Japanese players show increasing ability to adjust to MLB despite challenges faced

CALIFORNIA — It’s not easy for Japanese to go to play baseball in the North America, even in the major leagues, where everything is first class. Life is so different on many levels. The hurdles are many and not easy. It’s not just about the fact that the MLB baseball is physically different and harder to get a grip for NPB hurlers, or that the mound is higher.

There are also lengthy road trips, especially for West Coast teams who must fly six hours to New York, Boston and other East Coast cities, and the accompanying time zone changes. Then there is also the matter of getting used to a different diet, navigating the English language (and sometimes Spanish), playing a 162-game schedule and playing more often outdoors in the heat of summer than in Japan, where there are more indoor stadiums per capita than in the North America.