Ka'aihue brings unique Far East experience to spring training

VIERA, Fla. - Nationals manager Matt Williams made his usual wholesale substitutions before the seventh inning of Tuesday's road game against the Mets. The Tradition Field public address announcer began reading them off so fans could recognize the changes. "At shortstop, Difo for Espinosa," he said while continuing down the line with every player's name and position until he got to the last. "At first base, 18 for 33 ...18 for 33."

No. 18 is Kila Ka'aihue. That's pronounced Kee-la Ky-uh-hoo-ee.

It's been an interesting path for Ka'aihue to get to the Nationals after signing a minor league contract with an invite to Viera back in January.

Kansas City drafted the first baseman in the 15th round straight out of a Iolani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2002. Ka'aihue bounced around the minors for seven seasons. Finally, after belting 37 homers and driving in 100 runs between Double-A and Triple-A in 2008, the Royals called him to the majors.

Ka'aihue would continue his roller coaster ride back and forth from the majors to the minors for the next four seasons before being traded to Oakland, where he played one season. In 411 big league at-bats, he's hit .221 with 15 home runs and 46 RBIs.

He signed with the Diamondbacks and led the Pacific Coast League in homers, playing at their Triple-A Reno club in 2013 before making a major league decision midway through the season. The big Hawaiian decided to take his baseball career from the deserts of Nevada to the bustling streets of Japan, signing a contract with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

"They threw a bunch of money at me," said Ka'aihue. "Where I was in my career, I had just had twin boys. I did it for my family. I went over there, I went with the right attitude, so it was easy. It was fun for me and I enjoyed every minute of it."

Ka'aihue admits he was a star in Japan. It's easy to understand why when you see his hulking physique standing at 6-foot-4 and 235 lbs.

"When I got there, the team was 15-20 games under .500 and last place and we finished four games under .500 and went to the playoff and won the first series," he said. "It was the first time they went to the playoffs in, I don't know, 20 years."

In 600 plate appearances across two seasons in Japan, Ka'aihue hit .258 with 25 home runs and 85 RBIs. He thoroughly enjoyed a different a global baseball perspective.

"Every team has a very strong and loyal fan base, and they get really attached to their players," Ka'aihue said. "They know everybody, from the youngest guy on the team to the oldest guy that's been there forever. They only watch their team. They only cheer for the team. They don't like other players from other teams even if they're good. It's a very extreme culture. They extremely love you or they're extremely upset with you. There's no in between.

"If you hit a homer, I mean the place goes nuts. It doesn't matter if they're winning or losing. But if you don't hit a homer and the team loses, it's all your fault."

Ka'aihue says the competition is good in Japan, with many teams having major league-caliber players, but there's also a drastic dropoff in talent at the bottom half of rosters. At 30, though, he decided to end his playing his days in Hiroshima.

"I wanted to come back. I wanted to play in the states. I wanted to give it one more shot over here," he said.

Williams was familiar with Ka'aihue from coaching him during spring training in Arizona in 2013.

"He just works hard. Last year, in Japan, and coming back to the States and getting another chance, we're glad to give him a chance," said Williams. "I think he's got potential. He's got power. And he's got a good knowledge of the strike zone. For a big guy, he's really athletic. He can play multiple positions. He plays the outfield, plays first, moves around a little bit. Good player."

Ka'aihue put that power on display in the Nationals' exhibition opener when he unleashed a towering two-run homer to give the Nats a 5-4 lead over the Mets in the seventh that they wouldn't relinquish. He's 2-for-11 this spring with the homer and four RBIs. There's tough competition at first base to back up Ryan Zimmerman with Tyler Moore first in line and most likely followed by veteran Mike Carp.