Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009

By WAYNE GRACZYK

The ongoing Japan Series between the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the Yomiuri Giants marks the second time these two clubs have met to decide the championship of Japanese baseball. They also faced each other in 1981, and there have been a lot of changes since that first meeting 28 years ago.

For one thing, the Fighters were not in Hokkaido. The franchise was in Tokyo, and the Nippon Ham home ballpark was Korakuen Stadium, the same venue where the Giants played their home games. So, it was a "runway series."

That is, when the teams took turns as the host and visitor, they simply moved their equipment from the first base side to third — or vice versa — walking about 30 seconds through the runway corridor that connected the two sides of the stadium.

Current Giants manager Tatsunori Hara was a rookie third baseman in that 1981 Japan Series, and other star players on the Giants included first baseman Kiyoshi Nakahata, second sacker Toshio Shinozuka and a pair of American outfielders: former New York Yankees members Roy White and Gary Thomasson. Only two foreigners were allowed per team at that time.

It was one season after the legendary "Mr. Giants," Shigeo Nagashima, had stepped down after six years as the Yomiuri manager (he would return for a second tenure in 1992), and Sadaharu Oh, having retired in 1980 after 22 seasons as an active player, became a coach but served with the special title of jo-kantoku (assistant manager) under Giants field boss Motoshi Fujita.

Keiji Osawa (now a Sunday morning sports critic on TBS-TV) was the Fighters manager and, among the key hitters in the Nippon Ham lineup were first baseman-designated hitter Tony Solaita (the slugging "Samoan Strongman") and flamboyant outfielder Tommy Cruz.

Nippon Ham qualified for the Japan Series after defeating the Lotte Orions in a best-of-three playoff. During those years, the Pacific League staged a postseason playoff combined with a split-season schedule that saw the winner of the first half (Nippon Ham that year) meet the winner of the second half (Lotte in 1981) to determine the league champion.

The Fighters, though they won two of the first three games in that 1981 Japan Series, were really no match for the Giants then, as Yomiuri easily defeated Nippon Ham in six games, with ace right-handers Sugura Egawa and Takashi Nishimoto the mound stars.

Egawa won Games 4 and 6, while Nishimoto scored victories in Games 2 and 5 and was named the JS MVP. The Giants outscored the Fighters 32-15 in the series.

This time around, the Fighters can rely on their own Hokkaido fan base, with capacity crowds at Sapporo Dome and most fans supporting the home team. Nippon Ham is also making its third Japan Series appearance in four years, while the Giants are in it for the second year in a row.

The 2009 Japan version of the "Fall Classic" will not be all it could have been if ace pitcher Yu Darvish of the Fighters remains injured and out of action, and one of the Giants best hurlers, Seth Greisinger, is also doubtful.

However, Dicky Gonzalez (15-2 during the regular season) and Wirfin Obispo (6-1 with a victory over the Chunichi Dragons in Stage 2, Game 2 of the Central League Climax Series) are two of the Giants starting pitchers.

Who would ever have thought that, even as late as the end of May of this year?

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Meanwhile, the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies are playing their "New Jersey Turnpike" World Series, a trip that takes approximately 90 minutes on the NJT to get from one city to the other. Being a native of the Garden State, I am so proud.

The Series is also being called "Lady Liberty vs. the Liberty Bell" or "Cheesesteak vs. Cheesecake." Who thinks up this stuff?

A reminder the U.S. goes off Daylight Savings Time this weekend so, if you're watching the World Series in Japan on NHK BS-1, the remaining games will be telecast an hour later.

Game 4 on Sunday night in Philadelphia is scheduled to start at 8:20 p.m. which is 10:20 a.m. Monday morning in Japan.

Weather permitting, Games 5, 6 and 7, if necessary, will start at 7:57 p.m. EST on Nov. 2, 4 and 5 respectively, and that is 9:57 a.m. JST on Nov. 3, 5 and 6.

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Diamond Dust: Alex Ramirez of the Yomiuri Giants won the 2009 Central League batting title with a .322 average, but did you know foreign players also led both Japanese minor leagues in hitting?

Dominican Juan Muniz of the Chiba Lotte Marines farm team won the Eastern League batting championship with a .342 average, and Hanshin Tigers infielder Aarom Baldiris from Venezuela was the Western League leader, compiling a .358 mark.

New York-based author and Japanese baseball historian Rob Fitts tells us Nov. 2, 2009, is the 75th anniversary of Babe Ruth's 1934 All-American tour of Japan.

On his home page, Rob says, "I plan to produce daily entries explaining to readers what happened (on each day of the tour) 75 years ago."

Check it out on the Web at www.robfitts.com.

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Contact Wayne Graczyk at: wayne@JapanBall.com

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