Adjust Font Size: A A       Guest settings   Register

Enough Already!

Discussion in the Open Talk forum
Enough Already!
Throughout this NPB vs MLB series, Yomiuri TV has gone mad trying to mention or show Godzilla Matsui wherever possible. But today they really outdid themselves.

Several examples:

Firstly, Yomiuri TV always puts up a brief profile of each player as he comes to the plate or mound, featuring major statistics, and a quick comment from that player about a particular theme. This comment is usually something like how old the player was when he first started to play baseball, or what his goal is for the season. Today, however, each and every player on both teams, regardless of how much or little connection he had with Matsui, was asked to give him a piece of advice or a few parting words as he heads to the majors. I'm sure that Godzilla will feel much better about going to MLB now that he has received public blessing from the likes of Makoto Imaoka!

Secondly, no matter how little Godzilla was involved, the comentators tried to fit him into their spiel about every play! This part usually features the commentator's voice steadily going up an octave every time they mention HIM: "And what a big hit from Chavez! There it goes... over the head of Matsui!"

But the one that really made me snort was at the end. An MLB batter hit a tame infield grounder, and it was easily dealt with for a simple out. Luckily for we ignorant lay spectators, the "expert" commentators were on hand to point out Godzilla's invaluable contribution to the play, even though he was 50 metres away in center field. "Igawa pitches... it's a goro... and the out is made as Matsui looks on!"

Good to see impartial media coverage from Yomiuri TV.
Comments
Re: Enough Already!
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Nov 17, 2002 8:57 PM | YBS Fan ]

I know what you mean. I made sure to avoid mentioning that noise in my commentary.

It's the same hype about Ichiro after the 1994 season that made me avoid Ichiro articles like the plague. Nomo's 1995 hype caused me to pretty much stop watching MLB all together. Ichiro's 2001 season, again, made me want to unsubscribe to Nikkan Sports as he was on the cover daily instead of some really great NPB games.

I've developed a blind spot to this sort of hype. There was an article on page one that I missed a few days ago that had nothing to do with Matsui, and the only reason I missed it the first time was because Matsui was on the cover. After seeing a few comments by the Japanese team on today's broadcase, the lower right-hand corner became a blind spot.

Already I can see tomorrow's front page, "Matsui gets a hit!" "Matsui plays final game at Tokyo Dome." "Matsui says Sayonara." "Fans say Sayonara."

I don't look forward to another Ichiro 2001 next season with Matsui.
Re: Enough Already!
[ Author: torakichi | Posted: Nov 17, 2002 11:31 PM | HT Fan ]

- Already I can see tomorrow's front page, "Matsui gets a hit!" "Matsui plays final game at Tokyo Dome." "Matsui says Sayonara." "Fans say Sayonara."

In that case you should get SanSpo. No matter what happens on any given day, no matter if Japan has been subjected to some terrible tragedy or catastrophe; even over the New Year season, when there hasn't been any baseball for months, and there won't be any baseball for a couple more months, you can always rely on SanSpo to smother it's front page in a huge colour picture, with a headline in massive red and gold lettering along the lines of "Nishimoto pitching coach puts young Tigers through gruelling physical workout!"

Gripping stuff, obviously.
About

This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.

It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.

Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder

Search for Pro Yakyu news and information
Copyright (c) 1995-2024 JapaneseBaseball.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.