Nichi-Bei the Other Way Around?

I doubt it would be as successful. A selling point in Japan is to give its fans a chance to measure NPB's top players against major leaguers, which doesn't have a parallel in the U.S. Further, when and where would they play? They'd be limited to Florida or the Southwest unless they played indoors, and they'd have to compete with football and possibly basketball. I can't be sure, but I don't feel the competition for the sports entertainment dollar is quite as fierce in Japan as it is in the States between November and the end of January.

Then you factor in that you aren't offering the major leaguers a nice trip to Japan undoubtedly means you've got to pay them more to play. It's hard to see how such a series could be financially successful.

Jim Albright

Oh, how I wish Albright-san could be wrong about this (alas, he isn't). It's been such a frustrating year for this fan of the Hanshin "Okada, aargh" Tigers and the New York "say it ain't so, Babe" Yankees.

Call me naive, but I could see huge crowds in Seattle and L.A. for an early November all-star Nichi-Bei series (2 games in each town). Both places have sizable Japanese communities that would turn out en masse, I think. Recall the many fans who even come from Japan just to see Matsui play in NYC and Ichiro at Safeco.

Then again, maybe I'm hallucinating because it's mid-November and the Red Sox are claiming to be World Series champs. Pinch me, wake me up from this nightmare.