Today, just like the National and American Leagues in Major League Baseball, there are two leagues in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) – Central and Pacific.
Perhaps the world’s biggest city, population-wise, doesn’t fit into most people’s idea of a paradise. Even for the people of Japan, Tokyo is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Ty Cobb is a baseball legend: He is widely credited with setting 90 records during his career, including runs scored, runs batted in, career batting average and most bases stolen by any MLB player.
Edwin D. "Duke" Snider was the pitcher for Enterprise Junior High School’s softball team in Los Angeles beginning in 1937. During three of the four years he played there, the team won the league championship.
Every year the return of the cherry blossoms on the island also means the return of pro baseball. Just like the Sunshine State and Grand Canyon State are the destinations for MLB teams in the States, so are the sub-tropical islands for Japan’s pro ballplayers.
Have you heard of Japan’s furikake? In Japanese, furikake means "to sprinkle over." Furikake are seasonings of various dried ingredients such as egg, seaweed, or sesame, made to top a bowl of plain white rice.
The famous Land of the Rising Sun is known for so many things, it’s hard to even mention them all: culture, history, pop culture, manga, anime, cosplay, sights, architecture...the list could go on and on.
