Intriguing question posed in an ESPN article, asking if and when we’ll see a Japanese manager in MLB. Most interesting are the quoted reactions to the question. I guess I’d never really thought much about this, but it’s a relevant query. I found myself agreeing with Huston Street’s opinion:

“As accepting as the game is of other cultures, there are probably a lot of American candidates who would be pretty upset if someone came here straight from Japan without experience in the U.S. game and got a job that Americans have been working toward their whole lives. But if it was a guy who’d played over here or worked as a coach over here, went back there and had some success managing, then came back, I could see that happening.”

Yeah. Personally, I’d love to see Hiromitsu Ochiai managing in America.  Won’t happen. Ichiro? I don’t see him as a manager in the U.S., but I suppose he’d be as likely as anyone. I heard a Nationals broadcaster indicate that part of the reason the Mariners are working Kenji Johjima at first is because he doesn’t communicate well with Mariner pitchers. I’d say that’d be a big strike against the idea of him becoming a manager.

Easier said than done. Major league players would likely fight the idea of reinventing the workout wheel—”The union would go crazy,” says Japanese baseball historian Robert Whiting—and might not be too keen on taking direction from someone outside the culture of American baseball. Upon introducing himself to his team and the Kansas City media this spring, Hillman downplayed his Japanese training, then increased the length of the Royals’ workouts.

The first Japanese-born manager in the majors would need to be a great communicator, a charismatic leader who could convince players to try something new, but also someone willing to temper the demands of the Japanese approach, who wouldn’t be strictly bound to the martial arts imperative of exhausting the body. He would need to speak English or come with an extraordinary translator or both. “The language barrier could undermine everything you’re trying to do,” says former Rangers and Mets skipper Bobby Valentine, who has become conversational in Japanese as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines. It would take someone familiar with the U.S. media, and someone who had proved himself to such a degree that his hiring wouldn’t be viewed as a promotional stunt—although such a marketing move can’t be ruled out as motivation.

Actually, the most likely Japanese person to get a look as a MLB manager would probably be Don Wakamatsu, bench coach of the A’s. He’s not mentioned in the story. He was born in Oregon, so I’m not sure if he qualifies as Japanese  (in the mind of the writer).

Which in turn  brings up what is probably a better question — “when will an Asian person manage in MLB?” Kim Ng’s name is being mentioned as a possible candidate for the Mariners GM job. Unfortunately, I really don’t see her getting that or any another GM job  for a long time. Just don’t think MLB is ready for it.  

In other ESPN-related news Wide Receiver Chad Johnson became editor-in-chief of ESPN The Magazine.

(Found the article on Japanesebaseball.com)