Its been only 11 days since the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck the island nation of Japan, killing thousands of people and unleashing a wave of devastation not seen in the country since World War 2, not to mention a nuclear crisis that threatens to make parts of the country uninhabitable for decades to come. Its also only 3 days until the scheduled start of the Japanese Central League baseball season. The Central League is the most popular league in Japan’s most popular sport and debate is raging as to wether it is a good idea to start the season as planned or delay it to focus on earthquake recovery. Thus far, the Central League is in favor of playing the games while the Pacific League, far less popular, has advised waiting. The compromise that has been settled on involves the Central League starting 4 days late and the Pacific League playing on April 12th. They will also change the actual games, they will play with dimmed lights at night or inside to conserve power and end every game after 9 innings no matter the score.
The argument in favor of the schedule and rule changes is that baseball, which is a huge part of Japanese culture, can play healing role for the Japanese people and can provide a “return to normalcy.” Comparisons are being drawn between Japan now and New York in the aftermath of 9/11 but I believe these comparisons are off the mark. I was in New York on 9/11 so I do feel a little qualified to discuss this matter.
Certainly, New York was a mess after 9/11 but it was more emotional than physical. Yes, the rubble was still burning in lower Manhattan but for the most part the physical devastation was limited to Ground Zero. In Japan, a significant portion of the country is in ruin. Houses, hospitals, schools, baseball fields and stadiums are in piles of rocks or under water. The reason we didn’t play baseball on September 12th in New York is because we didn’t want to, the reason they aren’t playing baseball this Friday in Japan is in many cases because they physically can’t.
Though I see the value of providing a paycheck to the workers employed by teams at the stadiums, I don’t think a good way to get things back to normal is by playing baseball games that end in ties.
Additionally, it should be noted that many of the players don’t want to play. They think that there are more important matters to be taken care of than playing ball. There was even a rumor about a potential player’s strike to avoid playing the games, though it is a very remote possibility.
I think at this point in time, less than 2 weeks since the quake, baseball should take a back seat. Let’s make sure we have stadiums for teams (let alone homes and schools etc) before we start playing games. Even though baseball can be a valuable distraction for players and fans, I’m not so sure this is the right time to be distracted.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know
-Max Frankel
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