MLB All-Stars to Japan in November

The luster of Major League Baseball has worn off due to Japanese and other Asian players becoming so commonplace in MLB. This is combined with Japan's performance in thw WBC.

Nippon Pro Baseball seems focused on the Konami Cup Asia Series 2006. The second annual event will again pit the champions of the NPB, Korean Baseball Organization, Taiwan's Chinese Baseball Organization, and the China Baseball Association All-Stars in a round-robin series from November 9th through 12th. The official site is http://asia.npb.or.jp/en/index.html

Yeah, it's lost the lustre somewhat, I wonder whether the MLB all stars should cut back on the number of NPB games and play a few games in Korea and Taiwan instead.

I agree with everyone else. With the emergence of the WBC and what Japan, as well as Cuba and Korea proved, the nichei bei series is more like a sideshow to the real show which is the World Baseball Classic.

Its like the futures game that features a world team and a USA team, only its the NPB versus the World (and some Japanese Major Leaguers). Nevertheless, all it is at this point is a precursor to the main event.

I still think it's a good idea. The WBC might be the biggest thing in international baseball, but it shouldn't be the only thing.

Other sports provide good examples. Just because there is a soccer world cup doesn't mean soccer abandons all other international competition. The pinnacle of athletics is the Olympics, but athletes seek international exposure for the entire four years in between. Tennis has its Davis Cup, but players don't play exclusively in their own national leagues outside of that; they play in the US, French and Australian Opens, Wimbledon and a whole season-full of lower-tier competitions.

So the NPB-MLB season-enders aren't the WBC. So what? They're still a good idea because they give the various countries a fair idea of what they'll be up against in terms of overall level and, in some cases, individual talent. Plus, they're a good opportunity for fans of all domestic clubs to rally behind a single team.