| | | | | GAME
PLAN | | Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
| By
Fred Varcoe
Pacific League All-Star Game
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| Seibu's switch-hitting
Kazuo Matsui might be the next Japanese Major Leaguer |
It's a myth that really has run its
course. The Pacific League is not inferior to the Central
League. It's easy to understand why people might think
otherwise, but the truth of the matter is that the Pacific
League competes very well with the Central League and at the
Pacific League All-Star Game on November 9, you'll
see why. There will be players there who should be, someday
will be, and perhaps some who currently are heading for the
Major Leagues.
But there's more to this story than player stats. The
story of the Pacific League, like the rest of Japan's
baseball history, is tied up with the Yomiuri Giants. The
Giants won nine Japan Series in a row from 1965-73 in an awesome
display of dominance. But since then, the influence of the
Giants has waned. Television ratings have plummeted as the
Giants struggled this year and Yomiuri old boy Hideki Matsui
made a name for himself in the majors.
Since those golden days of 30 years ago, Pacific League and
Central League teams have each won 15 Japan Series titles.
Before Matsui joined the Yankees, the biggest Japanese stars
of the major leagues-Ichiro Suzuki and Hideo Nomo-were
both former Pacific Leaguers (the only Central Leaguer to
perform well has been Seattle closer Kazuhiro Sasaki), while
in the last three years, two sluggers-the Kintetsu
Buffaloes' Tuffy Rhodes and Alex Cabrera of the Seibu
Lions-have tied Yomiuri legend Sadaharu Oh's
single-season home-run record. This year Oh, now Daiei manager
(and, significantly an ex-Yomiuri manager), once again led
the Hawks to victory in the Japan Series.
Where the Pacific League has lost out is in prestige and revenue.
This is because the Giants, even when they were doing badly,
were always a big draw on TV. In turn, that meant that Central
League clubs did not want to sanction interleague play because
they knew it would cost them money. That now seems to be changing.
The Giants are no longer the draw they were, and despite fixing
the draft and their enormous wealth, they can't even
buy success (and boy how they've tried). In the Pacific
League, success invariably stems from having the ability to
nurture young talent and it is this home-grown talent that
will be on display at Kusanagi Sports Ground in Shizuoka on
November 9.
It's unlikely that the big-name foreigners will be
there and so it will be a very Japanese All-Star Game, but
some of the brightest stars in the country will be donning
their uniforms for their 2003 sayonara.
Top of the list will be Kazuo Matsui, the Seibu Lions all-rounder
who's also at the top of the list of a number of Major
League clubs. This could be his last appearance in Japan if
he is to head to the majors next year. Like his namesake,
Hideki, he will be sorely missed. If he does go, it will be
interesting to see what impact he has in the majors on two
fronts: one is the fact that he is a switch-hitter and impresses
from both sides of the plate, second is the fact that he would
become the first infielder to make it to the majors. Joining
Matsui in the lineup for the team from the west will be ace
pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, the high-school legend who looked
for a while to be burned out, but has come back well this
year (16-7, 2.83 ERA, 215 strikeouts) and who could also be
on future shopping lists for Major League teams.
Of course, the stars of the show will be the representatives
of champs Daiei, in particular catcher Kenji Jojima (.330,
34 HRs, 119 RBIs) and pitching phenom Kazumi Saito (20-3,
2.83 ERA, the latter stat equal at the top with Matsuzaka).
RBI leader Nobuhiko Matsunaka(123) is unlikely to make it,
but super rookie pitchers Tsuyoshi Wada and Nagisa Arakaki
should be there.
Also on display will be the Nippon Ham Fighters' super
stud Michihiro Ogasawara, who had a stunning year, batting
.360 with 31 home runs and 100 RBIs (and that's on
a team where no one else ever gets on base); Yoshitomi Tani
(second to Ogasawara in batting with a very impressive .350)
of the Orix BlueWave; Marines pitcher Naoyuki Shimizu, who
was third in ERA and won 15 games; and former major leaguer
Mac Suzuki of Orix.
And who knows, you may see a Central League face or two in
the stands-most likely managers wondering how they
can get their hands on the stars of the Pacific League.
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