Kosuke Fukudome started off great last season. After April in 2008 Fukudome was batting .319 with a .434 on base percentage. Kosuke even was voted on by the fans as the starting center fielder for the All-Star game.

After that he quickly fell out of favor though. His knack for swinging and missing at breaking balls quickly got him booed by the crowd. He was eventually benched for new fan favorite Reed Johnson.

The 2009 season has begun, and Kosuke Fukudome is off to a hot start once again. He is batting over .400 after one week of play and looks like the All-Star last year.

RantSports even shared their love for Kosuke Fukudome, letting the fans of Chicago know they did not give Kosuke a fair chance down the stretch in 2008.

Kosuke Fukudome first season with the Chicago Cubs started off better than it ended.  Fukudome started off hot, which earned him a starting spot in the All-Star game.  But by the end of the season, he was demoted from the Cubs starting lineup.  In Fukudome first year we saw the great and the worst of Kosuke, what grade would you give Kosuke Fukudome’s rookie season?

“CHICAGO — Kosuke Fukudome cleaned out his locker at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. Some of the boxes were marked with a black “X.” They will be shipped to Japan. Others will go to Mesa, Ariz., in preparation for Spring Training.

The question, though, is will Fukudome be ready for next season?

The Japanese outfielder will head home the first week in November. He has some work to do. Cubs manager Lou Piniella made it clear he wasn’t happy with Fukudome’s performance when he benched him in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I had a very brief talk with Lou after the game in L.A.,” Fukudome said Tuesday. “I think the point is that I need to perform better next year, period. It doesn’t matter if Lou or [general manager] Jim Hendry have confidence in me or high expectations of me. It’s irrelevant. I need to perform better.” -MLB.com

“CHICAGO — He tried the second spot. He tried the eighth spot. He’s done trying. Cubs manager Lou Piniella has seen enough of Kosuke Fukudome for the time being, and Fukudome will not be in the lineup on Saturday for Game 3 of the National League Division Series between the Cubs and Dodgers.

“From now on, I don’t want to hear about Fukudome anymore as far as whether he’s going to play or not,” Piniella said when a reporter asked him about Fukudome’s slump. “I’m going to play [Mike] Fontenot or Reed Johnson or somebody else, and that’s the end of that story. The kid is struggling, and there’s no sense sending him out there anymore.” -MLB.com

Kosuke Fukudome has been struggling since the all star break, but hopefully today was a sign that he is overcoming his slump. Fukudome went two for four with two RBI’s a two Runs scored. He had a double in the top of the fourth which helped load the bases for Jim Edmond to clear them with a grand slam. Then in the top of the eighth Fukudome hit a two run shot deep to right scoring Aramis Ramirez. Cubs went on to win eleven to four with Rich Harden earning his first win as a Chicago Cub. The Cubs are now four and a half games up on the St. Louis Cardinals and 5 games up on the Milwaukee Brewers.

Kosuke Fukudome is flourshing in his first ‘Crosstown Classisc.’ When both theses teams bid for Kosuke in December the Cubs came out on top, just as they have in the first two games of the series. Kosuke if 4-9 in the two games, adding one rbi and one run scored.

In game one, the Cubs won 4-3. They came back in the 7th innings off back to back home runs in the bottom of the inning by Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee. Kerry Wood also picked up his 17th save of the season. In came two the Cubs feel behind early, down 4-1 heading into the bottom of the 4th inning. That wouldn’t last long though, as the Cubs scored 9 runs in the bottom of the fourth. Back to back home runs once again to center stage, twice, as Edmonds and Theriot hit back to back first, followed by Ramirez and Edmonds last on. The Cubbies would go on to win 11-7, Wood also picked up his 18th save. Read the rest of this entry »

Kosuke Fukudome is about to make is first appearance in the Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and White Sox. The Cubs are heading into the series at home after being swept by the Rays and dropping 4 out of 6 on an inter league road trip. Kosuke went 1-4 on Thursday in his second game leading off driving in one run.

Kosuke Fukudome has moved a top the batting order with Alfonso Soriano out for at least six weeks. Fukudome went 1-4 with an RBI double and a drew a walk. The Cubs lost their second straight to the Rays 5-4.

The upcoming series agianst the Los Angeles Dodgers is shaping up to potentially be a good one for Kosuke Fukudome. Fukudome has played much better at home this season, and will be facing a fellow native in Hiroki Kuroda, whom he has past success against.

There is not question that the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field have been friendly to Fukudome. At home Kosuke is batting .393 at home, compared to just .207 away. Wrigley Field is also were Fukudome has is only two home runs.

The Cubs will also be facing Hiroki Kuroda the second game of the series. Kuroda is another Japanese star. Fukudome has faced Kurado in the past, as Kurado played for the Hiroshima Carp in the Japan baseball league. Fukudome is a career .330 batter against the righty, with four home runs. This is sure to be an interesting match-up for many reasons, and should definitely get a lot of attention from the Japanese media.

As far as Fukudome’s woes go on the road, it is more of a team trend. The Cubs record at home is 19-8 versus a 10-13 road record.

With the first month of the Major League Baseball season on the verge of being over, the Chicago Cubs sit atop the standings in the National League Central Division at 16 and 10. The Cubs have put up runs in bunches through out the month. And a key contributor to the run production has been the rookie from Japan, Kosuke Fukudome.

In the first week of the season, Kosuke Fukudome won over the fans of Chicago. After struggling through a tough first spring training, Fukudome charged out of the gates. In his Major League debut, Kosuke Fukudome reached base over and over, as other Cubs struggled to get a hit. And in the bottom of the ninth, Kosuke Fukudome delivered his first Major League home run, one that will not be forgot. With the Cubs trailing by 3, Fukudome tied the game with his blast, and received his first curtain call from the Cubbie faithful.

Kosuke Fukudome did not stop there. During the two weeks Kosuke was continually in contention for the Major League lead in batting average. Fukudome reached base over and over again, being very patient, and taking what pitchers would give him.

Over the next couple series, pitchers would begin to figure out the Japanese import, as Kosuke Fukudome went on a little drought and struggled to get on base. But it wasn’t long before Cubs fans saw Fukudome doing what they knew he would do best, hit and reach base safely.

During the first month Kosuke Fukudome appeared to be worth every cent of the $48 million the Chicago Cubs signed him to. Fukudome is batting .319, with an on base percentage of .434. As Kosuke Fukudome continues to perform well, and the Chicago Cubs continue to win, this is going to be a summer to remember for Cubs nation.