Mets pitchers and catchers reported for spring training in Port St. Lucie on Wednesday. One of several players already in PSL, though, is starting pitcher Kodai Senga. He’s been getting adjusted to life in America, which includes trying out different kinds of food.
Senga sat down for a 37-minute interview with Rob Friedman (AKA Pitching Ninja), which touched on various topics. The Japanese hurler talked about what it was like living and playing in Florida so far, his development as a pitcher, and why he wanted to sign with the Mets, among other things.
The interview itself was pretty lighthearted but did mostly veer toward baseball-specific questions. You can check out the full interview here, and it’s worth the time. Toward the end of their time together, Friedman snuck in a question to Senga about American food. He asked him what his favorite is so far, and the hurler said “Pizza” almost immediately. His eyes even lit up when saying it.
Obviously, the next logical question was, well, what do you like to put on your pizza? Senga replied with a few of the classics: tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni, sausage…and corn (h/t to Metsmerized’s Mike Mayer for initially pointing this out).
I don’t know about you, but I’ve not only never had corn on my pizza, but I’ve never even heard of it being an option before. Of course, the possibilities are endless when it comes to pizza and I’ve just been too narrowminded. Senga explained why he liked this particular topping, saying it comes a little sweeter. He also said his palate may be similar to that of a kid, but he likes it. Sounds like an advanced palate, if you ask me.
Some sweetness on top of a pizza? I’m all for that. I’ve never met a pizza I didn’t enjoy to some degree, so now I’ll need to try it this weekend.
Toward the beginning of the interview, the hurler also mentioned he’s looking forward to learning some “good English” from teammates as they start arriving in PSL. Friedman brought up that Senga played third base and hit when he was younger. The pitcher said he joked with Mets’ hitting coach Jeremy Barnes by saying, “Hey, if you need me, I’m here,” which obviously was met with some chuckles.
Seems like Senga is already enjoying the transition between life in Japan and life in the states. This feels like a prime opportunity for Citi Field to add corn pizza to the menu somewhere at the park this season. At least when Senga pitches. We’ll see if they capitalize on that.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
