View of Sukketo Players?

- And, of course, we all know the story of how Oh's homerun record was called one of the fakest sports records by ESPN because every time a foreign player got close to breaking the record, the opposing pitchers simply intentionally walked them for the rest of the season.

Please start with the fact that Oh doesn't have Japanese citizenship.

Just on feeling from reading Japanese media and fan comments, suketto seem to be more of an integral part of the team's psyche than back in the Wa days when they were never considered to be the staff ace (a la Lewis) or the sacred 4th hitter (like Tuffy).

Probably a combination of there being an ever greater number of foreigners both in NPB (now 4 can be rostered on the top team at a time, was it 2 back in the '80s?), general population, and the media which is ever so slightly lessening the us-vs-them mentality (though it's still plenty prevalent), and foreign players spending longer careers in the NPB than in the past.

With regards to the Oh situation, I remember losing a lot of respect for him and still feel it was a cowardly thing to do. However, I think it's been blown out of proporation as a racial issue. Baseball history is full of teams using cheap tactics to protect a record for a teammate, both in Japan and MLB. Even if it were a Japanese player, there is still a fair chance he would have gotten the same treatment as Bass.

After reading "You Gotta Have The Wa" and Cromartie's book, I wanted to re-ask them what their views of Japan was. I found both books to be highly arrogant and American centric. To me it as like a reminder of why Americans keep labeling their championships the World Series.

[Reviving of old thread.]

I just want to add some more. Many sukettos demand special treatment, but that is a two way sword. If you demand special treatment, do not be suprised that it can also backfire. Japan is known, for better and worse, that they like to do things the Japanese way. That goes not only for baseball, but people who live and work here probably know that. Japan might try to adapt to you and your needs, but at the end of the day it is you who need to adapt to Japan more so than the other way around.

I have not read "You Gotta Have Wa" in years, nor Cromartie's book, so my opinion might change if I reread them now, but when I first read them I was rather disappointed with both books. The same goes for the movie Mr. Baseball. I hope in reality people got better impressions of Japan. While at times Japan can come across as extremely tough and harsh, other times it can also come across as a warm place with reasonable people. Good and bad, just like anywhere else.

From a non American perspective, hearing the same old "America the greatest" becomes boring and rather irritating. "Different," to an intelligent mind, does not have to be negative.