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Kirishima, who had been going under the name Hiroshi Uchida, had reportedly lived in the city of Fujisawa, on the western edge of Tokyo, for almost 40 years.

“The Japanese people know that Trevor Bauer had a domestic violence problem in the United States,” said Fumihiro Fujisawa, the president of Japan’s Association of American Baseball Research.

Mr. Yokoyama settled on a dark horse, 26-year-old Kai Fujisawa.

A friend had showed Mr. Fujisawa the ad on Relay, and Mr. Fujisawa immediately jumped in a car and showed up on Mr. Yokoyama’s doorstep, impressing him with his youth and enthusiasm.

The learning curve is steeper than either of them had imagined, and Mr. Yokoyama’s grizzled, chain-smoking employees are skeptical that Mr. Fujisawa will be able to live up to the boss’s reputation.