First Baseball Sightings -- From Japan and Arizona

2/14/2014

Scottsdale, Arizona. Waiting for a Few Players. Thor Larsen.

The first baseball sighting was on the tube the other night. The Yankee network YES had the brilliant idea of showing a game last summer with Masahiro Tanaka facing the Tokyo Giants.
American broadcasters, aware of Japanese subtleties, were calling the game, pitch-by-pitch.
In real time, Tanaka was chartering a jet to get to New York.
My reaction to watching him pitch in the Tokyo Dome -- against those classic orange-and-black-trimmed Giants uniforms -- was that Tanaka was poised, and had a variety of pitches, but not a lot of power.
Will he be able to find the extra 5 mph he will need in MLB? Not evident from the few innings I saw. That's the Yankees' problem.
More important, I saw baseball being committed. Saw a dandy over-the-shoulder basket catch by a second baseman. And I saw a Giants pitcher wince when he did not get a third strike call from the umpire. Sure enough, he fell apart, started to groove the ball, and gave up four runs. Baseball in mid-season form, with all its human imperfections.
I did have one flashback. Playing for Rakuten was Kazuo Matsui, now 38 -- the other Matsui, as he is known in Queens. He is still the only major-league player to lead off three straight seasons with a home run, but Mets fans celebrated when he went to Colorado early in 2006. The Yankees kept their Matsui, much longer.
Now the Yankees have Tanaka and the Mets have Matsuzaka.
Meantime, my high-school pal Thor Larsen visited Scottsdale the other day and took a photo of the stadium, just waiting for
pitchers and catchers. Stay warm.

6 Comments

Roy Edelsack

2/14/2014 04:53:29 am

One of my favorite "boys" sports books growing up was Clair Bee's "Championship Ball." In this one our hero, Chip Hilton, breaks his leg right before the beginning of the basketball season and spends the year as Coach Rockwell's bench assistant (and off-the-court inspiration to the lads). Finally, after the team wins the championship (and you know who is awarded the "championship ball" by his teammates) Chip gets his cast off in early spring. As he leaves the doctor's office:

"From across the street came a rhythmic thump, a unique sound produced only by a baseball thudding into a catcher's mitt. Two kids were playing catch in the driveway across the street. Chip executed an imaginary pivot..."

Bring on the baseball!

George Vecsey

2/14/2014 05:53:12 am

Roy, well done. Did you recall that from memory, or look it up?
I never read Bee's books. They had a great following.
It is a great sound.
Even though spring training has become much more of a minimum-security confinement center since the old informal days, there is still the lulling sound of the baseballs whacking into the catchers' mitts.
Business as usual. Can we hear it now? GV

Ed Martin

2/15/2014 04:20:48 am

Friday's baseball roundup
By Staff Report , Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Friday, February 14, 2014
RIVERVIEW 5, CARDINAL MOONEY 3

SARASOTA — Justin Cohen was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead Riverview High (2-0) past Cardinal Mooney High.

Jeremy Webb had a key hit and an RBI in the sixth inning to help the Rams score three runs and rally from a 3-2 deficit.

Pitcher Matt Peters picked up the win on the mound going 52/3 innings, striking out four.

Last modified: February 14, 2014

"The crack of the glove--the thump of the bat!"
"The roar of the greasepaint--the smell of the crowd."

Mendel

2/16/2014 03:06:35 am

The crack! of ball on ash can be produced at Gan Sacher (Jerusalem’s central park) by a middle-aged fan and his progeny. But the thump! of leathers colliding at the conclusion of a baseball’s 60’ 6” manic journey requires both a Pitcher and a Catcher. Play Ball!

George Vecsey

2/16/2014 07:01:54 am

Mendel, nothing like baseball out of context.
My pal Ward from Hofstra has lived in Madrid forever.
He used to play ball with his kids in the Retiro park....the occasional Yank would wander by.
Keep playing. It is a statement -- and fun, too.

GV

Ed Martin

2/18/2014 03:23:27 am

On the day of the 14th NY snowstorm, a message from Venice,FL.

https://www.facebook.com/WTSP10News/photos/a.153663441334083.30038.124091107624650/726862540680834/?type=1

First Baseball Sightings -- From Japan and Arizona

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