New Yomiuri Giants first baseman Garret Jones talked on Sunday at Tokyo Dome about the many adjustments he’s had to make since arriving in Japan at the end of January —  many of them learning an approach to a different kind of spring training.

“Just getting used to the daily routine here, getting a flow with everybody, knowing what I have to do, how I should pace myself, what things I need to work on. When to ask for extra work, when to say, ‘I’m good,'” he said.

Jones, 34, got lots of helpful advice from veteran teammates Scott Mathieson and Luis Cruz and from Giants scouts Josh Fields and Adrian Gonzalez.

“Very valuable, those guys helped a lot, just giving tips, and pointers, things to do, what not to do, just prepare more than anything for spring training, mentally more than anything. ‘Hey this is what we’re going to do and don’t be shocked when we do a lot of extra work.’ They prepared me just by letting me know what to expect more than anything.”

“I talked to Josh Fields and Edgar (Gonzalez). They definitely said, ‘Be prepared and bring your running shoes. You’re going to be running a lot.’ It’s good. I don’t mind the work and the running because I know it benefits me in the long run.”

So remember new guys. Bring the running shoes.

On Sunday, the SoftBank Hawks got some good news. Yuki Yanagita, who won last year’s Pacific League MVP and should have won in 2014 as well, was in the lineup for the first time this season following elbow surgery last autumn and tripled.

The Hawks also got three crisp innings out of 25 pitches from former ace Tsuyoshi Wada.