Category Archives: Asian Issues

Great reading on Bobby Valentine, by Robert Whiting

By daigo | Published: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
“You gotta have Wa” author Robert Whiting has just concluded crazy 4-part series about how once-super-popular Bobby Valentine was almost jettisoned from Chiba Lotte Marines, on Japan Times online. Part 1: Clandestine campaign led to Valentine’s demise Part 2: Valentine’s philosophy brought Marines glory, money Part 3: Resentment of Valentine’s power factored in downfall Part 4: History, tradition [...]
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How will Japanese players fare in 2010, according to the Bill James Handbook

By daigo | Published: Friday, February 5, 2010
I was inspired by Boston Globe’s Chad Finn’s posting on Extra Bases blog called Some interesting numbers via Bill James , and decided to look up what the projections of Japanese players for the year 2010 from the 2010 edition of the Bill James Handbook. According to James and his company, Ichiro will make History [...]
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Japanese pitchers and uniform number 18

By daigo | Published: Thursday, January 14, 2010
Blog called Mets by the numbers had a kind of interesting post about significance of uniform numbers in Japanese culture: Why Igarashi Was Issued No. 18, following the news that Mets’ new reliever, Ryota Igarashi, picked the uniform number of 18 this year. Of course, our man Daisuke Matsuzaka wears number 18 for the Boston [...]
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Translating Japanese (or any other language, for that matter) is hard.

By daigo | Published: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Whoa. I thought, by translating Daisuke Matsuzaka interview on the Magazine Friday, I was passing on a good news (Matsuzaka admits his wrong doing last year and will come back in 2010 with something to prove). But it turns out that it was first time the club lerned about the injury (yikes), and he may [...]
Also posted in Baseball, Softball, and Judo, Culture, News and Politics | 1 Comment

Daisuke Matsuzaka’s confession, translated.

By daigo | Published: Saturday, January 9, 2010
Daisuke Matsuzaka talked to the Japanese entertainment news and gossip weekly magazine “FRIDAY” in Japan. He talked about his difficult season and revealed that he actually hurt his right inner thigh before joining Japanese team for World Baseball Classic (which he was awarded his second MVP for winning all three games he started). It is [...]
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Hideki Matsui in “red”

By daigo | Published: Saturday, December 19, 2009
One of the biggest news in Japanese baseball front in this MLB hot stove season is that Hideki Matsui left the New York Yankees and signed with Los Angeles Angels. Seeing him wear Angels uniform for the first time was as strange as when I saw Nomar Garciaparra in Cubs uniform for the first [...]
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Translation of curious Hideki Matsui story in Sankei Sports

By daigo | Published: Sunday, October 18, 2009
There is a story about free agent outfielder/designated hitter Hideki Matsui possibly targeted by the Boston Red Sox that ran in Sankei Sports in October 16th, 2009. Per request, I have translated it here. original story can be found here (broken link). “Red Sox targets Hideki Matsui as replacement for Bay” It is become known that Red [...]
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Japanese-Americans (Nisei and Sansei, Yonsei and Happa) playing (or played) in the Major League Baseball

By daigo | Published: Sunday, September 6, 2009
I’ve been collecting information off- and on-line about baseball players who made it to the Majors of Japanese ancestry background. It has been tough because there is no record for of half- or quarter- Japanese, but it has been a very interesting process. Recently at a convention, I met very knowledgeable sports reporter from Honolulu [...]
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Japan-Jewish connection?

By daigo | Published: Saturday, November 17, 2007
This is just too absolutely interesting… and too strange! Are the Japanese actually Jewish? Nippon TV’s “Mino Monta’s Japanese Mystery” show had this very interesting (aside from the sensationalism) theory that the “Japan’s roots may be in the lost Israeli clan and the lost ark of the Covenant, that once held the 10 Commandments, (of [...]
Also posted in Culture, News and Politics | 2 Comments

All look same… again…

By daigo | Published: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
So, big news is that Kosuke Fukudome, a stud outfielder/slugger of Chunichi Dragons -my home town team- just filed for free agency. Losing star player is a sad news for my home town team. He has said to be hired San Diego-based Octagon Baseball as his agent and looking to come across the [...]
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