The Red Sox and A’s have just finished a two-game series in Japan.  This is the 3rd time that Major League Baseball has done this.  The two previous times was in 2000 with the Mets and the Cubs, then again in 2004 with the Yankees and the Rays.  Both of those series were splits, just like this one was.

I am still not sold on this whole concept.  Baseball in Japan … I mean, what are we actually selling?  This is a country that might be more passionate about baseball than America!  Hell, we are importing the best players from Japan to play here!  Don’t you think the Japanese media is has been covering Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki and now Diasuke Matsuzaka as much, if not more than we have?  So what is Major League Baseball hoping to gain by playing two games there?  Outside of the fact that it is a major inconvenience to the teams who have to do it, the game is already huge there.

I would be more in favor of a 7-game series in October between a Japanese team and let’s say one of the better teams NOT to make the playoffs.  Or even the World Series winner goes there after its all said and done and plays a Japanese team, with the location rotating … one year in Japan, one year in the United States.

Much like the Olympics, we won’t have to see this again for another four years, so I guess it’s not that big of a deal … I just don’t really see the point.

And for the record … Japanese position players, for the most part, have a much better track record in the majors, than do the pitchers.  I wouldn’t even have a guess as to why …

Posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 4:33 pm.
Categories: MLB, 1300 News.
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