ballparks, etc.

> Dear Commish,

I'm not the Commish, but I'm sure he'd be happy if I took a crack at some of your questions...

>I wonder if people in Japan feel that
> way. Are there books about, or artwork of, old
> Japanese ballparks? Does anyone regret the absence
> of Korakuen Stadium? Did anyone in Nagoya object to
> the replacement of the Dragons

- Dear Commish,

I'm not the "real" Commish either, but I act like it around here.

- I'm curious about the relationship between baseball fans in Japan and their ballparks, compared to that of North American fans.

As CFiJ-san said, other than Koshien, not really. Pretty much all of the teams had a rise in attendence their first year after moving into domed stadiums, including Chunichi who finished last in the first year in Nagoya Dome.

Meiji Jingu, home to the Swallows and Meiji University, also has a big following and long history.

- On my bookshelf I have at least five "coffee-table" type books filled with pictures and histories of American ballparks past and present.

There was a weekly series last year in Shukan Baseball (aka ShuBe) that featured stadiums, old and new. I remember one that was reduced to just its scoreboard and a couple of sections of stands.

- Are there books about, or artwork of, old Japanese ballparks?

Other than the series in ShuBe, none that I've seen. But then, I don't frequent the art section of the books store.

- Does anyone regret the absence of Korakuen Stadium?

Highly unlikely.

When you think of Japan's #1 industry, what do you think of? Cars? Home electronics? It is the construction industry. Contruction of everything from homes to high rises, brides and tunnels. The construction industry is so big that there are advertisements for things like power shovels in train stations and on commuter trains. What every day consumer would be interested in a power shovel?

Because the construction industry is so big, tearing down the old and building new is taken for granted. There are a few homes near where I live that are dedicated to renting to people who are rebuilding their homes. Is there any such market like that in the U.S.? Cars over 10 years old are very rare in Japan. Homes over 30 years old are increasingly disappearing. Why would anyone get sentimental over a stadium that's over 40 years old? There are a few who do, to be sure. But I think that most would prefer something new.

- Did anyone in Nagoya object to the replacement of the Dragons' stadium?

I think there were a hand full of fans who were resistant to the change, but as I said before, more fans turned out to the new dome even during the Dragons' worst season in a long time.

- All I've ever seen of Japanese ballparks other than the Tokyo Dome [...] They all, even the ones without roofs (except for Koshien), kind of look like the Skydome in Toronto [...]

Well, I'm not familiar with the Sky Dome, but the one thing that pretty much all stadiums have in common - especially the newer ones, is a semetric outfield fence, approx. 100 meters down the lines. The fences have been getting pretty tall as well. Does the Sky Dome fit that description?

- Also, more simply, who pays for all the new ballparks in Japan? Team ownership? Or have they, too, perfected the American baseball skill of blackmailing the government into building with tax dollars?

I recall reading that one of the biggest barriers to building a new dome in Yokohama is that the full 400-oku yen tab will not be put on us tax payers. It is speculated that TBS, who will most likely be the new owner of the BayStars at the start of the season, may put in a big chunk for their entertainment enterprises (i.e. sponsored concerts).

Also, remember those big construction contractors? They help finance their own construction and remain as title holders to earn back the money on sales and rent. I read that the Kintetsu Buffaloes, who don't own Osaka Dome, were going heavilly into the red before last season on rental fees alone.

- [...] the work of Bill James and/or some of his disciples. Sabermetrics, it's come to be called. [...]Is anything like this [Sabermetrics] happening in Japanese baseball journalism?

I was first introduced to "Sabermetrics" in Jim Allen's Guide(s) to Japanese Baseball. Unfortunatly, he's stopped writing his Guides. But he does write for the Daily Yomiuri, so, while I don't read the Yomiuri (no offence Jim), I'm sure he does keep it up.

As for the Japanese press, though, there has been some mention of it, but nobody really taking it up. This surprises me as the press, as CFiJ-san pointed out, comes up with some great tables of interesting, and sometimes obscure, data very often. Chiba-san is the reigning champion in this category.

- How much better does it get than the caricature of a bunch of guys with cameras scrambling to get naked pictures of Ichiro?

Sounds like Cromartie's book. I guess that's one thing that doesn't change. :-P

Nonetheless, until last season, the press was mainly interested in the Giants - and any dirt on any players could sell (or be used for extortion), like Kiyohara playing a round of golf with known yakuza. Well, Kiyohara and the Giants stopped paying last season and started taking these liablous magazines and extortionist to court. The rediculous headlines didn't necessarily stop, but there is some change.

I would like to add that it looks like the editor at Nikkan Sports has changed hands after last season as the focus has returned to the Giants with a vengence - with the Giants taking up an entire page by themselves every day, news or not. It's nice that they got someone to put more emphisis on the local game, but please...

- A couple of times you have mentioned in passing that things are different since the Cromartie book. Have you expounded on that anywhere you could point me to, and if not, would you?

I don't think I've done any one, over all article on the topic. Off the top of my head there's:

* the stadiums are larger
* weight training and professional trainers
* free agency (slightly more player movement)
* foreign player limit raised
* more TV access to non-Giant games
* pitchers on pitch counts (not all, but...)
* different tactics (depends on manager)
* less floating strike zone (still some incompetence)

I don't think I added much to CFiJ-san's list. Oh, and there is one more thing: internationalization. Yes, MLB coming over and playing an exhibition series has had a positive effect. Namely that Daiei will have a series that counts in the standings in Taiwan this season (against Orix, was it?). I've been saying for years that the Pacific League needs to expand to the rest of Asia, starting with Taiwan and Korea. I see this as the first step in that direction.

Ah, and on the optimistic side of things, all of these changes help show that change is possible, even within Pro Yakyu. 10 years ago, the Central League wouldn't even listen to the Pacific League owners' desire for interleague play, and it looks like it'll be a go for next year. Changes are happening. And the more that changes, the more likely further changes will be possible.

Well, that was enjoyable. Lots of very good questions. Thank you.

Thank you both for such comprehesive responses.

Maybe because Japan has a history extending back to ancient times it doesn't need to latch on to 30-year-old ballparks to give it a sense of its past, the way a 225-year-old country does.

To answer quickly westbaystars' question on the Skydone, it does indeed have high fences with symmetrical dimensions. And it is pretty much the newest park to have them. (The newer White Sox park had them and did a renovation last year that made it slightly asymmetrical). Quirky dimensions and fences low enough to allow outfielders to jump and steal away home runs are all the rage in US ballpark construction today.

CFiJ said NPB is where MLB was in the late to mid-80's. I wonder if that means that sometime soon Japan will see a rebirth - or maybe a birth - of interest in the minor leagues. Seems over here that was about the time some savvy marketing guys got a hold of some minor league franchises, jazzed up the franchise names and uniforms, created some buzz and made small fortunes. One guy bought a near-bankrupt Double-A team for $1 and sold it a couple years later for $2 million or so. Just west of Chicago, home of two major league franchises, a single-A team drew 600,000 or so last year. There's a market for the lower priced entertainment that minor league ball provides. Leagues unaffiliated with MLB are even prospering.

One reason I believe this works here is the vast geography of the US makes it hard for a lot of people to get to MLB in person, even though there are (for the moment) 30 teams.

Perhaps Japan is sufficiently compact that everyone can get to an NPB game if they want? Or could that happen someday in Japan?

The last long, dumb question I have is about baseball memorabilia in Japan. Here, star players can sell their autographs, and people will pay $100 or so for a baseball autographed by a Barry Bonds or, I'll bet, Ichiro. I know there are Japanese baseball cards, otherwise the japanesebaseballcards.com site would be pretty pointless? Is ther a memorabilia market in Japan, or are Japanese fans too sensible to waste their money on that stuff?

Again, many thanks for your insights...

- I wonder if that means that sometime soon Japan will see a rebirth - or maybe a birth - of interest in the minor leagues.

The Yokohama BayStars are trying it. As I said before, most of the 2-gun teams have the same uniforms as the top teams, and are essentially a reserve for when a top player is injured. (Did I say all of that? Maybe not.) Nonetheless, Yokohama (and Orix) broke with that tradition, giving their 2-gun teams their own identity. Yokohama has stated that they want the 2-gun team to strive for economic independence from the top team, running itself like an independent business rather than a money losing off shoot.

Yokohama was recently sold (2 days ago) to TBS Radio (the "T" is for "Tokyo," not "Turner"). It will be interesting to see if they keep up with what Maruha started in this respect. The press is of the opinion that they will at least better be able to promote the top team.

- Perhaps Japan is sufficiently compact that everyone can get to an NPB game if they want? Or could that happen someday in Japan?

Not exactly. Pretty much all of the teams are concentrated around a few major hubs, leaving the Japan Sea and northern Japan pretty much without baseball. But Japan does something that I think is wonderful (others seem annoyed by it, but...). All of the teams take road trip to play several series' in rural ball parks throughout the country. Since not everyone can get to the major cities to watch professional baseball, they bring the game out to them.

I think that moving the 2-gun teams out to rural areas would be a great way to have them marketted better to earn their own keep. But since they're mainly used as a supply of replacement players, the teams like to have them close by. The advantage to having them close is that, for some of the players, they can play every day for the 2-gun squad, then sit the bench that night at 1-gun should an occasion arise that gives them a chance to play at the top level.

- Here, star players can sell their autographs, and people will pay $100 or so for a baseball autographed by a Barry Bonds or, I'll bet, Ichiro. I know there are Japanese baseball cards, otherwise the japanesebaseballcards.com site would be pretty pointless? Is ther a memorabilia market in Japan, or are Japanese fans too sensible to waste their money on that stuff?

Teams have autograph signing sessions, but I belive that proceeds go to the club, or more often, a charity that the signing session is intended to help.

The marketeers still haven't stepped up to the plate as they have in MLB, yet. Simple things like cheap T-shirts with team logos on them are hard to come by. And the local department store doesn't even sell hats for all of the teams. It's easier to get a Nike hat than a Yokohama BayStars hat, and I live in Yokohama!

I'm afraid that teams still have a way to go in the marketting field.

> I'm afraid that teams still have a way to go in the
> marketting field.

I agree. Last year I got my father a Kintetsu Buffaloes cap (his favorite animal is the Buffalo) and I had to have a friend order it from the Kintetsu Buffaloes themselves. Apparently, many teams have their own merchandise catalogs, and that's where you have to go. There are a number of gift shops at Tokyo Dome that feature merchandise of various teams. But it's hard to find team caps, and twice as difficult to get fitted caps like the pros themselves use. But then again, I think part of that is simply Japanese tradition. It's not usual in Japan for a fan to wear the cap of his favorite team, not even to a game. Hachimaki and happi coats seem to be more in style. I think wearing a team cap is looked on as being a little childish in Japan. Oddly enough, this does not prevent anyone from buying Major League team caps.

Again, thank you both.

westbaystars said: "I've been saying for years that the Pacific League needs to expand to the rest of Asia, starting with Taiwan and Korea. I see this as the first step in that direction."

Do you mean play games there or actually put franchises there? How would that square with the foreign player limits? Or do you see that as a step toward eliminating them altogether?

Regarding what has changed since the Cromartie book, how about the attitudes toward foreign players? I read the long Tuffy Rhodes interview on the Japan Times and I didn't get the sense that this guy feels himself mistreated or isolated the way Cromartie did. Does that represent a change or is it just because he had a great year?

A couple more little things: Is there any thought to replacing Koshien, or is it somewhat protected because of the history of the high school tournament? (It's the one thing I want to see the most if and when I ever get to make the trip. Koshien, not necessarily the HS tournament).

I know the high school tournament is a very big deal, but what about other levels of amateur ball? Industrial, college, do these get fan support?

And finally, who was/is the better manager, Oh or Nagashima? Did Hara serve any sort of apprenticeship or do the Giants just automatically give the job to the best retiring player? A wise guy on a site covering MLB, in the course of discussing Japanese players coming over, said, "The Giants have so much more money than everyone else they would win every year if they weren't run by idiots." Is that fair, if rather inelegant?

This thread is going to have to be put into my FAQ (when I get around to it). There are so many great questions that would help out all of those college students who periodically ask vague questions in hopes of writing a research paper. If you're writing a paper, article, book from this, I'd love to read a draft.

Nonetheless, in regard to my comments on Pacific expansion,

- Do you mean play games there or actually put franchises there? How would that square with the foreign player limits? Or do you see that as a step toward eliminating them altogether?

Please have a look at this thread. My proposal was just one of a number of topics I was complaining about, then it became a full on discussion in its own right. I was very pleased with the discussion there.

The foreign player limit isn't something that I generally get into. It isn't a priority with me as it is with many others. It's a shame that it's there, sure. But it is slowly going away. Wasn't it just 10 or 15 years ago that each team could only have one foreigner? Now there can be 4 on the field at a given time (3 fielders and 1 pitcher, the inverse, or other combinations). That's almost half the fielders.

Since foreign players are generally more expensive than home grown players, it seems to me that there will eventually be a self-imposed limit due to how many a ball club could afford. It seems to me that the player limit may be part of the cause for high priced foreign players as it creates an artificial shortage.

Also, the little marketing that ball clubs do do is generally focused on local players. Seibu was pretty good marketing Cabrera last season, but Kintetsu was awfully slow at marketing Rhodes (they had banked on Nakamura at the beginning of the season, and were pushing him).

- Regarding what has changed since the Cromartie book, how about the attitudes toward foreign players?

That is definatly another one. And your example of Rhodes compared to Cromartie is very good. But Rhodes went out of his way to learn the language and communicate with his team mates on their terms.

Yokohama's Rose (pronounced the same as Rhodes in Japanese) was admired and respected by his team mates. I've heard that the players would go out of their way to say "Hi" when they happened to see him at the same restauant. Yet, I've also heard that Rose felt isolated and "outside" (the gai in gaikokujin (foreigner)) nonetheless.

Yes, attitudes have changed. That does help to allow even foreign players to have long careers here. But only the foreign players who can adopt best will do it, and that isn't always easy.

There are still some attitude adjustments that need working on. It seems to me that using foreigners as scape goats still happens, although I can't think of any specific instances recently. Well, there was Maru-chan being released by Seibu because he didn't fit their sleak, speedy image - but that turned out to be a black eye on Seibu for releasing pretty much all of their home run power.

- Is there any thought to replacing Koshien, or is it somewhat protected because of the history of the high school tournament?

None that I've heard of. But then, I didn't think that Maruha would ever sell the BayStars until I saw the announcement at the end of last year.

- I know the high school tournament is a very big deal, but what about other levels of amateur ball? Industrial, college, do these get fan support?

There are books published about them all, so there is some following. The Tokyo Big-Six university league, for instance, is reported on pretty much daily in the newspaper. Various Industrial League tournaments also get their share of press. Baseball is the national past time, after all.

- [W]ho was/is the better manager, Oh or Nagashima?

Hmmm. Loaded question. It all depends on what part of managing the team you think of as most important. (Did I dodge the question well enough? No? Oh.)

I think that Oh-kantoku is more in the game of the two. He thinks out and plans things more. He hold meetings, talks things over with his staff, sets goals. Oh-kantoku does all that a manager is expected to do, giving his full self to the job.

Nagashima-kantoku seems to make things up as he goes along, that is, when he's not just following his usual set pattern. He'll occasionally do something silly just to catch the opposition off guard. Nagashima-kantoku is a living legend and plays the part well of a celebrety who will do anything to please his fans. And he does that, please the fans, which is an important role that a manager must fill. Another role that Nagashima filled well was protecting his players from the press. If he was getting the press' attention, it left the players (relatively) alone to concentrate on their work.

- Did Hara serve any sort of apprenticeship or do the Giants just automatically give the job to the best retiring player?

Hara served as Head Coach all year last year. There were several head coaches during Nagashima-kantoku's reign who were looking for the top post. I'm just glad that Doi had been hoisted before Nagashima-kantoku retired. (For those of you who don't know, Doi was the manager of Orix who didn't give a kid by the name of Ichiro Suzuki much of a chance.)

- A wise guy on a site covering MLB, in the course of discussing Japanese players coming over, said, "The Giants have so much more money than everyone else they would win every year if they weren't run by idiots." Is that fair, if rather inelegant?

As much as I think that it's rather disrespectful to Nagashima-kantoku, who is worthy of more respect than that, I'm afraid that it is probably a fair summary. There are probably a number of managers who could have made the Giants a much more consistantly winning team. On paper, it was hard to understand why the Giants didn't win every year.

Who was the better manager, Oh or Nagashima? How about Fujita? Fujita was the best manager the Giants have had in decades. If you read Cromartie's book, you'll see that Fujita was well-respected by Japanese players and foreign players alike. Oh didn't do too well in his stint as the Giants' skipper and Nagashima took a teams with the highest payroll and took them where they should've gone. If they didn't get to the Japan Series, something would've been seriously wrong.

Regarding the foreign player treatment debate-I think that it's entirely up to the foreign player how he's treated by his teammates and the coaches. Rhodes is one of the few foreigners who's actually learned the language and likes to hang out with his Japanese teammates.
Cromartie liked to play the gaijin card the way that black players like to play the race card in the U.S. Cro was just an egomaniac who couldn't stand the fact that Hara got all the pub.
I felt that Bobby Rose was a great, great player, but he never really seemed like he wanted to be here. He did the Charles Barkley thing and announced his retirement before every season and then changed his mind at the end of every season. He also never seemed to be on real friendly terms with his teammates. I know that he had something like 7 kids to go home to, but he seemed somewhat aloof. Anyhow, his career should've been longer. He wasted his talent by quitting so soon. It's like when Jim Traber refused to re-sign with the Buffaloes back in '92. He could've been one of the greatest foreigners to have ever played here in Japan.

- How about Fujita? Fujita was the best manager the Giants have had in decades.

Hmm. I guess I came in too late during his reign. I found that his timing for changing pitchers was awful his last season. I could see that the pitcher (usually Makehara - I mean - Makihara) was losing it and would tell the co-worker with me at Tokyo Dome on several occasions that we needed a pitching change. And sure enough, the next batter would hit the ball out, much to the amazement of the Japanese business-men around us.

Nagashima-kantoku, his first year, changed pitchers in sync with when I thought it best. From that, I liked Nagashima-kantoku better. But since I didn't see Fujita-kantoku before that, my judgement may have been a little unfair. And Nagashima-kantoku's timing at pulling pitchers gradually got worse (too early and too late).

I've started hypothisising that managers generally come in, make a lot of changes for the better at first, then get caught in many of the same traps of their predicessors. Of course, it doesn't always work. None of the Hanshin managers over the past decade seemed to have had much of a positive effect in cleaning up - but I expect Hoshino-kantoku to.

- It's like when Jim Traber refused to re-sign with the Buffaloes back in '92. He could've been one of the greatest foreigners to have ever played here in Japan.

Really? How do you figure? Why did he not come back?

If I'm not mistaken, Jim Traber had a fantastic season back in 1991 and felt he should've been given a substanstial raise. However, Kintetsu played hardball since they had a young slugger named Hiroo Ishii waiting in the wings at first base. Therefore, Kintestu never re-signed Traber. Well, it turned out that Traber overestimated his worth since he ended up in no-man's land after not being picked up by another Japanese team and failing to make a big league team.

Jim Traber was a great, great slugger who could've been a poor man's version of Randy Bass. It's too bad that he held out for more money.

Traber later resurfaced as a T.V. analyst for the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, he was replaced before this season by Mark Grace. The D-backs also had former Carp outfielder Rod Allen doing their color commentary for a while.