BASEBALL: PLENTY MORE AFTER HIDEO NOMO

THANKS TO HIDEO NOMO, MAJOR LEAGUE TEAMS NOW LOOK UPON JAPAN AS THE LAND OF THE RISING FASTBALL

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Nomo's success is the dominant reason major league teams covet Japanese pitchers. There are two in the Mets camp, and one of them, left-handed reliever Takashi Kashiwada, has a chance of making the team. The Boston Red Sox are saving a spot in the bullpen for Robinson Checo, a Dominican who pitched last year for the Hiroshima Carp.

But another reason for the Japanization of American baseball is, simply, the Americanization of Japanese baseball. Players in Japan are watching more major league baseball and realizing there's not that much difference. Young players there are also aware of the greater independence, and rewards, enjoyed by their counterparts in the U.S. Irabu wanted to leave the Marines in part because the freedom he had enjoyed under Valentine had been taken away by authoritarian former general manager Tatsuro Hirooka, who fired Valentine despite the team's best finish in 10 years.

Having watched some of their top pitchers go West, Japanese fans are fearful that Kazuhiro Sasaki of the Yokohama Bay Stars, or Masumi Kuwata of the Yomiuri Giants, or maybe even a non-pitcher like Hideki Matsui, power hitter from the Tokyo Giants, will be next. Who else will follow Nomo? "To play in the major leagues is still the stuff dreams are made on," says Ikeda, paraphrasing The Tempest. If he and Valentine are right, then Irabu has the stuff championships are made on. And the tempest started by the Tornado could help turn the World Series into a true world series.

--With reporting by Satsuki Oba/Tokyo

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