Would you like to see the ML champ play the Japanese champ in a best of 7?

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Would you like to see the ML World Series winner play the Japanese World Series winner in a best of 7 "World Series"? Why or why not?

[Joltin' Joe]

Yes! More baseball is always good!

[Captain Cold Nose]

Ever since Bad News Bears in Japan (watching this movie made me realize just how good of an actor Walter Matthau was. He was soooooo much better than Tony Curtis or William Devane, his replacements) this has always been in the back of my mind as to being a good thing. I'd love to see it.

[Blackout]

yes, although im not expecting a close series

[Joltin' Joe]

You know the more I think about it, the more interesting it sounds. This will really be a true battle instead of the exhibition crap that we are used to when the MLers go overseas.

[Chisox]

I'd like to see the MLB champ play the Rest of World Champ so other countries have a chance, too.

[sschirmer]

Originally Posted by Joltin' Joe

Yes! More baseball is always good!

I can go with this logic!

[FlashGordon]

I guess I'm the lone dissenter so far. I agree that a game between the WS Champ and the Japanese Champ would be great (maybe for charity) or even a short 3-game series. However, the logistical nightmare of arranging for a 7 game series to be held in 2 separate hemispheres would hardly be worth following. Besides, I think the player's union (not to mention the owners) would grumble about the strain of an even longer post-season.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Originally Posted by FlashGordon

I guess I'm the lone dissenter so far. I agree that a game between the WS Champ and the Japanese Champ would be great (maybe for charity) or even a short 3-game series. However, the logistical nightmare of arranging for a 7 game series to be held in 2 separate hemispheres would hardly be worth following. Besides, I think the player's union (not to mention the owners) would grumble about the strain of an even longer post-season.

How is this different then when teams had to take trains? How far is St. Louis from New York or Boston by train? A flight from Chicago to Tokyo would be about 13-14 hours. From NY to St. Louis it would be over 14 hours by car. If you through enough money around the players will come. But MLB would be hesitant because they have much to lose if the ML champ lost, which could happen.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Originally Posted by Chisox

I'd like to see the MLB champ play the Rest of World Champ so other countries have a chance, too.

Since Japan has the strongest professional baseball league after the majors they should get first crack at it.

Great idea. In this way we can see how strong both leagues are.

[Big_Mac]

i would love to see it. the exibition sucks big time. i think it would be interesting, i dont know alot about japanese baseball though. i doubt it will ever happen though, the mlb players have too much to lose and the japanese have nothing. even if japan gets spanked they can say 'oh well, at least we tried, these guys are the best' but if the majors lose, questions will be coming out from everywhere.

i'd love to see it but it aint going to happen

[chisox2k5]

Ask the Players Union how they feel about that... NO.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Originally Posted by Big_Mac

i would love to see it. the exibition sucks big time. i think it would be interesting, i dont know alot about japanese baseball though. i doubt it will ever happen though, the mlb players have too much to lose and the japanese have nothing. even if japan gets spanked they can say 'oh well, at least we tried, these guys are the best' but if the majors lose, questions will be coming out from everywhere.

i'd love to see it but it aint going to happen

An the Japanese players would certainly approach the series with the upmost intensity.

[FlashGordon]

Originally Posted by Honus Wagner Rules

How is this different then when teams had to take trains? How far is St. Louis from New York or Boston by train? A flight from Chicago to Tokyo would be about 13-14 hours. From NY to St. Louis it would be over 14 hours by car. If you through enough money around the players will come. But MLB would be hesitant because they have much to lose if the ML champ lost, which could happen.

True, the travel time wouldn't necessarily be the killer, though. The jet-lag in the middle of a 7-game series, however...

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Originally Posted by FlashGordon

True, the travel time wouldn't necessarily be the killer, though. The jet-lag in the middle of a 7-game series, however...

True. You could play three games in Japan first, then come home for four games or play seven games at a neutral site, say Hawai'i. Hawai'i is a huge Japanese tourist spot.

[Brannu]

I would like to watch it simply to see professional baseball within the context of another country. I'd like to see how they play the game and if it differs in comparison to how the game is played here.

[Astro]

No, the MLB team would win easily, and when the Japenese team finally won one we'd have to hear about how we lost to another country in our national pasttime and blah blah all the way into the next summer...

[eddiejc1]

Even in the EXTREMELY unlikely possibility of the players unions (I assume the Japanese players have one too) and owners agreeing on this, the time zone difference guarantees this will never happen. Look at the ratings for the Olympics in 2000 when it was held in Sydney. I would love to see more exhibitions, but this is something that will never happen.

One thing I think SHOULD happen is that the accomplishments of Japanese players given some respect. Now nobody is saying that Sadaharo Oh would be able to hit as many home runs in MLB parks as he did in Japan, but it really bothers me that nobody even bothers to mention Oh when it comes to players Barry Bonds must pass in his quest to win the career home run records. Ditto for Sachio Kinugasa who broke Lou Gehrig's record a couple of years before Ripken did. (Ripken eventually broke Kinugasa's record, with little media attention in the United States).

Since players like Ichiro of the Mariners are proving that Japanese players can not only play in the major leagues, but also break records older than Ruth's or Gehrig's, I think Cooperstown should form a committee to consider inducting Japanese players who have ONLY played in the Japanese, and follow the example of the Basketball Hall of Fame which inducts players and coaches from other countries---not just those in the NCAA or NBA. For example, Aleksandr Gomelsky who coached the USSR to the gold medal in 1988 is in Springfield.

Eddie Cunningham

[eddiejc1]

Originally Posted by Honus Wagner Rules

True. You could play three games in Japan first, then come home for four games or play seven games at a neutral site, say Hawai'i. Hawai'i is a huge Japanese tourist spot.

Actually, somebody once suggested that Hawaii be the neutral host of the World Series, just as the Super Bowl is played at a neutral site. You could play the games at the same time as now for the networks (or more specifically, to avoid the college and pro football day games on the weekends) and the game itself will still be in the afternoon Honolulu time. The original reason for moving the Super Bowl to a neutral site was because they felt it would be too cold to play in Green Bay in the middle of January. (Of course, with the playoff pushed back as late as they are, the NFC Championship game---should the Packers ever host it again---would be played much later than the original Super Bowl in 1967.) With the Chicago games being played in the 40's and November just around the corner, might it be time to consider moving the Series if television ratings make day games impossible to consider?

Eddie Cunningham

[538280]

This series would literally mean absolutely nothing....I'm completely confident that the Japanese team would get their clocks cleaned. I like the idea of the MLB champs playing an all star team of non-MLB players. That would be more fair, the internationals might have at least some chance.

Of course, we would need a set sight. Traveling between two different hemispheres wouldn't work. We could have a signt in Puerto Rico or Mexico or someplace like that. It could be fun, if it was run properly and the players actually were trying.

One thing I'll never understand is that the Japanese players get attention as being good, but the Cubans never get any attention. I'm sure there are plenty of quality major leaguers stuck in Cuba.

[runningshoes]

Originally Posted by 538280

Of course, we would need a set sight. Traveling between two different hemispheres wouldn't work.

Why not Taiwan?

Oh yeah..we want the Japanese team to have to travel here.

[runningshoes]

Originally Posted by 538280

One thing I'll never understand is that the Japanese players get attention as being good, but the Cubans never get any attention.

Talk to your foreign policy makers about that one.

[hudsonharden]

play the games in a completely neutral spot, like South Africa

[digglahhh]

What if instead of the league champs it was the D-Rays, unless of course the D-Rays are the champs, in which case they would have already defected to Japan.