A True World Series

Posted by Philip Riccobono at 7 January, at 19 : 00 PM Print

World Series champs against Japanese champs? It could happen
From Yahoo

By ‘Duk

We were just talking about what moves Bud Selig might make to bolster his legacy before he steps down as baseball’s commissioner in 2012, so it probably comes as no surprise that he’s thinking big.

Like, globally big.

According to the AP, Selig and Japanese commissioner Ryozo Kato are meeting in Milwaukee and have discussed the possibility of a Global World Series that would pit the World Series champions against the champions from the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan.

From the Associated Press:

“In meetings with Japanese commissioner Ryozo Kato in Milwaukee, MLB commissioner Bud Selig proposed that the Japanese and U.S. champions play each other, the Nikkansports newspaper reported Thursday.

“‘I was surprised, Mr. Selig said he wants to realize the plan before his tenure ends,’ Kato told Nikkansports.

“Selig is set to retire in 2012. When he took office in 2008, Kato, a former Japanese ambassador to the United States, said one of his goals was an international series between the world’s two biggest baseball nations.”

There isn’t much to this Nikkansports report past those few paragraphs, so we’ll have to wait and see just how serious Selig and Kato are about this proposal. Considering that Selig has a serious jonesin’ for expanding the game internationally (see the Classic, World Baseball) and that Japan lives, breathes and sleeps baseball, it’s not outside the realm of possibilities.

But it’s also hard to imagine that the same challenges that face the WBC — scheduling, increased risk of injury to pitchers and apathetic American players — won’t also hamper the Global World Series. The player’s union would certainly put up a big fight during an attempted adoption as this goes past the usual All-Star goodwill trips to Japan (pictured) that we’ve seen in the past.

Personally, I’d enjoy seeing how the whole thing would work and the quality of play that we’d be able to see. (This season we would have seen the Yankees vs. the Yomiuri Giants.)

But I also think the novelty would wear off pretty quickly and I’m not sure you could pay the players enough money to extend a season that keeps getting longer and longer.

What do you think?

News Bud Selig, Global World Series, Japan, Ryozo Kato