Tokyo trip means more for Cubs pitcher, Seattle native Matthew Boyd
As a baseball-mad kid growing up in Seattle, Matthew Boyd lived through the perfect generation.
When he was 10 years old, Boyd had the greatest regular season team in MLB history to cheer for: the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who won a record 116 games that season. That year was memorable, too, for the star who took over the baseball world in his rookie campaign: Ichiro Suzuki.
“Growing up in Seattle in kind of some of those peak baseball years, I got to watch Ichiro and [closer] Kazuhiro Sasaki and those guys,” Boyd told reporters in Tokyo on Friday during a press conference. “And those Mariners teams really invigorated my love for baseball.”
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That’s what makes this trip to Tokyo so special for the new Cubs starter. Sasaki and Suzuki won the AL Rookie of the Year Awards in back-to-back years in 2000 and 2001, respectively, and Suzuki doubled his with the AL MVP Award.
“Because of that, the coverage of [Nippon Professional Baseball] NPB was also present in Seattle,” the lefty said. “So, we got to learn about the professional teams and learn about some of the amazing players over here and in the league.
“It’s just something that just opened up your eyes to like, man, baseball is truly a world sport and there’s talent everywhere.”
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Boyd figured he’d never get to visit the country where some of his baseball heroes hailed from, let alone pitch in the nation’s most renowned baseball stadium.
But, after he signed his two-year contract with the Cubs in free agency in December, he realized he’d have that chance.
“[You] never think you get the opportunity to come play in the Tokyo Dome,” Boyd said. “It’s like, gosh, this is something that’s really going to be special.”
Boyd should get the opportunity to pitch in the historic stadium, too. He’s scheduled to piggyback Jameson Taillon in Sunday’s exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants — Japan’s most successful team with 22 Japan Series titles.
“It’s cool how baseball is truly a cultural thing where you can go experience the same game that you grew up playing in your backyard, imaging being the heroes that you watch growing up and then you go to a whole different culture and play this game,” Boyd said. “You don’t speak the same language, but there’s a common bond in the game and that’s really special. And to get to do this is really cool.”