Japanese baseball needs to recognize its own strength if it is going to cope with the departures of top players like Daisuke Matsuzaka to the US, one of the game's four US managers said yesterday.
Trey Hillman, set to begin his fifth season at the helm of the Nippon Ham Fighters, said Japan's victory in last year's World Baseball Classic shows that the game is played at a level here equal to anywhere in the world.
"If that didn't wake up the world to the strength of Japanese baseball, then shame on the world," Hillman told reporters at a luncheon in Tokyo. "If that didn't wake up the Japanese media and the Japanese players to the strength of Japanese players, then shame all of [them], too."
"Japan won the first WBC, period," he added.
When it comes to money, Japanese baseball can't compete with its Major League counterpart, said Hillman, who led the Fighters to their first Japan Series title in 44 years last season.
But the game can compete when it comes to the quality of its players, and the teams need to recognize and emphasize this if they want players to stay and keep the fans coming to the ballpark, he said.
"Stop telling the kids that baseball is better in the United States," Hillman said.
The Fighters will be facing some challenges of their own this season. Star batter Michihiro Ogasawara left for Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants, while reliever Hideki Okajima will be joining Matsuzaka on the Boston Red Sox pitching staff.
The team also lost a big fan draw when colorful center fielder and one-time Major Leaguer Tsuyoshi Shinjo retired last fall.
But the Fighters also have an up-and-coming star in 20-year-old right-handed pitcher Yu Darvish.
Darvish, who is Japanese-born but has an Iranian father, is a leading candidate to be the opening-day pitcher when the Fighters open the regular season on March 24 against the Chiba Lotte Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium. He went 12-5 lastyear with a 2.89 ERA and 115 strikeouts, and his fastball last season reached a maximum speed of 153kph.
"How good do I think he can be? I think he can be the best in the world. He's not there yet ... but I think he can potentially pass a guy like Matsuzaka," Hillman said.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
Luka Doncic on Monday produced a 46-point masterpiece as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped the Chicago Bulls’ four-game winning streak with a 129-118 victory on the road. Doncic rattled in eight three-pointers on 15-of-25 shooting from the field, finishing with seven rebounds and 11 assists to lead an impressive Lakers effort at the United Center. LeBron James chipped in with 24 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Rui Hachimura delivered an eye-catching cameo off the bench with 23 points from nine-of-11 shooting. The win was another encouraging result for the Lakers after a 116-110 defeat of the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. “We did
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo on Friday said that he will probably be out for an extended period after hurting his right calf again after a similar injury caused him to miss eight games earlier this season. Antetokounmpo had his right calf wrapped in the first half of their 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He did not appear comfortable the rest of the night and left for good with 34 seconds remaining. “At the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo said. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player said he expected to undergo an MRI
Taiwanese FORTUNES: Wu Fang-hsien and Hsieh Su-wei both advanced to the last 16 of the women’s doubles, but Ray Ho was ousted in the men’s doubles Carlos Alcaraz yesterday stepped up his quest to win a maiden Australian Open as he overwhelmed showman Corentin Moutet to reach the last 16, while Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Hsieh Su-wei both advanced to the last 16 of the women’s doubles. Three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev battled through on day six at a warm and sunny Melbourne Park, as did Coco Gauff. Top seed Alcaraz was never in danger against French 32nd seed Moutet, easing through 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena in 2 hours, 5 minutes. It was the Spaniard’s 100th Grand Slam match and he boasts a remarkable 87-13 win-loss record,
RSS