But Uehara has let his personality show since the moment he joined the Red Sox for spring training in February. He's gained notice of late for his dominance in the ninth inning – he went into play Friday with a 1.12 ERA and an 11-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio – but he made himself an integral part of the fabric of the bullpen long before that. That's in spite of the language barrier that has proved such an impediment for so many others trying to make the transition into American baseball.
Koji is the best.