The global showdown at Fenway Park
The baseball world was abuzz last night in anticipation of the confrontation between Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Major League Baseball’s newest Japanese star was finally going to face its most established one. More than a hundred Japanese media were in attendance, and the game was broadcast live in ...
The baseball world was abuzz last night in anticipation of the confrontation between Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Major League Baseball's newest Japanese star was finally going to face its most established one. More than a hundred Japanese media were in attendance, and the game was broadcast live in Japan. Behind home plate, savvy businesses had bought ads in Japanese.
The baseball world was abuzz last night in anticipation of the confrontation between Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Major League Baseball’s newest Japanese star was finally going to face its most established one. More than a hundred Japanese media were in attendance, and the game was broadcast live in Japan. Behind home plate, savvy businesses had bought ads in Japanese.
And the winner? Venezuela-born Felix Hernandez. Seattle’s 21-year-old pitcher throttled my beloved Red Sox, striking out six and giving up one measly hit. Matsuzaka—dubbed “Dice-K” by the Boston press and fans—had a solid outing (and he did strike out Ichiro), but he was no match for Hernandez, whose fastball several times touched 100 mph. Globalization, Boston learned to its chagrin, is full of surprises.
David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist
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