Tag: mlb

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By Robert Whiting (2017) The 4th World Baseball Classic is now upon us. The first and second rounds will be held in Tokyo at the Tokyo Dome, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will be attending. And despite reports that MLB is considering dropping the WBC, indications from the Commissioner’s office are that it will continue…

Commissioner Manfred – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2017) I recently had the pleasure of moderating a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club for Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, who visited Japan on the occasion of the first and second rounds of the 4th World Baseball Classic, a tournament created by MLB to spur international interest in the…

Useless All-Star Games: Revised – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2014) The MLB All-Star Game used to be a great event. It was the focus of great nationwide attention in the United States and also has had special meaning for fans in Japan, dating back to 1995, when Hideo Nomo was selected to start the mid-season all-star game of that year. But…

Adjustment – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2014) Playing baseball in a foreign country is not an easy thing to do. There are a lot of adjustments that must be made. In the case of foreigners playing in Japan, the adjustment is to longer spring camps, harder training, and a wider strike zone during games. For pitchers, it is…

A Little Advice – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2014) Americans have been giving advice to Japanese pitchers about how to treat their arms for decades. When I first arrived in the 1960s, a Kintetsu Buffaloes pitcher named Glen Mickens, a former major leaguer from Los Angeles, made news when he wrote a letter published in both English and Japanese language…

Reporter’s Notebook – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2011) On a recent visit to the Oakland Coliseum, to see the Athletics host the Seattle Mariners, I had a long conversation with a security guard there who has worked at the ballpark for many years and has watched many MLB games. He offered me these insights about Ichiro and Seattle: “I…

The Last Stand of Kei Igawa – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2011) There should be a picture of Kei Igawa in the dictionary under “persistence.” Since signing a five-year, $20 million contract in 2007 with the New York Yankees (who paid another $26 million to the Hanshin Tigers of the Central League for the right to negotiate with the team’s left-handed ace), Igawa…

Whither Hideki Matsui? – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2009) The more one thinks about the accomplishments of Hideki Matsui in the World Series, the more remarkable they become. Not only did he win the MVP with a performance of power that put him in the pantheon of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and Reggie Jackson, he also accomplished something that a…

Upside Down – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2009) It used to be, many, many years ago, that aging MLB stars would come to Japan for one last big, fat paycheck. Those of you older readers might recall the days of Gary Thomasson, the multi-million dollar “Giants Human Fan,” who signed a big money deal for Kyojin and delivered mediocre…

Super Rookie Yusei Kikuchi – Yukan Fuji

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