’t believe it’s true right now, so [there are] a lot of butterflies inside me.
“I don’t feel like I’m a major-leaguer. I am still, like, in a very humble state at the moment.”
Nishida put a little extra pressure on himself by wearing No. 51, the same number worn by Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, a Japanese legend.
“The number itself speaks a lot,” Nishida said. “It’s a really big number for me, to be honest. I’m still a little bit unsure about, you know — whether I can wear it or not. But you know, I’m speechless. I can’t even put into words how much of a great player Ichiro is.”
Nishida looks up to Murakami, too, suggesting the rookie slugger, 26, is a “captain” kind of player. At 6-2 and 213 pounds, Murakami has the stature and classic power-hitting style that makes him the polar opposite of Nishida, who’s expected to spray the ball and use his speed, much like Ichiro did.
Love endures
The Sox drafted Nishida in the 11th round in 2023, when he played for the University of Oregon for one season. He had broken into American baseball as a member of two junior college teams in Washington state in 2021 and Massachusetts in 2022.
The road hasn’t always been fun. Nishida’s mother passed away while he was playing college ball, leaving a “really big effect on me and how I am as a person right now,” he said.
But his personal loss didn’t dim his joy for the sport.
“I just love the game of baseball,” Nishida said. “It’s not about money. It’s not about being a hobby. I just love to play. . . . I think [that] really shows who I am as a person. That’s why I think everybody sees me as an energetic person.”
He added with a laugh: “I also can be kind of quiet, too — if you want me to.”
Technically a first
Nishida is the ninth player to have been born in Japan and drafted before making it to the majors, according to SportRadar. However, he’s the first with a Japanese first or last name. The rest, starting with Bobby Fenwick, a Sox draft pick in 1966, appear to have been American citizens. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also is on the list.
Nishida regards his status as merely a historical footnote, however.
“There’s obviously a lot of great [Japanese] players out there,” he said.
The other move
To make room for Nishida on the roster, the Sox designated outfielder Jarred Kelenic for assignment. Kelenic hit .226 with one homer and four RBI in 19 games.