Meet the New Guy: Naoyuki Uwasawa

Who is he and where did he come from? He’s Naoyuki Uwasawa, and he signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays this past offseason. After an up-and-down spring training, he triggered an out-clause in his contract, inducing the Rays to trade him to the Red Sox for cash. Uwasawa comes from Matsudo, a city in the greater Tokyo region. Matsudo is also the home of Japan’s second female astronaut, Naoko Yamazaki. Yamazaki spent 15 days on the shuttle Discovery in 2010, so if Uwasawa has trouble adjusting to the increased travel in MLB, he should give her...