Ex-Carp pitchers Ono, Sotokoba elected into Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

For the second straight season, the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame was left seeing red.

The Hall opened its doors to three more players this year, chief among them former Hiroshima Carp pitchers Yutaka Ono and Yoshiro Sotokoba, who joined former high school standout Kazuo Fukushima as the newest members of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced on Friday.

Ono was selected by the Players Selection Committee, garnering 273 votes, comfortably above the 75 percent threshold (243 votes) he needed for induction.

"I'm so pleased, but at the same time overwhelmed," Ono said at a news conference at the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, which is located at Tokyo Dome. "Looking back, I joined the Hiroshima Toyo Carp as a test player and went through so many things, and now this day has come. I'm extremely pleased."

Sotokoba was chosen from the Expert Division, collecting exactly the 29 votes he needed, while Fukushima was selected from the Special Selection Committee and received 13 votes, two more than he needed for induction.

Among those missing out in the Players Selection Committee vote were former Seibu Lions and Daiei Hawks outfielder Koji Akiyama, who received 235 votes and former Yokohama BayStars and Seattle Mariners reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki, who received 230. Yakult Swallows catching great Atsuya Furuta garnered 147 votes in his first year on the ballot.

Ono pitched for the Carp for 22 seasons, ending his career with a 148-100 record to go along with 138 saves. The left-hander finished his career with a 2.90 ERA and 1,733 strikeouts, was a 10-time All-Star and won the Sawamura Award in 1988, when he went 13-7 with a 1.70 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 183 strikeouts over 185 innings. Ono's 13 wins that season remain the fewest by a Sawamura winner.

He played alongside Sachio Kinugasa and Koji Yamamoto during the golden age of the Hiroshima franchise, and helped guide the Akaheru (red helmets) to five Central League pennants and Japan Series victories in 1979, '80 and '84.

"Mr. (Takeshi) Koba, who was the manager at that time, Koji Yamamoto and Sotokoba, my senior teammates who are actually here today, the rest of my teammates, and the ballclub supported me really well, and I have so much appreciation for them." Ono said. "As I got the nod today, I would like to work harder and contribute to baseball even more."

The first three years of the 57-year-old Ono's career overlapped with the final chapter of Sokotoba's tenure with the team.

Sotokoba was 131-138 in 20 years with the Carp and was named to six All-Star teams in addition to being the 1975 Sawamura Award winner. The righty finished his career with a 2.88 ERA and 1,678 strikeouts over 2,419 1/3 innings.

"I never thought I would be inducted into the Hall of Fame," Sotokoba said. "So I'm extremely surprised. I've been involved in baseball for a long time and I want to reiterate that it was really great to have played for the Hiroshima Carp."

Sotokoba recorded his first professional victory by throwing a no-hitter against the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium on Oct. 2, 1965. Nearly three years later, Sotokoba struck out an NPB record 16 batters while tossing a perfect game against the Taiyo Whales on Sept. 14, 1968. He threw his third and final no-hitter against the Yomiuri Giants on April, 4, 1972.

Sotokoba's standout season came in 1975, when he made 40 starts and had a 20-13 record with a 2.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 193 strikeouts and was an All-Star as well as a CL Best Nine selection.

"Although what I can do may be limited, I'd like to continue to contribute to baseball and its development for as long as I physically can," the 67-year-old Sotokoba said.

The selection of Ono and Sotokoba marks the second consecutive year a pair of players who spent their entire careers with the Carp were chosen for induction at the same time. Former Hiroshima pitchers Manabu Kitabeppu and Tsunemi Tsuda were inducted in 2012.

Overall 18 Carp have been elected to the Hall of Fame, including Tetsujin Kinugasa (1996), former holder of the world's consecutive games streak (2,215), and Yamamoto (2008), Mr. Akaheru himself and Japan's current World Baseball Classic manager.

"Last year it was Kitabeppu and Tsuda, and this year Sotokoba and Ono, "Yamamoto said. "Two years in a row, players from the Hiroshima Carp have been inducted. So it feels like there is a strong wind behind the team. "Obviously I'm from this team, so hopefully that helps us win the WBC."

Fukushima, who rounds out the class, was a high school pitcher for Fukuoka's Kokura Junior High, which has since been remained Kokura High School and led the school to summer National High School Baseball Tournament titles in 1947 and 1948.

Staff writer Kaz Nagatsuka contributed to this report.

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Granderson sharing passion for baseball on tour of Asia

Curtis Granderson doesn't have to be here. He's got money; he's got fame; he's been an MLB All-Star three times; and, well, he's a New York Yankee.

Class personified: Curtis Granderson, the center fielder for the New York Yankees, speaks to The Japan Times during an exclusive interview on Thursday in Tokyo. YOSHIAKI MIURA

So he would have been forgiven for staying home, relaxing, and nursing the bumps and bruises one accrues over the course of a 162-game season (plus New York's nine playoff games).

Except that Granderson is sitting on the edge of his seat, hands clasped neatly in his lap and dressed in a stylish suit, as he waits for his ride to Waseda University — where he'll participate in a panel discussion — in the lobby of a Tokyo hotel.

Taking time out of his offseason, Granderson is in Japan as an MLB International Ambassador in order to promote and grow the game of baseball.

"It's great getting a chance to represent the game I've grown up playing and been making a career out of," Granderson said Thursday. "Obviously in places like Japan, where the game has a very rich tradition, the main focus is the promotion of it, not the growing of it.

"In other parts of the world it's the growing, like throughout Europe, South Africa, China and New Zealand. You can see these are countries where it's getting bigger."

Granderson spent three days holding clinics and making appearances in Korea before arriving in Japan, so he's been too busy to be overly concerned with rumors that the Yankees have been entertaining the thought of trading him.

"Rumors are rumors," Granderson said. "Until it actually happens, we can't deal with it until that point comes. You'll mentally exhaust yourself worrying about the what ifs and the possibilities."

ESPN's Buster Olney raised the possibility last week that the Yankees may attempt to move Granderson.

The New York Daily News, in a story appearing on its website Tuesday, cited sources saying the team had been shopping Granderson around since November in a bid to slash payroll. The 31-year-old will be in the final year of his contract and slated to make $15 million in 2013.

"You can only control the things you can," he said. "Ever since my first full season up in 2006, I've always been on the trading block. There were rumors of me going to Atlanta back then; to the Cubs after that; to the Yankees, where I finally did end up. I'm sure this won't be the last time that I would be rumored to be in trades."

Granderson's focus at the moment is his work with the MLB. He's scheduled to spend eight days in Japan making appearances and is excited about his first visit to the country.

"First thing is to just enjoy the culture," Granderson said. "Obviously I'm going to use the tour for myself to enjoy and experience (Japan).

"Also when I'm talking to kids, there's a lot that I'm picking up. How they go about their training and their regimen to get themselves prepared, their mental states, their physical states, and comparing my body to theirs. I let them know that I'm not that much taller than them, I'm not much bigger than them, and they can get a chance to look up and say, 'Hey, he's doing it. He's not much bigger than me. I can do it.' "

Granderson was scheduled to speak during the ceremony for the re-opening of Ishinomaki Municipal Baseball Stadium on Sunday, which was damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

He'll also hold a baseball clinic in the area then later conduct another for the Girls Professional Baseball League in Kyoto.

He'll also visit Okinawa, making stops at Konan High School — which won the National High School Invitational Tournament in the spring of 2010 and the National High School Baseball Championship that summer to become the first school to win both since Daisuke Matsuzaka and Yokohama High School in 1998 — and Okinawa Shogakuin High School.

Granderson will pass on some of his baseball knowledge, but above all wants the experience to be fun.

"Everything I'll talk about and do will always have a fun element to it," he said. "We're going to be competitive, we're going to laugh, we're going to joke around out there and enjoy that part of it. Because that's what the game is, it's fun."

Something that might also be of interest as he tours Japan is the experience of playing with Ichiro Suzuki.

The pair became teammates July 23, when Ichiro was traded to the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners — oddly enough while the Yankees were in Seattle to face the Mariners — offering Granderson a glimpse into the mind of the enigmatic Japanese star.

"The first thing I noticed was how detailed his pattern and routine was," Granderson said. "Once he gets to the stadium, he starts this, then he moves on to that. Then he eats, and then we go out to the field to practice. Then he goes back to this, and he gets ready to play.

Seeing the big picture: Curtis Granderson, who hit 43 home runs for the Yankees last season, has traveled the world as an MLB International Ambassador the past several years. AP

"The one thing that I probably didn't expect was how loose and relaxed and funny he was. You never hear about that side, but it was amazing. He's a funny guy."

Granderson is no stranger to the MLB International Ambassador system, having first served in 2006, when he visited England, Italy, and the Netherlands. He's also toured South Africa and was one of the first MLB players to help promote the game in China.

"I didn't know this title of ambassador was going to get put on me," Granderson says. "I was enjoying going to other parts of the world and promoting the game. I jumped at the opportunity. From 2006 to now, it was just, 'Let me know where you want me to go.' "

He's done the same on the homefront through his Grand Kids Foundation, which was founded in 2007 with the purpose of "improving the educational experience for youth nationwide as well as helping to re-establish baseball opportunities for inner city youths."

The fact he's gained so much through baseball makes it easy for Granderson to want to give back.

"It's opened a bunch of doors for me," he said of his life in baseball. "It's provided financial support for me to get my college degree and become one of 38 players in Major League Baseball with a degree. That in turn has given me the opportunity to promote education and baseball. To show the two can go hand-in-hand, as opposed to the myth that you have to focus on one.

"In certain parts of the world, education is No. 1, which it should be, but you can balance the two. I was an honor student both in high school and in college (Illinois-Chicago) and also was able to excel in baseball. That's given me the opportunity to meet great friends all over the world, travel all over the world, and just learn a lot about myself. Like the fact I can have things in my sights, actually accomplish them and then set the bar higher and higher."

CHICAGO — After watching Hideo Nomo, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Ichiro Suzuki, Kyuji Fujikawa determined he's ready for the major leagues.

"When I was still a student, I saw Nomo made it to the United States, and that was a big factor for me," Fujikawa said through a translator Friday after finalizing a $9.5 million, two-year contract with the Chicago Cubs.

"Also, Matsuzaka, who is the same age as I am, struggled a little bit, but his challenge really gave me the motivation to come over here, as well as Ichiro challenge to the major leagues, that motivated me to come over."

The 32-year-old right-hander had 220 saves in 12 seasons with the Hanshin Tigers. He played for Japan at the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.

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Kishi gives Takeda a lesson in playoff baseball

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — Shota Takeda has all kinds of talent. At the tender age of 19, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks right-hander made 11 starts this season, winning eight and finishing the year with a 1.08 ERA.

Hear me roar: Former Japan Series MVP Takayuki Kishi helped the Lions avoid elimination on Sunday. KYODO

It could probably be said that Takeda has more raw talent than the Seibu Lions' Takayuki Kishi, the pitcher he opposed on Sunday at Seibu Dome. Kishi, however, is a veteran of six seasons and a former Japan Series MVP.

Talent can take you many places, but sometimes winning comes with experience.

The prodigious talent Takeda failed badly in his first postseason appearance, giving up five runs — four earned — and lasting just 2 1/3 innings in the Hawks' 8-0 loss to the Lions in Game 2 of the Pacific League Climax Series first stage.

"He's in his first year out of high school and doesn't have experience on a big stage like this," Lions shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima said. "I think that affected him."

Takeda, the first rookie to start a Climax Series game after being drafted out of high school, walked three batters in the third inning, which in turn helped lead to a seven-run Seibu outburst that Hawks wouldn't recover from.

"Our batters tried to study his pitches, draw walks, and put pressure on him," Lions manager Hisanobu Watanabe said. "Takeda is a young pitcher, and we got to him nicely."

Kishi, on the other hand, got himself in trouble early, but was able to work through it.

He gave up a one-out double to Yuya Hasegawa and a single to Seiichi Uchikawa to put runners on first and third in the opening frame. He threw three balls to cleanup hitter Wily Mo Pena before finally retiring him and struck out Nobuhiro Matsuda to end the inning.

"We were in a pinch in the first, but Kishi was patient and managed to get out of it," Watanabe said. "It was big that we didn't give up a run there.

"When our starting pitchers allow opponents to get on the board first, we have a higher tendency to lose, so it was really huge."

Kishi was given a big lead to work with after the Lions put up seven in the third, but worked hard to maintain his focus.

"I was a little relieved," he said of the run support, "but tried to stay balanced and and focus on what I needed to do on the mound. The thing is, no matter how big of a lead you get, you don't want to give up any runs."

Growing pains: Hawks rookie Shota Takeda had a roughing outing in his first postseason start. KYODO

That may have been the difference between the two starters on Sunday. Takeda burst out of the gates, all smiles and bluster, and got off to a good start. He couldn't maintain that pace and once things went south, he couldn't stop his outing from falling apart.

Kishi on the other hand, kept his cool, relied on his experience, and paced himself from the beginning.

He wasn't fazed when he got into trouble, even though he had reason to be. Kishi had finished 1-3 with a 3.18 ERA in five starts against Softbank during the regular season, and was coming off a dismal September that saw him go 0-3 with a 3.21 ERA in five starts.

"Today's not the last game we play, but I'm relieved I could give us a chance to win," Kishi said afterward.

Once he'd pitched his way into trouble, there was no panic. Kishi simply made the pitches he needed to make and reaped the rewards when his offense gave him a big lead.

For all his talent, Takeda didn't have what it took to overcome adversity in the biggest game of his young career. Kishi gave him a crash course on how to win in October, and because of that, the Lions will live on to roar another day.

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Niigata doesn't appear ready for pro baseball franchise

Two years ago, I wrote a column about how I thought the city of Niigata appeared ready to support a Japanese baseball franchise team, should there ever be another expansion (as in the case of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2004) or if an existing Central or Pacific League club decided to move. Now, I am not so sure.

I went there again earlier this month to watch the Tokyo Yakult Swallows host (they were the "home" team) the Yomiuri Giants and found the atmosphere a little disappointing. It was Sunday, Sept. 9, game time was 3 p.m., the weather was good, and I was expecting a crowd of at least 30,000 at Hard-Off Eco Stadium.

However, the paid attendance was later reported as only 17,966 for that important CL contest between the two Climax Series contenders, and it appeared as if there were not even that many spectators. The upper deck of the beautiful ballpark that opened three years ago was almost empty, and it seemed somewhat sad.

The attractions of the city and access to the stadium as reported in 2010, are still OK. There are lots of nice hotels, and it is just a little more than a two-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo to Niigata Station where convenient shuttle buses take fans to the game in 10 minutes.

However, there were fewer selections of food on sale at Hard-Off; no pizza, for example, as they had last time I was there. I somehow am getting the impression that perhaps Niigata was hoping to lure the Yokohama franchise which then-owner TBS Broadcasting had been trying to unload for several years before selling to Mobage-DeNA in 2011.

When it became apparent last December that team would remain in its home south of Tokyo, Niigata may have lost heart — and hope. The city, with its population of around 800,000, would still be a great place to put a pro baseball team, but the authorities should step up their efforts a bit.

Only five games were scheduled in Niigata this season, and the city's sports council would be wise to first of all get more teams to go there and play more games. It should also beef up the ballpark facilities, showcase the stadium and strive to promote pro baseball so as to increase attendance and interest.

Diamond Dust: There were at least nine scouts from six major league teams in attendance at the Sept. 14-16 series between the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers at Tokyo Dome. All were there to check out Hanshin closer Kyuji Fujikawa, about to become a free agent and said to be looking to jump to an American or National League team in 2013.

They also kept an eye on Tigers shortstop Takashi Toritani, another who can declare free agency following the season.

Seen were representatives from the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. They got to see Fujikawa come in to save the middle game of the series, but he was not all that impressive.

Fujikawa retired in order the three batters he faced on a routine outfield fly ball and two infield grounders, but he did not come close to striking out any hitters, his classic forkball was just so-so, and his fastball, clocked consistently at better than 150 kph five years ago, registered at a maximum speed of 144 kph that night.

What's worse, Fujikawa was de-registered three days later with what was described as a sore right adductor. He is likely done for the year, and this all points to the fact the guy's major league appeal has obviously gone way down.

From the (e-) mail bag: In response to last week's column about the Yokohama BayStars, Yokosuka fan Mike O'Donnell wrote: "What Yokohama needs are ballplayers who can catch. Our pitching staff is not bad. Our batting order could use some shuffling around to support our two decent power hitters. (Alex) Ramirez is a definite upgrade over (Shuichi) Murata, (who left as a free agent and signed with the Giants).

"But the reason we are in last place is our fielding. How many singles have our fielders allowed to become doubles, and how many ground balls have made it through our infield that should have been caught?"

Mike, it is obvious the BayStars, like the Hanshin Tigers, need a complete overhaul for 2013. Yokohama must solve its foreign player, hitting and pitching problems and, as you mention, the defense must also be tightened up.

Ron Scronce, a fan of Japanese baseball in North Carolina, wrote, "As you know, the Little League championships are a big deal for viewers of ESPN in the U.S. but, according to my wife, who is Japanese, there was virtually no news in Japan about the (Kitasuna) team's victory. How could that be?"

Ron, it seems as if the popularity of Japanese baseball ranges from high to not-so-high on alternating levels. The pros and high school teams are the most followed, whereas interest in the college, corporate teams and the Little Leaguers is not that hot.

However, the channels on Japan's J-SPORTS TV network have been showing Little League World Series games, including those (of course) played by the Japanese champion Kitasuna team.

Finally this week, an update on Alex Ramirez's pursuit of the career 2,000-hit mark this season. Through games of Thursday, the Yokohama outfielder and 12-year Japanese baseball veteran had 132 hits in 128 games played to that date. He needs 150 base knocks to reach 2,000, and his current pace is for 148.5 by the end of the season on Oct. 7.

Contact Wayne Graczyk at Wayne@JapanBall.com

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Japanese baseball union approves participation in 2013 WBC

After weeks of uncertainty, the Japanese Professional Baseball Players Association has decided to participate in next year's World Baseball Classic, it was revealed on Tuesday.

"We want to announce that the players from the 12 teams have decided to take back the non-participation resolution (passed on July 20) in order to participate in the WBC," said union president Takahiro Arai of the Hanshin Tigers at a press conference in Osaka prior to the team's game against the Yomiuri Giants.

The union's declaration seemingly paves the way for Japan to compete for a third consecutive title in next year's WBC. Nippon Professional Baseball had previously agreed to compete, but the union had resisted, until Tuesday.

"The fact that the JPBPA and NPB have apparently reached agreement is certainly a positive development. We look forward to receiving an official acceptance from NPB," MLB's vice president for Asia Jim Small, representing WBC Inc., said in an email to The Japan Times.

The decision to compete is a reversal from the stance the union took July 20, when its members voted to not compete in the tournament unless NPB secured the sponsorship rights for the team.

After meeting with tournament organizers, NPB officials revealed Japan in fact owned certain rights to sponsorship revenues stemming from the Samurai Japan team, likely a contributing factor in bringing the JPBPA on board.

"The reason we decided not to participate was not because the players were struggling," read a statement on the union's website. "We just wanted to have the rights normally given to a participant country at a regular international sporting event. Because of that, we wanted to obtain a more successful future for NPB and more of all for Japanese professional baseball."

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Larkin waits for call from baseball HOF

NEW YORK — Barry Larkin plans to play golf in Florida on Monday morning. Then he'll return to his home in the Orlando area and await the most prized telephone call in baseball.

Hall bound?: Former Cincinnati Reds great Barry Larkin will learn on Monday whether or not he'll be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. AP

He is the leading candidate to gain election to the Hall of Fame when voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America is announced.

"It's a shot of immortality. The best of the game in the history — in the history of the game," he said Thursday. "To be emblazoned into that history of the game is a tremendous honor."

A player needs at least 75 percent to gain election. A 12-time All-Star and the 1995 NL MVP, Larkin received 51.6 percent of the votes when he appeared on the ballot for the first time in 2010. His percentage increased to 62.1 percent last year, when he fell 75 votes short as Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were elected, and his chances figure to be helped by the lack of top newcomers.

"I certainly have some anxiety about it, but not really nervous. I have a great perspective on it," Larkin said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I had a chance to speak to Jim Rice, who got inducted on his 15th time, and he really put me at comfort and ease and said, 'You know, it's really out of our hands, and there's nothing we can really do about it. We don't campaign for it, and it is what it is.' "

Spending his entire major league career with the Cincinnati Reds from 1986-04, Larkin hit .295 with 198 home runs, 960 RBIs, 2,340 hits and 379 stolen bases. He won three Gold Gloves and the 1990 World Series.

He had hoped to return for a 20th season in 2005 at age 40, but retired after the Reds told him they didn't want him back.

"In 2005, I wasn't really sure if I was completely done playing. I still had that question," he said. "I don't have that anymore. I know it's the right move. It was the right decision. It was time to move on."

And because he retired then, he can join one of baseball's most select groups. Of the 206 former big leaguers selected for the Hall, just 47 spent their entire careers with a single major league team and only two with the Reds: Johnny Bench and Bid McPhee.

Larkin misses the camaraderie of spending 7? months a year with teammates but remains around ballparks. He broadcast for the MLB Network from 2009-10, then moved to ESPN last year. He's a spring training instructor for the Reds, and has gone to South Korea and Brazil as an envoy for Major League Baseball and the State Department.

"So I'm always on the field or talking about it," he said. "I still get an opportunity to go out there and take a ground ball off my chin every once in a while."

A day after the announcement, the Hall of Fame holds a news conference in New York for anyone voted in. Even if he failed to get the necessary percentage, Larkin will be in Manhattan, to help his 16-year-old daughter CymcoLe put together a music video. She performs what he says is a combination of R&B, hip-hop and pop, and they shot footage last week in a Florida aircraft hangar. They plan to get footage at Times Square and the Empire State Building.

That's taken precedence over focusing on his Hall chances.

"Everybody is so involved in launching my daughter's career and no one is sitting around and really thinking about it," he said.

NEW YORK — Catcher Jorge Posada is planning to retire after 17 seasons with the New York Yankee rather than pursue opportunities with other teams.

A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Saturday that the five-time All-Star catcher will announce his retirement this month.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been made public. Posada's plans were first reported by sports radio station WFAN.

The 40-year-old Posada won five World Series titles with the team that drafted him in the 24th round of the 1990 draft. He became a free agent after a trying season in New York, the final year of a four-year, $52 million contract.

Earlier this offseason, Posada acknowledged that his career with the Yankees was over, but said he had offers from several other teams.

Posada's retirement leaves shortstop Derek Jeter and closer Mariano Rivera as the two remaining players from the core group that led the Yankees to four World Series championships from 1996-2000 and one more in '09. Andy Pettitte retired after the 2010 season.

Only Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra have caught more games in pinstripes than Posada (1,574).

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Japanese baseball finally ready to get season under way

A patch with those words will be worn on the sleeve of every member of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles this year while the rest of the NPB will wear a patch that reads, "Gambaro Nippon," subtle reminders of the important things in life.

Professional baseball returns Tuesday, poised to follow the example set by the high schoolers at the National High School Invitational Tournament at Koshien Stadium last month and provide a distraction while restoring a small bit of normalcy to the nation.

NPB teams have been mostly out of sight recently, playing practice games in empty stadiums and venturing into the public eye only for 12 charity games April 2-3.

Tuesday marks an Opening Day that was supposed to have happened 18 days ago, before real life intervened.

The devastation of March 11 won't soon be forgotten, but the Eagles are hoping to give their battered region something to feel good about.

They'll likely be the sentimental choice of many as they try to follow in the footsteps of the 1995 Orix BlueWave.

The BlueWave that season were led by a sweet-swinging star named Ichiro Suzuki and helped galvanize the Kansai region after the Great Hanshin Earthquake with a triumphant march to the Pacific League pennant.

Eagles manager Senichi Hoshino has a pair of aces in his hand in Hisashi Iwakuma and Masahiro Tanaka. His lineup got an injection of fresh blood over the winter in Kazuo Matsui and Akinori Iwamura, who return to Japan after lengthy MLB sojourns that saw both play in the World Series.

The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks look more equipped to win the PL title, having beefed up their lineup with Seiichi Uchikawa and Alex Cabrera to match a pitching staff led by reigning PL MVP Tsuyoshi Wada and Toshiya Sugiuchi.

Yu Darvish and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters should also make their presence felt while the defending Japan Series champion Chiba Lotte Marines will try to work their way into the mix.

In the Central League, the triumvirate of the Chunichi Dragons, Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants are expected to battle it out for supremacy.

All three have question marks, however, and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows will be waiting to take advantage of any missteps to claim a spot in the Climax Series, if not the outright pennant, for themselves.

The NPB made the right call in delaying the season, but it's important the game returns.

Baseball is ingrained into the fabric of Japan and touches many parts of the nation's culture and psyche.

Still, compared to relief efforts, determining the Japan Series winner isn't really that important.

The important thing is going to be the journey to that point, during which the sport can do its part to help the country heal through fundraising or just by giving people something to smile about.

Because in the end, a small patch on every sleeve, will signify more than the banner the eventual Japan Series champions unfurl in November.

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