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MLB ROAD TRIP 2001
2001.4.11 <VOL.5>
Preparation Issue
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*Sean is in Vancouver, Aya is in Tokyo
Index
1. A great week for Japan
In our last mail magazine, we asked you to pay attention to the
Japanese players who are playing in the majors this year. For
those of you who did that in the first week of the season,
it was well worth it. The performance of rookies Ichiro and
Shinjo,
coupled with the stunning no-hitter of veteran Hideo Nomo
highlighted
a great first week for Japanese players.
Ichiro is obviously the man who has captivated Japan this spring.
But
in the first week of the season, it was Nomo who took home the AL
player
of the week award after pitching the second no-hitter of his
career.
He shutout the Orioles 3-0 last Wednesday evening, completing the
Red
Sox first no-no since 1965. Even more noteworthy, Nomo became
only the
fourth pitcher to hurl no-hitters in both leagues joining
In Seattle, Ichiro and Sasaki were at the top of their game too.
On Thursday, Ichiro's 10th inning two-run home run gave Seattle a
7-5 lead over the Rangers and capped a 4-6 performance for him. S
asaki came on to get the save, his second of the season. Ichiro
finished the week 11/29 for a .379 average while Sasaki saved all
3 games he appeared in, although he did give up 2 runs in one
appearance.
For those of you who are wondering, Boston and Seattle play 9
times
this season - May 1-3 in Seattle and May 8-10 and August 14-16
in Boston. Nomo vs Ichiro - should be something to watch.
Shinjo is also making waves for the Mets, hitting his first home
run on
Monday in a 9-4 win over the Braves. After 7 games, Shinjo has
gone 7/19
for a .362 clip and has started 3 games in a row in center field.
Other Japanese players are faring well too. Shigetoshi Hasegawa
of the
Angels has appeared in 3 games, giving up one run, while Mac
Suzuki of
the Royals won his first start, going 5 solid innings against
Minnesota
on Sunday, allowing only 1 home run. Tomo Okha of the Red Sox
lasted only
4 innings in his debut, but Boston still won the game.
Let's hope that every week is as enjoyable as the last one for
Japanese
players and fans alike. Of course, we are not going to update you
on
their exploits once our trip begins, as we will be too busy
driving
around the country watching games and letting you know the
details of
the cities and ballparks in the major and minor leagues.
In fact, this will be our last issue before the trip begins. Next
week,
we will have a report on Seattle, Safeco Field, and Ichiro. April
17th
is day 1 of the trip - just one week away! Stay tuned!
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