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Article: IN ATTRACTING US STARS, THE BASEBALL LEADERS OF JAPAN HAVE FOUND THAT THERE'S A COMMON DENOMINATOR . . . BIG MONEY TALKS
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- July 19, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1988 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Last in a three-part series on the changing face of
baseball in Japan, the role of the American player and the
relationship between the US and Japanese baseball
hierarchies.
TOKYO - If baseball is a game of inches, it is also a game of
dollars . . . and yen. It was true in 1931 when Babe Ruth led a
team of all-stars here. It was true in the '50s and '60s when
fading American stars migrated here for a final payday. It is
gospel today.
The difference now is that the Japanese currency is stronger
than the dollar, so Japanese clubs can afford to bid high dollars
for American players if they have a yen to.
The rulers of Japanese baseball are acutely aware of that.