Do you believe this?
They sure do it differently over there. How and Why?. Who Knows?
Life abroad in Japan is very different.
A country with an enormous work ethic. A nation where the demands to succeed in industry and life are held up as the greatest achievements. A society where family, work ethic, and education are held more important than just the yen (the almighty dollar).
And they do love their sports, especially baseball. The Tokyo Giants, Nippon Ham Fighters, Lotte Marines and so many more of their major league franchises. The Tokyo Dome, Yokohama Stadium and the likes.
We know the love they have for their heroes here, Ichuro Suzuki, Yu Darvish and so many other Pacific Rim players who have come to major league baseball.
And there is a pride to finish what you start in Japan.
Which is why no one flinched there, when word filtered out that the ex-Red Sox, Dice K Matsuzaka, routinely threw 130-pitch games, or Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees big money free agent threw 156 in a playoff game.
Granted the mounds are different, the variety of pitches they throw are different, and they throw just one start per week in between lots of time fulfilling workouts.
But the story that filtered out of Japan this weekend, about a high school playoff game defies logic. A game that lasted 50-innings between Chukyo and Asahi in a tournament. The game was spread out over 4-days before Chukyo scored 3-runs in the 50th inning to win 3-0.
And the other storyline that no one can fathom, the two starting high school pitchers, pitched all 50-innings. Taiga Matsui threw 709-pitches in the 4-days straight he took the mound; the loser, Juk Ishoka, threw 689 for the other team.
They do it differently in Japan. Pride, powerful arms, and a philosophy to finish what you start.
What is the translation from English to Japanese of the words, pitch count, Tommy John surgery, rotator cuff?
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