The Impact of Japanese Mlb Players

In the 1870‘s, Japanese baseball began, but at that time, baseball players played wearing kimonos and bare feet. Nowadays, most American baseball enthusiasts know Japanese top level players, such as Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Matsui, and Ichiro Suzuki because they have many accomplishments in the highest level baseball league MLB [Major League Baseball]. Many Japanese professional baseball players are trying to move to America, as a result by 2009 16 Japanese players belonged to MLB teams (48 players born in Japan). Although there are not many players from Japan playing in America, the ones playing have had a great impact on Japanese baseball. Moreover, many of the Japanese MLB players have accomplished a lot with their teams. Many of them were star Japanese baseball players, and therefore have had a big effect on business because a lot of Japanese tourists travel to the U.S. to watch baseball games. In addition, some Japanese MLB players have very interesting styles, such as Hideo Nomo, and Ichiro Suzuki. These Japanese MLB player’s activities also affect other Asian countries, so some Korean and Chinese Taipei players transferred to MLB too. However, they have not only have a good impact, they also have a bad impact for Japanese people. For example, many top level professional players transfered to MLB, so the Japanese professional baseball league level has gone down. In addition, some high-school and amateur baseball players go to MLB directly, so the Japanese professional league loses young talented players too. Therefore, the impact of Japanese MLB players is huge and affects many countries.

History of Japanese Baseball Japanese baseball has a long history since it began in 1870. According to Gary, Engel, “Dr. Horace Wilson, an American professor teaching in Japan, introduced the Japanese to baseball in the 1870's. As a result, baseball first became popular at Japanese universities.” During the 1920’s and early 1930’s, the Big Six University league became

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