Play Ball!

           I need a break from politics.  So let’s talk about something else.  Since my round-up of the new anime season is not finished yet, let’s talk about something else Japan and the USA share a love for; baseball.  I’ve never been much of a sports fan, but once in a while I will claim a team as my own.  Since I come from a family of Yankees fans, I tend to pick that team.  Its not bandwagonning if your family is into it.  When I was little I would root for the Phillies, but they sucked in those days so I turned my back on them.  When I lived in Miyagi I adopted the local Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.  And now the Yankees have signed the Eagles’ pitcher, Tanaka Masahiro.  The Eagles have a bad few years (and that’s going back before the earthquake), so I can’t imagine the fans are too happy to lose a good player.  At least it isn’t to the Yomiuri Giants. My brother tells me Tanaka’s contract is normal for a pitcher.

           So, who are the something something Eagles and why should any of us care?  Well, there’s no reason any of us must care about pro sports deals.  Or is there?  Japan loves baseball, and they have never really done anything to change the game into something more Japanese.  They adopted America’s favorite sport pretty much as is over a century ago.  Sometimes I think baseball is more popular in Japan than in its homeland right now.  The USA shares baseball with a lot of other countries.  I noticed a lot of people who dislike the Yankees are unhappy about this move.  So, go Yankees.