Japan quake changes lifestyle for Korean slugger Kim

One month has passed since the devastating earthquake struck Japan but Korean hitters in the Japanese pro baseball league are feeling the pinch because of aftershocks and rescheduling of games to daytime hours.

In the home season opener Tuesday, Kim Tae-kyun of the Chiba Lotte Marines went 0-4 at the plate, including a strikeout, against Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles ace Iwakuma Hisashi. On Wednesday, Kim went 0-3 including a strikeout and a walk in Lotte`s second straight loss, 5-1.

"It`s strange because I was in the best physical conditions,” Kim said. He is up to 113 kilograms after going down to 107 kilograms late last year.

He is quick to exploit good batting conditions, but the problem is that night games have been moved to daytime hours in Japan.

Like in Korea, Japanese pro baseball games are usually held in the evening except for weekends. In Chiba, however, which was hard hit by the earthquake, games will be held in daytime this month to save electricity.

Kim has a habit of sleeping late in the morning. When games are over at night weekdays, he normally plays games or watches TV until late but has had to change his lifestyle.

The slugger cannot do much at night and must go to sleep by 10 p.m. to get up early the next morning to be ready for practice by 9 a.m.

Rakuten pitcher Kim Byung-hyun, who missed the season opener because of a sprain in his left ankle, is also feeling the effects of the earthquake. He stayed in Chiba for medical treatment for four to six weeks. When he returned to the Golden Eagles` home base of Sendai and he was shocked to see his team’s lodging facility ruined by aftershocks.

beetlez@donga.com