Tao of Pauly

NY Yankees Arrive in Japan

The NY Yankees arrived in Tokyo for the start of the MLB baseball season, which will include two exibition games against the Yomuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers. Games will be televised at 5am (Sunday vs. the Giants, Tuesday & Wednesday vs. Tampa Bay).

History In the Making is a great read about the Yankees visit to Japan. It's history but will it take a toll physcially on the players? Here's one part that I found interesting:

No one would've blamed the Yankees for wanting to sleep in, at least for the first day or two. The physical surcharge of flying so far deeply concerned club officials, and trainers began transitioning players a week ago. That's when Tokyo-time clocks were posted in the Legends Field clubhouse, along with reminders about the dangers of in-flight dehydration.

Players were encouraged to drink at least 16 ounces of water for every hour in the air. Alcohol was not served and players who use contact lenses were forbidden from wearing them on the plane. Furthermore, everyone was prodded to stay awake for the last eight hours of the flight, so that upon arrival -- late Friday night, local time -- the first instinct would be to sleep and align the body-clock for a Saturday morning wake-up.

It's a huge price to pay, obviously, but the Yankees are marketing their logo, their attachment to Japanese culture through (Hideki) Matsui and, perhaps, their own history in the Far East. Even though American teams have been touring Japan since 1908, the Yankees created their own legacy in 1934. That's when Babe Ruth was the player-manager of a barnstorming team that played 21 games against Japanese All-Stars...

I would love to be there. I'll be watching all the exhibition games in addition to staying up all night to watch Opening Day and game 2.

Check out another good article from the NY Times: Rediscovering Japan. Here's a bit:

Babe Ruth played his last game in a Yankee uniform in Japan. Lou Gehrig played with him. It was 1934, and the Japanese were falling in love with baseball. The visit by the storied Yankees has reverberated ever since.

The Yomiuri newspaper chain sponsored that all-star tour, and its popularity inspired the first professional baseball team in Japan, the Dai Nippon Baseball Club. That team would become the Yomiuri Giants, the Japanese equivalent of the Yankees.

"This is the Giants' 70th anniversary, and also the 70th anniversary of Japanese professional baseball," Kota Ishijima, the manager of United States and Latin operations for the team, said. "And for that 70th, who comes back? The Yankees, and our beloved son, Hideki Matsui."