The final match-up of the World Baseball Classic featured two teams from

countries where baseball is a beloved sport - Cuba and Japan. Both

countries are noted for producing fine players, some of whom are enjoying

stellar careers in America. Presently, Ishiro and Matsui from Japan are two

of the best and most consistent players in the majors. Making it in the big

leagues in America is a big deal in Japan, a country that loves baseball and

embraces its own professional teams.

American teachers first introduced the game to the island country in the

1870's, and it firmly took root. By the turn of the century, it was a sport

throughout the nation and in 1936 the first professional teams were

established. The current professional structure was created in 1950, with

teams playing in either the Pacific League or the Central League.

The exchange of players between the Japanese leagues and Major League

baseball is not a one-way street. The first American to play baseball in

post-World War II Japan was Wallace Kaname Yonamine, a Nisei Japanese

American who had played NFL Football but never had a spot on a Major

League Baseball club. Yonamine had a Hall of Fame career in Japan.

When major leaguers from America first started to compete in the Japanese

League, they were often at the end of their careers. In 1962, right-handed

pitcher Don Newcombe became the first MLB player to sign and play with a

team in Japan. During his 10 years in the majors, Newcombe posted a 149-

90 mark, with 1129 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA. He is still the only player to

win Rookie of the Year, MVP and the Cy Young. Newcombe was the first of

many Americans to go to the Far East to play what many consider "the"

American sport.

In the past decade something has changed concerning the emigration of

professional players from America to Japan. The men who go to the

Japanese League are no longer at the end of their careers. They are now,

more often than not, mid-career players who can't seem to find an

everyday role on a major league team. Often, these players decide to go to

Japan because they will have a chance to contribute every day.

Some players find a home away from home in Japan, while others go and

get some daily experience and come back to parlay that into a starting role

in MLB. Still, others struggle in their foreign environs and come back looking

to play in the big leagues, even if it's as a utility player.

Alex Cabrera is an example of the first type of player, while Lou Merloni

seemed as though he might fit the bill for the second category but didn't

quite get a break in Japan or make the cut when he came back to his

homeland. Gabe Kapler illustrates a player in the final and least desirable

of the three groups.

First baseman Alex Cabrera, who spent nine seasons in the minors with

the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Arizona Diamondbacks, finally

got his chance to play Major League Baseball in 2000. In 31 games he hit 5

homer runs, scored 10 runs, knocked in 14 RBI and accumulated a .262 BA.

Then, in 2001, the Seibu Lions of the Japan Pacific League bought his

contract from the Diamondbacks. For Cabrera it was the perfect move at

exactly the right time.

Cabrera immediately became a star in Japan. In his first season he hit .282

with 124 RBI and 49 HR. In 2002, his second season, he won the Pacific

League's MVP award and tied the single season homerun mark (55) set by

the Babe Ruth of Japan, Sadaharu Oh. (Tuffy Rhodes, another former MLB

player also tied the record in 2001.)

In 2004, Cabrera hit two homeruns in game three, including a grand slam,

and a massive dinger in the seventh game of the Japan Series to help the

Seibu Lions defeat the Chunichi Dragons 7-2, leading his team to their first

championship since 1992.

Cabrera totes a .308 BA with 413 RBI and 147 HR in his first four years with

the Lions. Life is great for the first baseman and he loves Japanese ball.

Except for one thing. In an interview with ESPN.com he acknowledged his

frustration at not being allowed to break the record set by Sadaharu Oh.

Cabrera noted, "All my teammates wanted me to break the record. A lot of

the players on other teams wanted me to break it, too. The pitchers want

to throw me strikes but the managers and coaches don't let them."

"They didn't want me to get the record," he acknowledged. "All records are

for the Japanese. The last 20 at-bats of the season, I think I only saw one

strike."

There are aspects of the game with which MLB players have difficulty.

Cabrera said it very clearly, when he complained, "Here, if you hit a home

run your first at-bat, they walk you the next three. In America, you get a

chance to hit more home runs. They challenge you."

In the same article, former Japanese player and present Yankee Hideki

Matsui observed, "In the past there has been more of that sort of

unfairness," Matsui said, sympathizing with Cabrera. "But it has been

decreasing in the last couple years and I just hope that in the future it will

get better."

Although Cabrera has found a home with the Lions, he's certainly willing to

come back and play in America. In fact, he's anxious to prove that he can

hit big league curveballs - something scouts claim he can't do - and pound

40-plus round trippers per season in the majors.

Lou Merloni and Gabe Kapler both did their time in Japan for the same

reasons and with similar results. Merloni and Kapler were enticed by the

chance to play every day, something that had eluded them when they

were both with the Boston Red Sox.

In 2000, Merloni went to the Yokohama Bay Stars with the understanding

that he would be the team's regular third baseman. But the player he was

supposed to replace decided to stay with the team, and so Merloni spent

much of the season on the bench. Although he found it to be a frustrating

season, he also thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience.

The game is pretty much the same, except there's a rule prohibiting tie

games from going more than 3 extra innings, which means the game ends

in a tie. First, there are the pre-game workouts and warm-ups, lasting

hours. Then there's all the cigarette smoke - Japanese players light up a

lot. Also, there's the fact that when the club is on the road everyone has to

dress for the game at the hotel because there are no visiting locker rooms.

The media never tired of asking the third baseman if he'd like to marry a

Japanese woman. When Merloni answered questions, he often felt his

translator was editing his comments along with reporters' queries.

Along with the possibility of being an everyday player, there's the bump in

salary a player who's been in the states realizes. Usually they're making six

to 10 times what they made in MLB! That's quite a payday. After Japan,

Merloni came back to the Red Sox and played for them and the AAA team

for the next three seasons before going to various other major league

clubs. He seemed like he might have found a starting role with San Diego

part way through the 2003 season, but after 65 games, they dealt him

back to the BoSox.

Gabe Kapler was offered a similar opportunity in 2005, and like Merloni, he

took it. With a contract valued at approximately $2 million, the utility

outfielder was excited about getting to play every day and experience an

entirely different culture. But after being a part of Boston's first World

Series winning team in 86 years, Japanese ball seemed to lack the spark of

the game played in his homeland.

Missing were the overly expressive fans, the rich heritage, and the knock

'em down rivalries. Kapler also didn't perform up to expectations and found

himself sitting on the bench by the second-half of the season. When he

got back to the states and was signed by Boston for the rest of the 2005

season, he was overjoyed as were many Red Sox fans, who always

admired Kapler's hustle, work ethic and intelligent play.

In a strange twist of fate, the outfielder, who was on first base when Tony

Graffanino hit a homer, ruptured his Achilles tendon after rounding second.

As Kapler lay in the base path unable to get up and in agonizing pain, it

was clear that his 2005 season was over.

In 2006, he was no longer on a major league roster and neither was

Merloni, who had played a utility role with Cleveland in 2004. For both

players, Japan never panned out, while Alex Cabrera has achieved more

than most Japanese players. The irony for Cabrera is that despite his

winning ways, the Japanese League will never accept him. That non-

acceptance, which seems to affect every foreign player, is one thing that

definitely separates baseball in Japan from baseball in America.