Japan look to underline Asian dominance in baseball

By Dan Sloan

TOKYO (Reuters) – Ichiro Suzuki, Park Chan-ho and
Chien-Ming Wang are among the Major League Baseball players in
Tokyo this week for the Asian leg of the World Baseball
Classic.

Even without New York Yankee Hideki Matsui, Japan begin as
favourites to finish top of an Asian group also featuring South
Korea, China and Taiwan.

The top two teams advance from Pool A of the inaugural
16-team tournament, with the Koreans expected to join Japan in
the second round.

Traditional baseball powers the U.S., Dominican Republic
and Venezuela are all highly fancied to win baseball’s first
World Cup-style international competition.

South Korea open the Asian round-robin round against Taiwan
and face hosts Japan in the final game at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.

As ever in a region where political tensions run high,
national pride will also be at stake.

It has been 11 years since Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo
blazed a trail for Asian exports across the Pacific but more
could follow after the World Baseball Classic.

Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and Sun Lingfeng, dubbed
the “Ichiro of China,” will be among those looking to showcase
their talents to prospective MLB scouts.

REGIONAL DOMINANCE

Japan, still smarting after taking only bronze at the 2004
Athens Olympics despite selecting a so-called “Dream Team”
squad, will be looking to underline their regional dominance.

“Japan will have a number of all-stars but whether or not
it’s the best selection…anyone can advance in an elimination
format,” said Bobby Valentine, manager of the Japan champion
Chiba Lotte Marines and a former MLB head coach.

“The Korean team is big and plays an American style of
baseball.”

The Korean squad may have even more at stake.

The Korean Baseball Organization, which boasts the largest
MLB contingent, including the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Jae Seo and
Choi Hee-seop , has asked the government to exempt players from
military service if Korea makes the WBC’s final four.

That would mean advancing through to the WBC’s second
round, when Asia’s best two teams take on the winners of Pool
B, which groups the U.S., Mexico, Canada and South Africa.

The next stage will take place in the U.S. in mid-March,
followed by the semi-finals on March 18 with the final in San
Diego on March 20. (Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul)