The nervousness set in for Kazuyuki Takemaru long before the game. He actually felt it begin to creep in while he was in the bullpen warming up.
After all, the 24-year-old Yomiuri Giants pitcher was not only making his NPB debut. He was doing it on opening day at Tokyo Dome, and against the Hanshin Tigers, Yomiuri’s longtime rival and the reigning Central League champion.
The nerves were still there by the time the game started, not that it was easy to tell with the way Takemaru calmly went up and down the Tigers’ fearsome lineup.