Tag: robert

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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…

National Anthem and Baseball – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2016) Have you ever tried to sing America’s national anthem? Oh say can you see,By the dawn’s early light,What so proudly we hailedBy the twilight’s last gleaming,And the rockets’ red glare,The bombs bursting in air— It is not an easy thing to do. The melody is difficult. It is too long. And…

Okinawa Et Al, Revised – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2016) This column has nothing to do with baseball, or even sports, unless you consider protesting against the American presence in Japan as a sport. But it is a subject that needs to be addressed and written about. So here goes. The historic visit to Hiroshima by President Obama was a source…

Ichiko-YCAC 120th Anniversary – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2016) Do you know your baseball history? If you do, then you will know there is an important anniversary coming up—an anniversary of a historically important event in the history of baseball in Japan, and an anniversary of a historic event in the history of Japan-America relations as well. Don’t know? Well…

Kyojin “Gentlemen” Gamblers – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2016) After an extensive in-house “investigation” last year, 3 farm team players were found to have been involved in gambling on the Yomiuri Giants and banned from the game indefinitely. We were assured that was it—there was nobody else involved. Then, just recently, however, we discovered there was a fourth player who…

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…

Tie Games – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2014) I am not a big fan of tie games. They may be necessary in games like soccer where the nature of the sport makes it nearly impossible to score a goal. But in baseball, no thank you. Like most baseball fans in North America, I prefer games played all the way…

Soccer vs Baseball – Yukan Fuji

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By Robert Whiting (2014) Thoughts at the conclusion of the World Cup I don’t really like soccer. Now that the World Cup Tournament has finished and the frenzy has subsided, I feel free to tell you that I think there is something fundamentally off-putting about it. Every game seems the same: 90 minutes of endless…

A Little Advice – Yukan Fuji

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