Monday May 28, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

BASEBALL

Japan baseball commissioner says talent drain to U.S. natural

Sports Mar. 25, 2010 - 05:33AM JST ( 13 )

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Order by Time Order by Popularity

13 Comments

0

DebuchoMar. 25, 2010 - 09:09AM JST

1) There will never be a US vs. Japan series.

2) the ballparks are not why players go to MLB from Japan. It is because America takes sports very seriously, too seriously. The salaries are 10X what they are here and the games are actually broadcast, not cut-off at 9pm for plastic hammer swinging pre-recorded trash comedy shows.

money, status. That is ALL it is about. nothing more or less.
0

elbudamexicanoMar. 25, 2010 - 03:19PM JST

I am happy to see Japanese players doing well in the USA, and as far as I know, my Japanese baseball crazy amigos also are proud to see their countrymen doing well in the USA!
0

netrekMar. 25, 2010 - 03:45PM JST

Japan is strong man in Asia!
0

kokorocloudMar. 25, 2010 - 04:04PM JST

There's something to be said about the players who go overseas and do really well, and I think it reflects nicely on their home countries too. And it's always nice when I can say I know of Japanese baseball players in my country and my students get really excited about it, haha.
0

some14someMar. 25, 2010 - 04:24PM JST

Natural drain...how many of them have proved their talent in MLB? i can only recall Nomo (an excellent pitcher), single hit/base stealing Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui (DH) out of....fifty or so failed players?
0

biculturalMar. 25, 2010 - 07:01PM JST

Hmmm, maybe you should go back and do your research, some14some. There have not been 50 failed Japanese players in the MLB just yet. You also forgot to mention the success of Sasaki (129 saves in 4 years), Saito (2.05 career ERA), Okajima (12-4 record over 3 seasons, 2.72 ERA), not to mention the contributions of Iwamura towards a World Series berth, Matsuzaka's wins in the World Series, Hasegawa's solid career as a reliever, Taguchi's clutch hitting in the post season ... I wouldn't call those failures.
0

BrandedMar. 26, 2010 - 12:55AM JST

"The commissioner of Japanese baseball says there is little his office can do about the talent drain to the U.S. major leagues."

A losers mentality if ever there was one. Throw the guy out of office and get some frech blood in there. The bottom line is Japan had a captive market for years- no need to compete with anyone else but themselves as MLB was not an option. JPB teams controlled the contracts of it's players forcing them to stay in Japan whether they liked it or not. Nomo broke down that barrier and it's been a one way ticket out of Japan for anyone and everyone with the slightest bit of baseball talent. Kato needs to pull his head out and implement dozens of things to make JPB more attractive to not only players but fans alike. Bobby Valentine in Chiba literally rewrote the book on fan and player enjoyment. Kato needs to read it from front to cover and stop whining ! You want decent stadiums to play in ? Tear down the nets, plant some grass, add a childrens section with hands on activities lie batting cages, make the players more accesible to the fans, build some new stadiums that are fan friendly- most of all realize that you now have to compete- bring in some aging American stars that would love to keep playing even in the twilight of their careers- stop the one way exodus out of Japan and make it more of a two way street.
0

ptolemyMar. 26, 2010 - 02:42AM JST

But Branded you miss the enire point:

Your ideas would never be accepted here. They all are fresh and inventive. 2 words the old stuffed shirts at NPB (Nippon Pro Baseball) hate.

I agree about Valentine, but do not forget Hillman at Nippon Ham. He also wrote a book on getting a second rate team to the top. Signing Darvish who other teams saw as a "Problem". And also taking US players and telling superstar love boy Shinjo it was over.

The problem with NPB is the nationalist attitude like the JSA has. Until each player is rated on actual talent instead of media love fest, then you will have the current situation. And if the player is Japanese the greater the love fest is.

Look at Woods with Chunichi, never ever once thanked for his RBIs, HRs, or BBs. He had more than any player the last three seasons, yet the Japanese players get the attention. Hmmm, wonder why?
0

sfjp330Mar. 26, 2010 - 04:36AM JST

Japanese players in general do not have personality. Almost all are bland and boring. Only reason they want to play in U.S. is economics. Which team in Japan will pay Ichiro $90 million for five years? Both Ichiro and Matsui are boring to listen to. So Taguchi, former St. Louis and current Philadelphia utility player has excellent leadership capability. One of the few bright spots of Japanese players. What happen to Jojima, Kaz Matsui, Ishii, Fukudome? Superstar in Japan but a joke in U.S.
0

biculturalMar. 26, 2010 - 11:05AM JST

Actually, Branded, you must no nothing about the new Hiroshima Carp stadium. It has all of those things that make stadiums in America attractive and fun.