It’s only through two games, but Akinori Iwamura is arguably the Rays MVP in the team’s series versus the White Sox. Game one saw him go 2 for 4 with a triple, good for a total .188 win probability added. Game 2’s home run was obviously gigantic, and was good for a total .213 WPA, giving him a total .401 WPA for the series. That’s tops on the Rays to this point.

David Chalk  sent me a few Rays items concerning Iwamura. First, MLB.com has a short interview  with the man they call Aki, where he’s asked, of all things, about speaking English. This has me wondering who of the Japanese players in MLB speaks the best English. My guess, based on what I’ve read, is Iwamura. My second guess would be Kenji Johjima. Readers?

MLB.com: I’ve seen you speak a lot of English on the base paths out there. Can you say in English what you felt when you saw that ball go over the wall?

AKINORI IWAMURA: Very excited (smiling). As soon as I hit the ball, I hit it real good, so I knew it was gone. But at the same time this is what Joe says all the time: “Run the bases.” So first thing in my mind was to run the bases. As soon as I heard the horn, the home run horn, that’s the time when I actually realized it was a home run.

Iwamura’s translator, known as Bori, often comes up in the Rays conversation. Bori is Tateki Uchibori, a 35-year-old graduate of Western Kentucky University who has interpreted for American players in the Japanese leagues the past 10 years. He even throws batting practice from time to time.

Joe Maddon had some comments regarding Aki, and Bori specifically, in his post game press conference. Again, MLB.com:

MLB.com: I wanted to ask you once you knew that Aki was going to be on your club, what steps the team took to help him integrate to be part of the team, and what you did knowing that he was going to be on your club.

JOE MADDON: Well, of course, you mean like from the very first day? Well, we had the interpreter, of course. This year we have Bori, who is probably the finest interpreter in the history of interpreting. He’s a big part of our success this year. So you have to have that.

Of course, within the group, I just think for me personally, you’ve got to make him feel welcome. You gotta make him feel like he’s a part of the group, and you have to communicate. You have to be careful also.

When you’re dealing with a young men from different countries learning your language, the tendency is they’re going to want to be agreeable and almost not pretend, but they want to make you feel as though they understand what you’re saying, but that’s why the interpreter is so important. You don’t want to lose anything in translation. So you have to have a very good translator, and we have one.

Maddon also talks about Iwamura’s transition from the NPB to MLB, and the effect it’s had on the number of HRs he’s hit in Tampa.

MLB.com: When Aki came here, he had 106 home runs in three years. What has he changed about his swing? And could you talk about the timing of his home runs this year?

JOE MADDON: The difference is — and I’ve never been to Japan, but you understand the ballparks are slightly smaller than ours. So he hits a lot of flyballs. Aki puts a lot of balls in the air. So I would imagine if you play over there, you would hit more home runs just based on distance to the wall.

Obviously Maddon knows Iwamura played in the Central League, where indeed the ballparks are slightly smaller than the average MLB park. Coach Joe must have read Simon’s article on the size of Japanese ballparks. Sounds like Manager of the Year material to me.