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Ichiro Homecoming for All Star Series?

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Ichiro Homecoming for All Star Series?
Just curious if there was an all star series last year and if Ichiro played on the MLB team? If not, then I would assume that there would be a lot of hoopla in the Japanese media since it will be Ichiro's first return to play in Japan.
Comments
Re: Ichiro Homecoming for All Star Series?
[ Author: CFiJ | Posted: Nov 6, 2002 1:05 PM ]

> Just curious if there was an all star series last
> year and if Ichiro played on the MLB team? If not,
> then I would assume that there would be a lot of
> hoopla in the Japanese media since it will be
> Ichiro's first return to play in Japan.

The MLB-NPB All-Star Series are biennial; they play every two years. So there was no series last year. In 2000 there was a series, but Ichiro was recovering from an injury, so he didn't play.
Re: Ichiro Homecoming for All Star Series?
[ Author: Guest: keen_observer | Posted: Nov 6, 2002 9:00 PM ]

Actually, I am pretty sure that the Nichi-Bei Series is annual. The only reason that the NPB-MLB all-stars didn't play last year was due to a cancellation caused by the terrorist attack. Either that, or the series wasn't planned at all because of the attack. In either case, the series was cancelled because of 9/11.
Re: Ichiro Homecoming for All Star Series?
[ Author: CFiJ | Posted: Nov 6, 2002 11:13 PM ]

> Actually, I am pretty sure that the Nichi-Bei Series
> is annual. The only reason that the NPB-MLB
> all-stars didn't play last year was due to a
> cancellation caused by the terrorist attack. Either
> that, or the series wasn't planned at all because of
> the attack. In either case, the series was cancelled
> because of 9/11.

Uh, no. It's biennial. They started playing the series regularly in 1984. Since then, they played in 1984, 86, 88, 90, 92, 96, 98, 2000, and now 2002. The only time it was canceled was in 1994 because of the player strike. There was no series planned in 2001 for 9/11 to cancel.
Re: Ichiro Homecoming for All Star Series?
[ Author: 1908 | Posted: Nov 7, 2002 12:02 AM | HT Fan ]

No, CFiJ is correct; the series is played every two years -- 1998, 2000, 2002, etc. There was talk of MLB opening its season in Japan again this year, but that idea was dropped due to 9/11 security concerns.
Re: Ichiro Homecoming for All Star Series?
[ Author: Guest: wizards23 | Posted: Nov 7, 2002 11:00 AM ]

OK, so I guess this is Ichiro's fist time back to Japan? Is this a big event for him? Is the Japanese media hyping it up? I can only imagine what its going to be like for him.
Re: Ichiro Homecoming for All Star Series?
[ Author: Guest: Mariner Fan | Posted: Nov 7, 2002 6:40 PM ]

He's actually getting overshadowed somewhat by the Godzilla news. Most of the players are getting asked about Matsui, including Ichiro. The Yankee players are already probably sick of talking about Godzilla.
Hype over Matsui, not Ichiro
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Nov 7, 2002 7:33 PM | YBS Fan ]

Actually, there's been very little about Ichiro in the press. But since the end of the Nippon Series, Nikkan Sports has featured Matsui on the front page every day, plus pages 2 through 3 up until today, with mentions of him on pages 4 and 5 often.

Hype about Ichiro? Not much. In fact, he and the MLB took a back seat to NPB by the press all year this year.

Hype about Godzilla going to the Yankees? A great deal! A lot like this and other Stove League sites lately.
Re: Hype over Matsui, not Ichiro
[ Author: PhillyLee | Posted: Nov 8, 2002 7:01 AM ]

As a baseball fan that goes back to the days when the A's were in Philadelphia, and presently a diehard Mariner fan, I believe that all of the hoopla over Matsui is going to push Ichiro to have another outstanding year in 2003. MLB pitchers made a little adjustment to Ichiro this past year and he still did well. Infielders shortened up a step or two on him. It is Ichiro's turn to adjust and he will. He will put up some outstanding numbers next year.
Re: Hype over Matsui, not Ichiro
[ Author: Guest: Gary Garland | Posted: Nov 8, 2002 8:20 PM ]

I noticed at a party at a hotel in Tokyo celebrating the NPB-MLB series, Tsuneo Watanabe and a couple of the other owners buttonholed Ichiro and basically debriefed him for about 40 minutes on life in the majors and living in America. Watanabe also asked Ichiro to help Matsui sort out adjusting to the U.S.

As for the series that was supposed to take place in Japan but was cancelled due to labor strife in MLB, that would have seen Seattle taking on Chicago at the beginning of this past season.
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