subject: Murakami offer opinions on MLB, NPB [print this page] Murakami offer opinions on MLB, NPB Murakami offer opinions on MLB, NPB
Japanese baseball had trouble finding broadcast partners for the 2010 Japan Series between the Chiba Lotte Marines and Chunichi Dragons. That was a perplexing turn of events in a nation where the sport is king.
Now, try to imagine a scenario these days in which there was no broadcast coverage of the World Series in the U.S. Even this season's matchup between the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers, neither among the majors' glamour franchises, was readily available to baseball fans across the U.S, where to buy Discount MLB Jerseys? maybe ujersy is a good choice.
By comparison, to not have every Japan Series game on terrestrial channels (TV and radio revenue was down 55 million) had to be distressing for NPB officials.
It paints a dour portrait of the state of affairs in the Japanese game, and spotlights the widening gap between the successes of Major League Baseball and the shortcomings of the NPB to market its game, even within its own borders.
That issue was recently tackled at a forum dealing with the business side of the game in the U.S. and Japan attended by Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese to play in the majors, current MLB star Prince Fielder and Jim Small, MLB's vice president for Asia.
"Back in my days, Japanese were always saying 'we need to catch up with Major League Baseball and overcome them,' " mused Masanori Murakami, a former pitcher who won 103 games in Japan. "Right now I don't think that's feasible. Because Japanese baseball is not really looking at the global points.
"For example, they are changing the ball they use in games. This is not even an internationally regulated ball, which means they don't really use this type of ball in other countries. The top people in Japanese baseball need to be sensitive to those small matters."
As attendance and revenue figures continue to soar in MLB, the NPB is looking for ways to stimulate what has become a stagnant market. The league lost money this year and, in an effort to generate revenue announced last month it was asking the players' association to sign off on a third game for the 2010 All-Star Series.
"I think by any measure this is the golden age of baseball in the United States," Small said. "People talk about the 1950s and '60s being the golden age of baseball, but when you look at what's happening right now, when you see the amazing young players we have in our game right now, we have right now such an incredible cadre of players that fans are able to watch."
That alone doesn't seem to account for the chasm between the two leagues. Japanese baseball, after all, has its own stockpile of homegrown stars such as Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ace Yu Darvish and Yomiuri Giants shortstop Hayato Sakamoto and even a strong group of foreigners headed by the Giants' Alex Ramirez and Aaron Guiel of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
If the problem is not the on-field product, the underlying implication is the way the NPB markets its product is one of the biggest reasons profits are up in MLB and teams continue to lose money in Japan.
"The finances and the situation with NPB right now is little more precarious," Small said. "The Mainichi Shimbun just reported that the NPB office lost 60 million this year and this is the fourth year in a row that they lost money. All 12 of the Japanese teams, according to the Mainichi, lost money. I think the economy and the way the NPB is conducting its business has a huge effect on overall profits in the NPB.
"I'm not saying we're good they're bad, we're right, they're wrong," Small said. "What I'm doing is laying this out to really show the differences between the way we market and the way the NPB markets."
While its easy to balk at some of the ticket prices around the majors, the marketing teams of the league's 30 clubs work hard to give fans a reason to want to come to a game. Most stadiums provide enough activities to keep the whole family happy and many teams go the extra mile in order to provide a comfortable fan experience.
"We're going to market a 3-hour entertainment experience for a consumer," Small said. "We're in the entertainment business. I'm not sure if the NPB looks at it in that way.
"We have a 3-hour opportunity to entertain fans. We control everything in that process, except for two things: the score of the game and the weather, if you want to buy NEW YORK YANKEES #65 Jerseys, go to ujersy.
"Everything else we can control. We can control how hot the food is; we can control the entertainment going on in the stadium; we can control how easy it is to buy a ticket; promote our players, make sure that they (the fans) understand how special our players are, we control all that.
"The end result is an opportunity for fans to come back. We need repeat business.
"We're just like an airline, we're just like a hotel. If a plane leaves tonight from Narita with an empty seat, Japan Airlines can never sell ...
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