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Johjima and Iguchi Enjoy Return to Japan

by Geoff Young on November 6th, 2006

There’s a great article at MLB.com on the return of Kenji Johjima and Tadahito Iguchi to their home country for the Japan All-Star series. Both players reflect on the difference between playing in Japan and playing in North America, and what it means for them to return home and be able to play again in front of the fans that supported them for so many years.

Johjima, who catches for the Seattle Mariners, and Iguchi, who plays second base for the Chicago White Sox, both play for the visiting MLB All-Star team. They also were teammates from 1997 to 2004 while playing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, particularly fitting given that the finale of the current five-game series will be played in Fukuoka (Johjima, in fact, was born and raised there). I can’t even begin to imagine the reception they’ll get. Johjima is looking forward to it:

I’m prepared right now, I am going to start that game. I’ll have to see what happens. I might not play good, but if that happens, I’ll just have to say I’m sorry. But I look forward to that game.

(Aside: I don’t know much about Johjima, but I just became a fan based on the above quote; humility goes a long way in my book.)

For his part, Iguchi reflects on some of the differences between playing professionally in Japan and in North America:

There’s a lot more travel, a lot more games in the Major Leagues. You have to be mentally tough to be constantly playing in the United States.

One thing that’s clear, as demonstrated in the World Baseball Classic this past spring and in the first two games of the current series, is that the gap between the game played in Japan and the game played in the States is shrinking. Maybe one day, pros from both sides of the Pacific will get to play a series that is more than just an exhibition. The world waits…

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POSTED IN: Global Baseball