Manager owes Maeda dinner after BP homer
The Los Angeles Dodgers spent more than $50 million to sign right-hander Kenta Maeda for his arm, but it appears the Japanese hurler might have come with some pop in his bat as well.
Maeda was the winner of a free meal after taking skipper Dave Roberts deep during a batting practice session over the weekend.
"I threw batting practice to the starting pitchers and they were all sharing Maeda's bat, a Japanese bat," Roberts told Eric Stephen of SB Nation. "They were thinking it was the arrow, not the Indian. There were a lot of home runs with that bat.
"So he used an American bat, and I told him if he hit a home run with a different bat out of five swings, I'll buy him dinner. The first ball I threw over the plate, he hit a homer."
The 27-year-old managed to hit two homers during 436 at-bats while playing in Japan, and slashed .147/.174/.200 across eight seasons. Though he's yet to record an official at-bat this spring, Maeda has impressed on the mound. He's posted a 1.89 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across 19 innings, striking out 18.
"He's as good if not better than advertised," Roberts told reporters.