WBC Preview: Japan

Until recently Japanese Baseball has been somewhat hostile toward the American game. The way I understand it the general idea of American baseball was reminiscent of Ty Cobb’s criticism of power hitters… their game—the bunt and the hit-and-run, the base advancing game—is dignified. They hit, we club, or something along those lines. When Hideo Nomo first came over he was widely criticized in Japan for the “selfish attitude” that prompted his move. It is easy to see how his dream of playing ball in America would be considered disrespectful to the Japanese organizations. Turns out Nomo’s success and popularity gave Americans a measured respect for the Japanese leagues. In turn, it also increased acceptance of the American style and set precedent for other pitchers and, eventually, position players to move to the U.S.

Coming into the WBC Japan has something to prove to baseball fans on this side of the pacific. One group—like 3^rd Baseman Iwamura—is setting out to prove that they personally can cut it in the American major leagues. These guys want to make their own trip to the states and see international play against MLB players as an opportunity to establish that their potential is not limited to a Japanese setting. Another chunk of players—like Nobuhiko Matsunaka, who missed a 2^nd consecutive Pacific League Triple Crown by a handful of batting average points last year— is setting out to prove that the game as it is played in Japan is as good as the one we know. These guys have no intention of moving and hope to use the Classic as a catalyst for an increased international respect for the Japanese Leagues.

I hope to see both groups succeed. The MLB stands to gain a lot from the inclusion of Japan’s best and, in turn, baseball as a whole would be better served if the Japanese leagues can build worldwide and widespread acceptance for themselves as Major Leagues. I don’t know, really, what to expect from these guys but, whether they win or lose, I expect to learn a lot from their games, especially in Round 2 when they are likely to meet the U.S. team.

Notable Players:

Ichiro Suzuki (OF) – Everyone is familiar with the Seattle outfielder who has amassed 1130 hits in five MLB seasons. It would be surprising if he doesn’t stand out as the team’s best position player.

Nobuhiko Matsunaka (DH/1B) – Probable cleanup hitter… won Pacific League triple crown in 2004 and missed a repeat by .007 batting average points… also led Pacific league in OBP 2005.

Pitchers – The staff is pretty strong in general. The team isn’t likely to lose much when the starting pitchers come out since many of the replacements—including Padres reliever Akinori Otsuka—have proven themselves to be equally capable.

Conspicuously Missing:

Hedeki Matsui – Would have been the 3^rd outfielder and 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th hitter. Instead the third OF will be hitting 7^th. This doesn’t necessarily expose a weakness in the lineup—they do have a couple of slugging hitters—but it does make them less well off than they otherwise might have been. Look to find out how much this really hurts them after the first round—if it is not much it will tell us a lot about the quality the Japanese Major Leagues.

Round 1 Schedule:

@ China, March 3, 4:30 am EST, ESPN 2
@ Chinese Taipei, March 4, 4:00 am EST, ESPN 2
v. Korea, March 5, 4:00 am EST, ESPN 2