A TRUE WORLD SERIES?

by Brian P. Foley, The College Baseball Blog

Bobby Valentine who managed in MLB baseball with the Texas Rangers and New York Mets after being let go by the Mets he was hired by the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Pacific League of Japanese Baseball. He has proposed that the champion of the Japan Series should take on the World Series winner in Hawaii for a true World Series. In 2005, Valentine's Marines won the Japanese Series and Valentine quickly challenged the Chicago White Sox to a real World Series. MLB balked at the idea and it went under the rug for awhile until the Red Sox and Athletics showed up in Tokyo to open up the MLB season. Valentine brought this idea up again and I think that it would be a great thing to do for the sport of baseball.

So lets take a look at the logistics of this happening.

Do the dates work between the Leagues? The MLB World Series ended on October 28th as the Red Sox completed the sweep of the Colorado Rockies. The Chunichi Dragons won the Japan Series on November 1st which was only four days after the MLB World Series. So it is possible as both leagues end around the same time period.

Where could this be held? If they were to play a 7 or 9 game set between the MLB/Japan champions we would have to have it hosted in a warm weather city in the United States every season. Valentine suggested that they go to Honolulu and play the series there since it is halfway between both of the countries. Is there a facility that is big enough to host this event in Hawaii? The current Aloha Stadium has hosted a three game set between the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in 1997 and hosted a Padres vs Seibu Lions exhibition game in 1975. The biggest problem right now is that Aloha Stadium is currently locked into a football configuration which would force them to somehow fit a diamond into the current setup. This can probably be done with getting a diamond inside the stadium.

League issues? The MLB players have one of the best unions in the World so this would be a major issue as many MLB players have already raised concerns over traveling to Japan to open the season with two games over there. We would also be extending the season for the players another 2 weeks roughly which would put the tourney into the middle of November which gives the players a smaller off-season and less time with their families. I think the Japanese players would love to be involved in this as they think their league is on par with MLB. This is the biggest roadblock to having a true World Series.

I don't think you will see this series a reality over the next ten years as MLB needs a commissioner who is going to look at this type of event as an excellent opportunity to market the league in the Far East.