Colletti signed Kuroda without seeing him pitch in person. He left that to the scouting experts. Logan White, the assistant general manager who made his name through talent evaluation, saw enough tape of Kuroda and watched him in person enough to give the thumbs up.
"I put my reputation on the guy," said White. "He's legit."
"He has a very good delivery, an easy arm motion. He throws from a three-quarters angle. He runs his fastball anywhere from 89-95 miles per hour and stays around 93. He has a slider/cutter at 89 that has a lot of sharp, crisp bite. His out pitch is what he calls a forkball that has real diving, late action at the right-handed hitter.
"He's a strike thrower, and he's very athletic, a Gold Glove-like fielder. The biggest thing, for me, is that with runners on base, he buckles down. He really is a warrior."
That's the word the Dodgers liked to use when they brought Hideo Nomo to the Major Leagues in 1995, blazing the trail for dozens of Japanese professionals like Kuroda to follow.
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Well, Dodger fans can rest easy for at least the next couple of months.
