Tag: valentine
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NPB players in need of strong union like MLBPA
by Robert Whiting (Apr 14, 2007) — Last of four parts Last of four-parts. Another reason why a merger is unlikely to manifest itself is Major League Baseball’s new interest in China, where the Yankees may play Opening Day in 2008. That country’s huge untapped market and the apparent willingness of Chinese officials to cooperate…
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NPB needs major reform, vision to prosper like MLB
by Robert Whiting (Apr 13, 2007) — Third of four parts This is the third installment in a four-part series. Nippon Pro Baseball’s fragmented structure is a system that worked for a long time. Like the Liberal Democratic Party and the Yamaguchi-gumi, it suited the postwar economy. Now, however, with tighter economic conditions and new…
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Foreign managers change face of Japanese game
by Robert Whiting (Apr 12, 2007) — Second of four parts This is the second installment in a four-part series. The game is changing on both sides of the Pacific, as it becomes more globalized. Roughly one-quarter of the players are Latino now, as the teams have stepped up their international recruiting. Japanese players, too,…
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History, tradition helped to undermine Valentine
by Robert Whiting (Feb 7, 2010) It was not exactly clear what Chiba Lotte Marines president Ryuzo Setoyama’s motives were, whether he was so frustrated that he really did intend to quit, or whether his threat to resign in 2008 was just a ploy to get skipper Bobby Valentine to leave and save the team…
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Valentine’s philosophy brought Marines glory, money
by Robert Whiting (Jan 24, 2010) Second in a four-part series Bobby Valentine was born and raised in Connecticut and was chosen one of the most outstanding high school athletes in the history of the state, in a survey by Sports Illustrated. He was recruited by the University of Southern California, whose football coach expected…
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Clandestine campaign led to Valentine’s demise
by Robert Whiting (Jan 17, 2010) [Part 1 of 4] It was just about the time that Chiba Lotte Marines acting owner Akio Shigemitsu declared that Bobby Valentine could run his team “for life” that things began to go sour. Until then, the former Texas Rangers and New York Mets manager had been riding a…
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Resentment of Valentine’s power factored in downfall
by Robert Whiting (Jan 31, 2010) There are many reasons why Bobby Valentine lost favor with the Chiba Lotte Marines organization. It wasn’t just his prohibitive salary ($5 million per year). In contrast to the foreign media covering Valentine in Japan, who liked to portray Valentine as a victim of heartless corporate executives, Japanese reporters…
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Lost in Translation (II) – Sports Illustrated original magazine scan
6 June 2005 The image below can be enlarged by clicking it.
