Pool A of the World Baseball Classic has two traditional powerhouses, Japan and Cuba, and two countries where baseball is a niche sport, Brazil and China.
Go below the jump for the preview:
Ever wonder what Japan’s Hall of Fame inductees look like? Turns out they are a lot like America’s Hall of Fame inductees…
Photo used under a creative commons license, taken by Craig Wyzik.
The Fukuoka Dome will be the site of the Pool A games of the 2013 WBC, and normally is the home of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Here’s what it looks like during a between-innings celebration:
This image is used under a creative commons license and was taken by “toooooool“.
A few years ago, Masato Akamatsu of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp made one of the greatest catches in baseball history. I recently stumbled across it again, so here it is:
You can see, of course, why it’s been called the “Spider-Man Catch”.
In 1996, Ichiro Suzuki pitched during a NPB All-Star Game.
This is video of that event. Sadly, Hideki Matsui was pinch-hit for.
As I mentioned, the Baseball Continuum is far beyond just the majors, it is everything baseball related. And, since the internet is so amazing, the world of baseball is more accessible than ever. Our forefathers may have been stuck with newspapers, ESPN and such, but the many niches available online mean we can follow almost any type of baseball league.
One such league is Nippon Pro Baseball (NPB), which, as the name suggests, are the Japanese leagues. And one of the best places on the internet for news about baseball across the Pacific is Yakyu Baka. It has up-to-date standings on their leagues, as well as updates on former major leaguers and possible future ones. As baseball becomes more international with things like the World Baseball Classic, international ball no longer can simply be ignored.
So, in honor of bringing Japanese baseball to English-speaking fans, Yakyu Baka is being added to the Blogroll.
The Baseball Continuum 