Ichiro was traded to the Yankees

I’m not a big baseball fan but I have written a few baseball related posts…including two about Ichiro Suzuki.
( Click here to read the post I wrote about Ichiro playing baseball in Japan against Japan…and click here to read my post about Ichiro and the rest of the “Samurai Japan” team).

Even to someone (like me) who isn’t a baseball fan, it’s well-known that Ichiro was a member of the Seattle Mariners MLB team…but that’s no more.

Ichiro was just traded to the New York Yankees.

(Picture from the New York Yankees website).

And, in a bit of ironic fate, his first game as a player for the Yankees is today…against his former team, the Mariners!

Ichiro played for America in game against Japan in Tokyo

The American Major League Baseball (MLB) teams Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics (A’s) are here in Tokyo, Japan now to play a total of six pre-season games at the Tokyo Dome.

They’re scheduled to play two games against each other on 2012 March 28th and 29th.

But before those games, the two American teams will play games against the Japanese baseball teams the Tokyo Giants and the (Osaka) Hanshin Tigers.

Today the Seattle Mariners played the Hanshin Tigers and lost.

Ichiro (Suzuki) and the Seattle Mariners lost to the Hanshin Tigers in the Tokyo Dome today.

And then, after that game, the Oakland A’s played the Tokyo Giants and won.

This was third-generation Japanese, Ken Suzuki's (of the Oakland A's) first trip to Japan.
The A's beat the Tokyo Giants in today's game.

Tomorrow, the two Japanese teams and the two American teams will change opponents (it will be Oakland A’s vs Hanshin Tigers and then the Seattle Mariners vs Tokyo Giants).

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(Images in this post are from SeattlePi.com, VancouverSun.com, and 読売新聞.co.jp).

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Godzilla will move to California

I just heard on TV today that the Japanese baseball player Hideki Matsui, who was recently chosen as the New York Yankees MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the World Series game that they just played not long ago, will be changing teams after playing for the Yankees for six years.

Once the 2010 professional baseball season starts, Matsui will begin his one year contract playing for the Los Angeles Angels baseball team…and will earn US $6.5 million (about JPY ¥583 million).

Hideki Matsui started his professional baseball career playing for the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants baseball team from 1993 -2002.

He was given the nickname “Godzilla“…originally because of his bad skin complexion, but later it referred to his powerful batting.

Tokyo Giants

In 2003, he began playing for the New York Yankees of the Major League Baseball (MLB) in America.

Even in America, he was still called “Godzilla“…and he still batted powerfully!

Godzilla demolished his bat!

I guess New York Yankees fans are disappointed to see him leave for Los Angeles…possibly the same way Tokyo Giants fans felt when he left to play in America six years ago.

侍JAPAN

Japan’s national 野球 (baseball) team is called 「侍JAPAN」 (“Samurai Japan“).

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) series began in 2006. There have been only two WBC series so far…the one in 2006, and the second one went from March 5, 2009 and ended today.
(Click here to read my earlier post about the World Baseball Classic (WBC)).

The champions of the WBC 2006 series was 「侍JAPAN」 (“Samurai Japan“)…and Japan defended their title today.

"Ichiro" Suzuki of the 「侍JAPAN」 ("Samurai Japan") team.

On March 21st, the semi-finals of the WBC ’09 began with four teams:
Japan, Korea, USA and Venezuela.
On March 21, Korea played Venezuela and won with a score of 10-2…eliminating Venezuela.
On March 22, Japan played the USA and won with a score of 9-4…eliminating America (USA).

The final game of the WBC 2009 today was Japan vs Korea…and Japan won with a final score of 5-3.
At the end of the ninth inning, Korea scored a point which brought the score up to 3-3…so the game went into “extra innings”. In the tenth inning, Japan got two more points to win the series!

「侍JAPAN」 (“Samurai Japan“) are the world baseball champion team.

(Did you watch any of the games?)

World Baseball Classic ’09

Do you know what the World Baseball Classic is?

World Baseball Classic logo

It’s a new international baseball competition. Like soccer’s World Cup.

The World Baseball Classic 2009 started today.
This is only the second time that the World Baseball Classic occurred.
The World Baseball Classic 2006 was the first and only other time this competition took place so far.

Japan was the champion team of the World Baseball Classic 2006 games.

The first game of the World Baseball Classic 2009 was Japan vs China. This game took place this afternoon (Japan time) at the Tokyo Dome.

Japan beat China with a final score of 4-0.
The next game will be Korea vs Taipei, also at the Tokyo Dome. Japan will face the winning team of that game on March 7th (again at the Tokyo Dome).

At the Tokyo Dome

The Japan team has high hopes of winning the World Baseball Classic again.

The host cities for the World Baseball Classic ’09 are Tokyo, Japan; Mexico City, Mexico; Toronto, Canada; San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Diego, USA; Miami, USA; and Los Angeles, USA.

The countries that have teams competing are: Japan (with Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka on the team), South Korea, China, Taipei, Australia, Canada, USA, Mexico, Dominican Republic (with Alex Rodriguez on the team), Cuba, Italy, The Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and South Africa.

The World Baseball Classic 2009 will go from today’s game that Japan won until the final in Los Angeles on March 23, 2009.

Do you like baseball?
Are you following the World Baseball Classic? Which team are you supporting?
Did you watch the Japan vs China game today? If so, did you watch it on TV…or were you at the Tokyo Dome?

By the way, if you wanna visit the official World Baseball Classic homepage…then, click here.

Japan-related news…

Did you hear these news stories? What do you think?

• Hillary Clinton, the current U.S. Secretary Of State is currently in Tokyo on her first official overseas trip for her new position.
  It’s the first time a U.S. Secretary Of State begin a overseas tour in Asia.
• Japanese baseball players Ichiro, Daisuke Matsuzaka and other Japanese baseball players are back in Japan from America to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.
  The Japan team will play China in the first game of the tournament on March 5 at the Tokyo Dome. The final game is scheduled for March 23 in Los Angeles, USA.
• The Japanese Finance Minister, Shoichi Nakagawa, gave a press conference last weekend at a G-7 meeting in Rome, Italy last weekend…while he was drunk!
  He resigned his position today.
  Here’s a video of his embarrassing act:

  (Not that it excuses his behavior. But it seems that Nakagawa-san wasn’t the first politician to give a drunken speech at a G-7 conference…politicians from other countries have done the same. Kinda makes me wonder how productive G-7 meetings are!)