It sounds like Yusei Kikuchi owns a better baseball facility in Japan than the Angels

When the Los Angeles Angels signed Yusei Kikuchi, the move was largely lauded across the league. The terms of the deal were pretty reasonable considering the market and Kikuchi was coming off a very successful stint with the Astros who scooped him up at the trade deadline. So far, Kikuchi has been close to be as advertised, although the Angels probably didn't realize that Kikuchi would highlight LA's penny pinching ways.

Kikuchi clearly is not afraid to hand out criticism of the organization when he thinks it is warranted. He voiced his frustration in one instance for getting taken out of an important game early and Kikuchi also famously revealed that the Angels' weight room did not have air conditioning.

As it turns out, Kikuchi knows what he is talking about when it comes to facilities and what amenities should and should not be available. Recently, a column from MLB's Ayako Oikawa chronicled the baseball facility that Kikuchi owns, called King of the Hill, and it honestly sounds nicer than what the Angels players have at their disposal.

Yusei Kikuchi's facility outshining the Angels is pretty embarrassing

Ignoring the Angels for a moment, the facility that Kikuchi opened up in Iwate Prefecture near his high school alma mater, Hanamaki Higashi High School, looks pretty sweet. The lobby area is a celebration of Kikuchi's career which seems pretty cool, but further inside boasts a near all-inclusive baseball training facility with state of the art technology and equipment. As to why Kikuchi built the facility, Oikawa referenced an earlier quote from Kikuchi saying, "Supporting someone else’s dream is fun. Agree?"

For the Angels, this is a rough look. Here is their top pitcher investing in his hometown in hopes that he can help area players achieve their goals and give them proper facilities. Meanwhile, owner Arte Moreno has to basically be put in a headlock to fill the paper towel dispensers and fix the A/C. Remember, this is the same owner who was one of the last owners to invest in an actual pitching lab. And the team wonders why they couldn't develop any pitchers (dripping with sarcasm)?

In short, it is great that Kikuchi is giving back in this way and with all of the talent coming out of Japan these days, it seems like a savvy investment to try and get in on that talent development pipeline. However, it does make the Angels pretty bad given how aggressively they try to cut costs in recent years.