BASEBALL
Ichiro came to America to be the first Japanese position player in major league baseball and has made a huge impact on the game. He most likely will become the American League rookie of the year with an exceptional batting average of .350. Ichiro continued to excel here in America as he did in the Japanese Pacific League where he earned the batting champion sevens times. If Ichiro continues his success he should win several MVP's and be an all-star for a long time. Ichiro's arrival to the major leagues is good for the game and will lead other Japanese players to follow. Tsuyoshi Shinjo has already followed Suzuki's lead and had a successful year with the New York Mets. Major League Baseball may never be the same because of Ichiro's impact. He set the stage for Japanese as well as other foreign players to join the major leagues. Major League Baseball will continue to become an international game displaying the talent of the best players in the world. Since Ichiro was a proven all-star player the Mariners began selling his merchandise as soon as he arrived. However the Mariners have not gone about marketing him that much differently than other players here in America. The only main difference is that they market him internationally, not just here in the U.S. Although Ichiro's success is not covered here to the extent that it is in Japan, we recognize the significance of his coming and appreciate how talented he is.
DIFFERENCES IN MEDIA
Tuffy Rhodes when he played for
the Cubs in 1994.
All American baseball fans know who Ichiro is, but we don't know who Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes is. He is an American baseball player who is currently playing in Japan for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. He recently tied the home run record of 55 in one season over there, but few ever heard about it in America. This is a result of media coverage covering American baseball but not international baseball. This news is not as heard about in American coverage of baseball. It is not as significant for us to send an American baseball player over to Japan but for Japan to send a player over it is very significant. For instance, Ichiro is a major media coverage in Japan but Tuffy is almost unheard of in the United States. This is due to the fact that Americans don't put much emphasis on sports outside of America, we focus more on what's going on in America. It is not necessarily who is playing but the organizations that are playing.
SEPTEMBER 11 CRISIS... IMPACT ON BASEBALL
