Statistics released by Major League Baseball show another increase in the number of non US born players in the Majors. Rosters from April 4th showed that 29.2% of the 829 players either on the live rosters or on the Disabled List weren't Americans, up from the 2004 numbers of 27.3% (227 out of 830).
This should be seen as encouraging for the league in general, as MLB continue to correctly push for the most global audience possible for what is the best quality baseball league in the world.
Interestingly though, the countries which have rival leagues in terms of quality of baseball (Japan, Mexico and Cuba - though i use rival in the loosest possible way, as no other league can ever get too close to the Majors due to the money in that league) did not provide the most players for the Major League. This is because many see their own league as where the fame and money is, and are happy staying there. However, Japan in particular has seen an increase in the number of players coming over, and the majority have been successful at the American level.
Who knows, one day people could look at these leagues in the way we now see the Negro League - as a place where great baseball players were lost. As it is, the Dominican Republic leads all countries with 91 players, Venezuela is second with 46 and Puerto Rico is third with 34.
League new boys the Washington Nationals led the Majors with the highest number of players from overseas in their squad; they had 16. The Baltimore Oriales and L.A. Dodgers were second with 13.
As is the case in all sports, not least the English football Premier League, the influx of foreign players is usually met with a harsh response, as people argue that they prevent the development of home-grown talent. However almost all of baseball is now in agreement that the foreign players bring alot to the league and have improved the quality of baseball - just look at Ichiro Suzuki, breaking the all-time hits record was a truely great feat, and people celebrated it no less because he is Japanese. People like Suzuki have changed the face of Major League Baseball, and have brought the game to new heights both in terms of international popularity and sporting skill.
TOKYO - Japanese baseball begins a new season Saturday, hoping to win back fans with interleague play, better seats for spectators and the first expansion team in 50 years.
Even a dog will be part of the show. The Hiroshima Carp will use a golden retriever named Mickey to bring fresh baseballs to the home plate umpire in a basket carried in his mouth.
"We're trying to do everything we can to make the game more fan friendly," said Bobby Valentine, entering his second season in his second stint as manager of the Lotte Marines. "Japanese baseball should be very proud of the changes it has made."
Field-level seats will be introduced in several parks, giving fans an unobstructed view of the field. In the past, screens down each foul line prevented a clear view.
The expansion Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles will play the Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium on Saturday, marking the start of Pacific League play. The Eagles were formed after a two-day players' strike last season over the merger of the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave.
Baseball remains Japan's most popular sport, but it has been hurt by a talent drain to the major leagues, questionable decisions by owners and a gradual drop in attendance.
As part of the agreement between players and management after last year's walkout interleague play was introduced, giving Pacific League teams the chance to cash in on the overwhelming popularity of the Central League's Yomiuri Giants.
"That's a very positive change," said Rakuten general manager Marty Kuehnert, an American. "For a long time the players wanted interleague play and the fans wanted it and now they have it."
The Eagles, who will play out of the northeastern city of Sendai, are owned by Harvard graduate Hiroshi Mikitani, who immediately put his stamp on the team by selecting the crimson red of his alma mater for the team colors.
Elsewhere, SoftBank owner Masayoshi Son took over the Pacific League's Daiei Hawks and renamed them the SoftBank Hawks. Like Mikitani, Son made his fortune in Japan's IT industry and has promised major changes in the way his team will be run.
Son immediately went out and signed former major leaguers Tony Batista and Jolbert Cabrera, who will join what already was one of the best lineups in Japanese baseball.
Both the Hawks and the Eagles will broadcast their games live on the Internet, a welcome addition in a land where baseball television broadcasts are cut off before the final out.
In the Central League, the defending league champion Chunichi Dragons got stronger when they signed slugger Tyrone Woods. Woods had 45 homers last season for the Yokohama BayStars and will add pop to the Chunichi lineup when the Central League opens a week later.
With Tuffy Rhodes and former Boston Red Sox backup player Gabe Kapler the outfield, the Giants will be strong contenders.
Two milestones probably will be reached this season by Yomiuri's Kazuhiro Kiyohara. He needs 20 homers to reach 200 and 18 hits to reach 2,000.
The baseball world said a sad goodbye to one of the greatest second basemen of all time, Robbie Alomar, just a few weeks into spring training. Here are Pete's two cents:
Its hard to really put into words how I feel right now. There are landmark moments in your life that seem to mark the passage of time and just make you feel like you are truly getting old (or maybe just older).
As most people know, I am a Blue Jays fan and the birth of my love of this game lay in the teams we had in the late 80's and early 90's. Toronto played the game the way it should be played. Strong pitching, great defence and speed on the bases and the back-to-back championship winning teams in '92 and '93 were the very peak of that marvelous team Pat Gillick put together.
We had some great players on those teams with the likes of Joe (shamefully spurned by the Hall of Fame) Carter, John Olerud, Jimmy Key, Tom 'The Terminator' Henke (another guy who should be in the Hall) and even for a while we had two of the true all time greats in Paul Molitor and Rickey (Henderson). But the one player who captured my imagination the most was Robbie Alomar.
Alomar was a superb fielder who would do things that made your jaw drop and occasionally do things that you had never seen before. His catch in foul ground up the right field line in the '93 World Series is forever etched into my mind as one of the greatest plays I can remember.
On top of his prowess in the field, he would show great discipline at the plate and was capable of hitting for average and power when he needed to and would lay down a perfect bunt when you least expected it.
He ran the bases more aggressively than anyone, often wandering miles off third base just daring the pitcher to risk throwing one over there so that he might dart home.
When I was at school playing softball I would always play second and I tried to teach myself how to switch hit just to be that much more like him.
I remember when he left for Baltimore how upset I was and how I wished Toronto were a richer and better team that we might have kept him. Nevertheless I endured the injury problems that seemed to plague his time as an Oriole and even though he left my team, I still hoped that his luck would improve and we could see all those gifts in action again and then he ended up in Cleveland and everything clicked again for Alomar.
The only way it would have been possible for a team to have a better double play combo would have been if Bill Mazeroski had been able to play alongside Ozzie Smith. Alomar and Vizquel were simply dazzling for three years, constantly inventing new and exciting ways to turn the double play and challenging each other to try and make more and more spectacular diving grabs or improbable throws. Not content with setting off fielding fireworks, Alomar was as good a hitter as there was in baseball, constantly among the leaders in average and adding 20+ homeruns, 30+ steals, 110+ runs scored and 100+ RBI. In short, he was as complete a player as you would find.
Its been hard the last couple of years as he has bounced from The Mets, to The ChiSox to The D'Backs with lapses in form brought about by lapses in health. In the offseason Alomar signed for Tampa in an attempt to try and rekindle his push for 3000 hits but has been unable to play to the levels he expects and has announced his retirement.
Genuine arguments could be made to state that Roberto Alomar is the greatest second baseman of all time with an unparelleled 10 Gold Gloves to go with 2,724 hits, 474 steals, 1,508 runs and a career .300 average. No one but Mazeroski comes close defensively and his offensive numbers compare to the likes of Joe Morgan. One thing is for sure, Alomar won't have to wait too long till he sees his plaque in Cooperstown. What might take longer is for me to get over the fact that Alomar won't be playing any more as he has been an ever-present part of my baseball life. No longer will I get to see that reckless abandon on the bases or that flashy glove. No longer will I be able to hope that he gets out of this latest funk and get back to showing people why he is the greatest. No longer will I be able to see the play of my idol.
People will no doubt come out with their 'what have you done for me lately' statements, or bring up the time when he spat at John Hirschbeck or make claims that he was some clubhouse cancer but to me he will always be that incredible athlete who danced around the keystone. Hopefully history will see things the same way.
The baseball finally began on Wednesday as the first lot of spring training games took place in the sunny south - six in Florida and one in Arizona.
The competitive edge may not always be there but these games are fascinating viewing for MLB fans, as we watch for signs of weakness in a lineup, an injury scare or player in form. Reflecting the importance placed on these games in the fact that mlb.tv are showing a number of games LIVE and FREE on their website - www.mlb.com Now we're not here to advertise others, but hey you can't do better than free, and with a least one game usually starting at 1PM ET (6PM UK time) there is no excuse if you have an internet connection!
The big one last night saw the Washington Nationals play their first game ever - and history will show it to be a pretty great start for the club formerly known as Montreal Expos. The buffed-up New York Mets were the opposition and, in a game that saw more pitching and batting changes than the all-star match-ups, DC won it 5-3.
Tom Glavine and Tony Armas Jr started for the Mets and Nationals respectivly, and both looked good over two shut-out innings. Brandon Looper bagged a hitless 3rd for the Mets, before Aaron Heilman faced off against lefty Michael Hinckley in a colourful fourth inning.
Two of the Mets' biggest aquisitions scored as Carlos Beltran and Doug Mientkiewicz came home following a Jason Phillips single to right. The Nationals matched them in the bottom half though, with former Angels outfielder Jose Guillen clubbing a two-run homer off Heilman.
The winter rust was all too evident in the fifth, as the Mets scraped a run following a two-base error by Endy Chavez in centre and then a misjudged fly by Jeff Hammonds in left - Kaz Matsui the man benefiting from this sloppy defence. The Nationals again pulled back in the bottom of the inning, when Heilman got taken deep again - this time by catcher Keith Osik.
The following inning the go-ahead and would-be winning run was hit by Hammonds, with Jamey Carroll coming home from third after a grouder to the hot-corner was booted by Miguel Cairo. Carroll scored again in the eighth to put the game away for the Nationals and leave the francise with a 1-0 lifetime record.
In much the same way as his whole playing career panned out, Texas Rangers outfielder Rusty Greer retires without any pomp or circumstance and leaves only the legacy of what he left on the field and that was everything.
Its hard to think of any other player in recent times who gave as much to his team as Greer, as he played with such reckless abandon and commitment that in the end his body couldn't take it. His last game was on July 11, 2002 but you'd have to go back as far as 2000 for his last full-ish season.
The past three years he has undergone surgery to his neck, shoulder, elbow and knee and still he tried to come back.
Even while he was injured he found ways to contribute to the team and last year he was constantly there to cheer on his team mates both at home and on the road and you don't find many players doing that any more.
In an all too short 9 year career Greer was an integral part of The Rangers only three division winning sides. He might not have been the strongest of guys but he would hit a key homerun or find a way to drive in the run. He might not have been the fastest player but he would find a way on base and get round to score. He might not have been the most graceful but for a while there were few left fielders who were as good defensively as he was. Whatever he had he would give to the team.
He has already been inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame and it would certainly be a long shot if he were to make baseballs Hall but all the fans that saw Rusty Greer play will remember what a player he was. He might not have racked up the biggest numbers but every team would kill to have at least one Rusty Greer on their side. He was a gamer and a true professional and will be sorely missed.
This
Site has been designed for 800x600 resolution and Macromedia
Flash Player 5.
________________________________________________________________________________
