Opinion Saving Japanese baseball By Scott Hards	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
ファンあってこそのプロ野球 近鉄とオリックスの合併に端を発したプロ球界の再編問題をきっかけに、 野球人気を回復する方策を考えてみよう。

Just about everybody with an opinion has already weighed in on the issue of whether Orix and Kintetsu's baseball teams should merge, and whether the Central and Pacific leagues should combine into one. First, let me add my voice to the chorus: No, and yes, respectively.

Japan needs more teams, not fewer. The current two-league structure, with only 12 teams, means each club only has five opponents during the season. Fans want more variety! Create a single league with east and west divisions. Have teams play most of their games in their own division, but include the other as well. Division winners play in the Japan Series.

But why has this issue come up? Kintetsu and Orix teams are both losing money, and Kintetsu can no longer afford to support their team. They want to share the burden of a money-losing team with another company by merging. But that doesn't address the more important issue of why the teams are money-losing in the first place.

They don't have to be. The Hiroshima Carp, with fewer fans at their games than Kintetsu or Orix, are profitable. Perhaps this has to do with their being an independent club, rather than something maintained simply as an advertisement for a parent firm.

If that's true, the solution is simple: Break teams away from parent companies completely, or at least manage them like independent firms. Demand profits! That means keeping player salaries in check, which have been rising at a rate far too fast for most teams to keep up with. Sorry, Furuta-san. You guys are making too much.

Besides cutting costs, the bottom line can be padded by increasing income. For baseball, that means getting more fans to the park, and watching on TV. Consider these ideas:

1) Improve TV broadcasts. Don't cut off the game before it's over! There's no greater insult to a fan. And coordinate the broadcast with the umpires so that no game play occurs during commercials.

2) Speed up game play. Watch a high-school game here and you'll see only 15-20 seconds between pitches. In the pros, it's closer to 30-40 seconds. MLB games in the United States average 2 hours 45 minutes. Here, it's about 3 hours 15 minutes. Shorter games would mean less need to cut off broadcasts.

3) Bring back doubleheaders. Meaningless filler games are often played to complete the season schedule long after pennants have been won, or even while the Japan Series is taking place! Nobody's interested. When games are called because of rain, make them up as soon as possible with doubleheaders. Fans love them.

4) Play more day games. What better way is there to create new baseball fans then for a family to take the kids to the ballpark? But parents don't want to have to drag home sound-asleep children at 10 p.m. Television broadcasts get better ratings at night, but there needs to be a compromise. More games during summer vacation time and weekends should be played during the afternoon, and yes, that includes the Yomiuri Giants!

Baseball has broken out of its slump in the United States and has never been hotter, with more teams than ever. Japanese fans are ready to support the domestic game, too, but their needs are being sidelined. Are you listening, Watanabe-san?

Shukan ST: Aug. 20, 2004

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