対人能力ゼロのナンパ６

On a recent plane flight between New York and Tokyo, I
was reading an interesting article in TIME magazine. The
story was about the Japanese baseball star, Ichiro Suzuki. In
his first season as a Major League player, he has been voted a
member of this year's All-Star team. His great success and
popularity among American baseball fans signals a new era in
Japanese-American baseball.
Japanese players like Ichiro and others, such as Sasaki
Kazuhiro, Nomo Hideo, and Irabu Hideki, are making names
for themselves in American baseball. Although many people
assume that they are attracted to Major League baseball by the
high salaries, it is the opportunity to challenge themselves
against the best players in the world that is the strongest
motivation for these players.
And there are other reasons, too. Many professional
baseball players in Japan are frustrated with the rigid systems
of baseball in this country. The former Yokohama BayStars
pitching star, Sasaki Kazuhiro commented, "Japanese teams see
me not as a man, but as a machine, or a racehorse to be run
until its legs give out. In Japan, we are used by the teams and
then disposed of. In America, much greater attention is given
to the welfare of the players."