Despite scheduling quirks, baseball in Japan should teach U.S. about sharing

For those of you who were not awake at 5 a.m. yesterday morning — and your excuse better be good if you weren't — you missed the New York Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as Major League Baseball kicked off its 2004 campaign in Tokyo, Japan.

The game was the lead story yesterday on ESPN's two hit afternoon talk shows, Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption, but only partly because of the surprising result. Tampa Bay's 8-3 Opening Day upset did, to be sure, open the floodgates of talk about New York's mammoth payroll and rumors about George Steinbrenner's potential reaction if his Bombers come home from the Far East with an 0-2 record.

But before the game was even played, every public personality from Jay Mariotti to Jay Leno was throwing in his two cents about the 'controversy' surrounding the opening game.

Some of the complaints about the event I completely agree with. First and foremost, what genius in Bud Selig's office proposed a game for five o'clock on a Tuesday morning? Who in America is waking up for this thing other than trash collectors, investment bankers and Princeton seniors who are screwed for their theses? I could schedule an aneurysm better than that. You're basically taking the team with the largest following in the country and telling its fans, "Go ahead. I dare you to watch it."

Second gaffe. This morning the Yankees and D-Rays clashed again in Day 2 of MLB 2K4. Day 3 of the season is on Sunday. Today is Wednesday. On Sunday, the Orioles will host the Red Sox in what baseball's P.R. people are dubbing, "Opening Night." Does this make sense to anyone? Four days between the end of the first series of the year and the start of the second? It just seems like another spring training game.

And speaking of spring training, don't think that it's over for the Yankees just because their regular season is under way. The Bombers play two more exhibition games this weekend once they return from Japan before permanently embarking on their regular season journey on Tuesday.

Please. Tell me this is the product of a lazy summer intern and that intern has since been fired. Does Tiger Woods get a day off after his first round to fix his swing? A false start is illegal in track and swimming, and I hope baseball will soon adopt a similar policy.

Deep breath. Let's put this in perspective. Two early morning games and a four-day layoff are not that big a deal. The season is 162 games long and by mid-May I doubt anyone will even remember this as an issue. I understand people's attachments to the tradition of Opening Day, but there are plenty of positives about the trip as well.

Not that baseball needs much promotion in Japan, but games held abroad certainly help the sport's appeal. Places like the Far East and Latin America are hotbeds for baseball, and the MLB seems to be trying to tap into that well. And, despite the inconvenience to New York (and Tampa Bay) fans who wanted to watch the games, can anyone argue with the financial success of the trip for the league? Every exhibition game was sold out, as were the two regular season contests. In fact, reports from this morning show that merchandise sales at the Tokyo Dome have just exceeded Japan's GDP.

But that shouldn't matter. Forget money. Spreading the game should be considered a good thing even if it isn't the most profitable decision. Americans are proud to call baseball our National Pastime, but we seem unwilling to share it with the world. Talking heads have been jabbering about how baseball is American and the American audience should be catered to and games should only come on during East Coast primetime hours. Now I'm all for pride and ownership, but exclusivity? Elitism? Isolationism?

I'm going to digress a little from baseball here because these sentiments seem to represent more than our attitudes on baseball. Elitist and isolationist are adjectives that have come to define America in a much wider sense over the last year.

Within the last few months, Utah and Idaho have considered proposals within their respective state governments on legislation which would recommend to Congress that the U.S. withdraw from the United Nations. Thankfully, the Utah senate recently defeated the measure.

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But where did this thing even come from? Did the guy who scheduled two more Yankee exhibition games during the season get his hands on some official Utah stationary?

Now more than ever, America needs to extend its hand in peace, not close the door in arrogance. If the Bush administration is serious about protecting our borders, we should do it without alienating our friends and creating new enemies. And while our first priority should certainly be the safety and future of our country, stiff international opposition to our policies might be a signal that, while our aims are noble, the means might need some tweaking. We are operating too much in an 'America First, America Only' mindset. Let's expand our horizons and widen our understanding of issues.

We are one of the richest countries in the world. Let's share our wealth. We are certainly the most powerful country on the planet. Let's help protect others as we try to protect ourselves. And if we can't seem to reconcile our differences in the political and diplomatic arenas, let's at least offer an olive branch in sports. Let Japan have Opening Day. Sometimes being a good friend — or a good global citizen — means just a touch of sacrifice. Rather than focusing on what we missed, think about what Japan gained.

And if you just can't see it the way I do, take solace. The Yanks will be home by tomorrow and the greatest season of the year begins on Sunday. Go Yanks.