Playing in Japanese league team's home park, ex-Yankee Tyler Austin rakes for U.S. at Olympics
YOKOHAMA, Japan — There is a general rule of no cheering in the press box.
Except maybe these hushed celebrations, emanating from volunteers working these Tokyo Olympics, in the fifth inning of Team USA's 3-1 victory over the Dominican Republic on Wednesday were permissible.
How often can you root for a hometown team favorite in the Olympics anyway?
The clapping occurred after Tyler Austin hit his third home run of the Olympics to make it 3-0 with a solo shot to dead center that cleared the five-meter (16-plus feet) wall.
Although he's established himself as one of the United States' most reliable presences in the lineup during this tournament, it was just another day at the office for Austin — literally. He's in his second season with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, which call Yokohama Baseball Stadium home, of the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization's Central League.
"This is my home stadium over here," So I’m very familiar with the park. It’s been a fun tournament here."
Indeed, after his home run on Wednesday – as those upstairs cheered – Austin jumped into two "elbow-fives" and had to catch his helmet while landing.
"I love our group," he said.
Austin has plenty of reasons to be having a good time. He's leading Team USA in batting average (.429) through four games and is leading the entire tournament in slugging percentage (.941). Triston Casas sits right behind him in that category (.938), and the Boston Red Sox top prospect currently is tied for the tournament lead in homers with three.
RED SOX PRSOPECT: Triston Casas shining for USA Baseball — again
INSIDE SCOOP IN TOKYO: Subscribe to our Olympic newsletter now
TEXT WITH US AT TOKYO OLYMPICS: Subscribe to texts, where we’ll be your official guide to the Games
Together, they've formed a formidable and run-producing 1-2 punch in manager Mike Scioscia's lineup.
"He’s got unbelievable power, unbelievable approach," Austin said. "He’s gonna be a really, really, really good hitter. I’m excited to watch his career moving forward."
Staying in the Olympic Village with his teammates, Austin has not visited his apartment in Yokohama that is about five minutes away from the stadium in about two weeks.
"It’s been really good, I’ve had a great time here (in Japan)," Austin said. "I’ve got a good team here with the BayStars. Yeah, I’ve had a really good time."
The New York Yankees selected Austin in the 13th round of the 2010 draft out of Heritage High School in Georgia. The infielder, who's been a designated hitter at the Olympics, broke into the big leagues in 2016. Over three seasons, he played 85 games in the majors before the Yankees traded him to the Minnesota Twins at the 2018 trade deadline for pitcher Lance Lynn.
He bounced from there to the San Francisco Giants to the Milwaukee Brewers. When the Brewers designated him for assignment in October 2019, he elected free agency and signed with Yokohama for the 2020 season with a club option for 2021, according to ESPN.
"I felt comfortable last year. It’s baseball," Austin said. "You come out here and play baseball, that’s it. So I felt just as comfortable last year as I did this year."
Austin batted .286 with a .364 on-base percentage and slugged .605 over 65 games in his first season with the BayStars, who get their name because the stadium is located close to the water.
In a similar sample size (68 games) prior to the NPB's Olympic pause last month, Austin had been hitting .314/.413/.603
But Austin doesn't feel like his experience in Japan necessarily translated to his success in the Olympics.
"Baseball’s baseball," he said.
"These guys are all really talented players. That’s the way I go about it in the regular season and here. So yeah, everybody’s been good."
Austin and the U.S. will play Thursday against either South Korea or Japan. The winner will advance to the gold-medal game Saturday.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.