“We Takin’ (Baseball) Ovaaa!”

Japan/Asia is seeing more and more of its best Baseball players come to Amerika and rep in the best professional Baseball league in the world - the MLB. This post is dedicated to Baseball players of Asian Pacific Islander heritage who reppin’ way too hard in our country’s “favorite pastime” (besides killing poor, brown people that is) *wah-waaaah*. =T *Ahem* Back to Baseball…

For a LONG(ass) time, most of Major League Baseball thought Japanese/Asian ball players could only be effective as pitchers. With NO disrespect to Daisuke Matsuzaka or Hideo Nomo (Where They Be At?), this post is for the “position players,” of Asian ancestry doing it big in “the Bigs.”

Kosuke Fukudome (”Koh-skay Foo-koo-doh-meh”) is goin 18-Dumbo right now for the Chicago Cubs.

Fukudome reached base five times Tuesday, going 3-for-3 with two walks. He has reached base in his last seven plate appearances to boost his on-base percentage to .477. The Cubs improved their league-leading OBP to .371, thanks in no small part to the ‘Fukudome effect’ on the rest of the lineup.

.477 on-base-percentage? God(zilla) that is f*ckin’ incredible! “Fukudome Effect,” indeed.

Kurt Suzuki of the Oakland (soon to be the weakass Fremont) A’s and Shane Komine are my mahf*ckin’ boys because as far as I know, they are the only Asian-Amerikans in the major leagues right now (no disrespect to Fremont, y’all just aint Oakland…thass all that is). Leave it to the Bay to host the Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella of Asian Amerikan baseball. Aye!

[Kurt Suzuki: Catcher(!)]

On July 17, 2007, pitcher Shane Komine got into a game in the 8th inning against the Texas Rangers with Suzuki doing the catching. This marked the first time in major league baseball history that there was a battery where both the players were from Hawaii (and of Japanese ancestry!).

Hideki Matsui is always pissing me off because I hate the richass-steal-all-the-good-players-from-other-teams mentality of NY Yankees’ owner, George Stienbrenner. However, the man nicknamed “Godzilla” (is it just me, or that sh*t ridiculously racist?) has been smashing the sh*t outta the ball for some time now.

[The only thing "Godzilla," about this ninja is his salary. AYE!]‘

In his second season, Matsui finished 2004 with a .298 average with 31 home runs and 108 RBIs. In 2005, Matsui hit a career high .305 and 116 RBIs. In 2006, Matsui finished his fourth season with a .302 average with 8 home runs and 29 RBIs after missing most of the season due to a wrist injury. He was the American League All-Star Final Vote winner.

Matsui signed a four-year deal for $52,000,000, surpassing Ichiro Suzuki as the highest paid Japanese player in baseball, and securing his place with the Yankees through 2009.

This brings us to my favorite baseball player of Asian ancestry in the Big Leagues today.

Ichiro Suzuki is a got-damn boss. Known simply as “Ichiro,” Suzuki was the MVP AND Rookie of the Year in 2000, last seasons’ All-Star Game MVP, has won a golden glove in ALL his 7 years in the Major Leagues, holds the ALL-TIME MLB RECORD for hits in a season, and is the first Japanese-born ‘position player’ to play Major League baseball. He is considered by most to be the best hitter for average, in the game today.

I grew up playing baseball and while my interest in the game faded as my love for basketball grew, I will never forget my first (athletic) love. Baseball in Japan is as big, if not bigger than in Amerika and with Japan winning the first ever BASEBALL WORLD CLASSIC in’06, the MLB seems to be taking notice.

In the words of DJ Khaled feat. Akon, everyone, and they mama:
“We takin’ ovaaa!!!”

Big LOVE to the Nihon no hito tachi and all our relatives,
Senbei

p.s.