In 2019, Carter Stewart Jr. signed a record-breaking six-year, seven-million-dollar contract with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. This signing of a young American player right out of college was an unusual move, as most players come to Japan to play after considerable service in the Major Leagues. Stewart Jr., however, decided to jump from college directly to Japan’s professional league. When I sat down with him in 2019 shortly after he arrived, he was full of excitement about the prospect of making his mark on Japanese baseball, as well as experiencing Japanese culture to the fullest. At the same time, he had a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders.

After pitching for two seasons for the Hawks farm team, Stewart Jr. made his NPB debut on April 17, 2021. After pitching in the minors in 2022, he got to pitch in more games with the Hawks in 2023. He got his first victory on July 26, a 7-1 win over the Orix Buffaloes. Stewart Jr. posted a 3-6 record with a 3.38 ERA for the Hawks in 2023. That year, he signed a two-year, ten-million-dollar contract extension.

After starting 2024 with the farm team, Stewart is back with the big-league team, earning his first victory of the year on May 11, pitching six strong innings while allowing only one earned run.
I caught up with Stewart Jr. last week and asked him about how his baseball life and adjustment to Japanese culture had been going since we last saw year other in 2019.

Stewart Jr. talking about his adjustment to Japan

Anne: Hey, do you remember me? I interviewed you while we played catch when you first came to Japan in 2019.
Carter: Hey, yeah, of course! I thought that was you. I recognized you right away.
Anne: That interview was one of the best memories of my life.
Carter: I’m so glad to hear that.
Anne: I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the last four or five years?
Carter: Of course, I’d love to talk about it.
Anne: Great, thanks. First, how do you think that you have grown over the past few years?
Carter: It’s been a journey. I came over here at 19, and my mom came with me and lived with me for a while. But after she left, I had to learn to do everything for myself. It was my first time living on my own, and in a foreign country at that, so I think the first two or three years was kind of stressful, especially with COVID and everything. So, during those years I was just learning how to grow up. Now that I have learned how to do all the basic things, I can focus a little more on baseball, and not so much on growing up and learning how to live on my own. That has taken a little bit of the stress off of me.

Anne: How is the language learning process going? Have you been able to pick up some Japanese?
Carter: I am trying to. For the last two years or so I have been taking Japanese classes with a lady that I met here in Fukuoka. She lives in the States now, so we are continuing our lessons online about once a week. I’m trying my best, you know, between baseball life and the craziness of daily life. My teammates are helping me, too, and I try to talk to them as much as I can. My translator has been great as well, as I bounce words off him every now and then. But you know, I really enjoy the learning process. I’ve always wanted to learn another language, and this is the perfect opportunity for me. So, I want to take it one day at a time, and not feel like I have to try to learn it all at once.
Anne: So how has life in Japan been for you? Are you enjoying the culture and the people?
Carter: I mean, it’s just so safe, so nice. Especially Fukuoka, I mean, it’s just a nice city. It’s the perfect size and everyone just seems so connected. Everyone is a Hawks fan. It is a good environment for me to live in, and it is a good place to take my family and friends around and show them a good time. I mean, when they come over here, there are just amazed at how beautiful it is.

Anne: Right? It really is a great city. Getting back to baseball. The last time we talked, you told me how much you love Japanese baseball, and you were full of praise for the Japanese style of play. During the last few years, what are some differences that you have noticed between how the game is played here, and how it is played in the U.S?
Carter: I respect it a lot, but of course it is very different. It is a completely different style of baseball. In the Majors, it is homeruns and strike outs; here it is bunts, singles, and doubles. It is more base-to-base play in Japan, not the barrage of three-run homeruns you will see in the U.S. It’s a different of a style of baseball, but I have come to respect the Japanese style hitting and of how they do things so precisely. Of course, as a pitcher, that style of hitting has given me my fair share of trouble over my six years here, but I respect it a lot.
They put so much work and time into their craft and are incredibly diligent. They never go down without a fight. They don’t give up easily, and every guy that steps up there has a plan and is trying to make a difference—which is impressive. It is not always like that back home.
Anne: The focus on the fundamentals is just amazing, isn’t it?
Carter: It is, and they start so young, before high school. But one thing that kind of makes me sad is that here in Japan guys just play one sport—baseball. When I was growing up, I played all kinds of different sports, and I feel like playing different sports helped me become a better baseball player. I’d love to see young kids try out various sports over here, too. Back at home, guys play four or five sports like it’s nothing special.
Anne: Yeah, most kids play only one sport year-round in high school and quit their senior year to focus on entrance exams, which would be crazy in the U.S. because senior year is when the scouts come.
Carter: Yeah, right. It’s so wild.

Anne: Ok, so just a couple more questions. You had your first victory of the year last Saturday. Are you happy with how you pitched that game?

Carter practicing before our interview

Carter: Yeah, I feel like I did pretty well. It was an adjustment playing in the Buffaloes stadium, which has a quite different feel to it than our home stadium. So, I had to make some adjustments early. I was just happy to go out there and give us a chance to win. You know, right now, our lineup is just so good. We have nine guys who are swinging the bat really well. I feel like my job is just to go out there and give the guys a chance to put up some runs and win the game. Even if I am not feeling my best, I want to give them a chance to win. And I feel like I did that on Saturday.

Anne: So, do you feel like you have some specific goals for the rest of the year?
Carter: I really want to get to ten wins. I don’t personally care too much about wins, but it does give me a cool stat to strive after. What I really want to do is go out there every week, stay on the big league team, and give these guys a chance. I think that is main goal right now. And obviously I want to continue to improve and get better and get something from every single start.

Anne: Do you feel like you have grown in the past five years as a player?
Carter: Yeah, that guy over there is my translator and has been with me for the past two years, and my previous translator was with me for four years. I told him, “I am so sorry for the way I was when I was 19 or 20!” I had a bit of an attitude and would question why I had to do something. But sometimes you just have do stuff you may not want to do, and just get the work done. My work effort has definitely improved. I am much more willing to do the small stuff, the stuff you have to do to be a professional.

Anne: Well, we are all cheering for you to get those ten wins. Thank you so much for your time today.
Carter: Yeah, of course, thank you. I appreciate it, too!

When I first interviewed Stewart Jr. in 2019, I was impressed by his towering physique. At almost 2 meters tall and 101 kilograms, his presence filled the room. But after interviewing him and playing catch with him, I found myself much more impressed by the strength of his character than by his towering physique. His humility as a player and willingness to learn from Japanese baseball, and his childlike excitement of fulfilling his childhood dream of playing professional baseball was something that has stuck in my memory since then. After talking to him for the first time in five years, I was more impressed with him than ever. Although the childlike excitement remains, he has matured into a man. The struggles of living on his own for the first time in a foreign country, the long COVID pandemic, and a lengthy stay in the Hawks farm system have all helped to mature him into the player that he is today. I think the future is bright for Carter Stewart, Jr. and I for one, am excited to see how bright his star will shine for the Fukuoka Soft Bank Hawks this year.

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