What's SOM obsession with Japanese baseball

Perhaps our various views on this partly reflect our different perspectives on what baseball is, or should be, or what the glory days of baseball were (if we believe in such a concept at all).

I personally believe that humans are corrupt and weak to one degree or another, with some exceptions. And that this applies to human-made organizations, like baseball. Therefore I believe that there was never a golden age of baseball. That either they were always either racists, cheating, cruel, apathetic, doing drugs, greedy, or some combination. On the other hand, there are always some exceptions. Which makes some of our favorite teams so magical. They play baseball the "right way," giving us such a thrill over the course of a special season or longer period. I'm no Royals fan, but wasn't their team from 2-3 years ago pretty fun to root for? With individual players, one example of a stellar guy would be Curtis Granderson. A truly great human being, who happens to play baseball. Who wouldn't want him on their team, especially in his prime!

But back to Strat cards. Strat isn't baseball. When I make the mistake to view it as baseball I create crappy sub-500 teams. As I see it, it's more of a puzzle, maybe akin to a complex math puzzle which takes some study, time, flexibility and concentration. So I don't care if the card is Cuban, Mexican, Korean, Negro Leagues, or whatever. If the card is useful for a specific ball park I choose, I'll be happy to use it. Not because it represents anything about baseball, let alone "true baseball," but because it advances my attempt to solve the elusive math puzzle.

Chompsky

But back to Strat cards. Strat isn't baseball. When I make the mistake to view it as baseball I create crappy sub-500 teams. As I see it, it's more of a puzzle, maybe akin to a complex math puzzle which takes some study, time, flexibility and concentration. So I don't care if the card is Cuban, Mexican, Korean, Negro Leagues, or whatever. If the card is useful for a specific ball park I choose, I'll be happy to use it. Not because it represents anything about baseball, let alone "true baseball," but because it advances my attempt to solve the elusive math puzzle.

Chompsky

I understand this perspective, but I think Strat CAN BE baseball. It just depends on your perspective. I have friends here who are mathematicians and look at Strat from that perspective. I, and others, look at Strat, especially ATG, as more of a historical opportunity to play with representations of heroes of our childhood, or players from another era. So, I want cards that are as accurate as possible from seasons of Major League Baseball, representing those players.

That's why I've wished aloud for two ATG sets: an Unleashed Set that includes NeL cards, pre-1894 cards, those cards that are outliers like Gates Brown and Kid Speer, plus Japanese, Cuban, whatever. And ALSO a set of MLB cards from 1894 to the recent past, maybe up until the last 5 years. They already do this with the 20xx games.

Best of both worlds: mathematicians get cards where they don't even have to look at the name if they so desire, while those of us more interested in the historical aspect of MLB can use the MLB set if we so choose.

We should also ban Muslim baseball players from the seven nations. Green card holders, too. Especially students and research scientists who use baseball as a "cover."

One of the interesting things to study about WW2 and baseball is how the USA recruited MLB players touring Japan as spys. Do not know enough about it to speculate on how effective it was or how much difference it made in the war. But it happened. Japan's leaders of the time may have been wise to take a closer look at them. That is not to say I believe any Muslim baseball players are terrorists or anything. Just saying the world is a more complicated place than just balls and strikes.

Now as to why Strat pushes Japanese baseball the answer is as simple as what drives nearly all businesses, money.
There is money to be made. The Japanese have money to spend and I am sure while some follow American baseball most of them are more likely to spend to buy Japanese based rosters. And you cannot overlook the stepping stone that could be in to all of the Asian market. Strat could be looking a decade or more down the road. If it ever got the Chinese market to start buying..... That is a market that most international businesses desire.

We should also ban Muslim baseball players from the seven nations. Green card holders, too. Especially students and research scientists who use baseball as a "cover."

One of the interesting things to study about WW2 and baseball is how the USA recruited MLB players touring Japan as spys. Do not know enough about it to speculate on how effective it was or how much difference it made in the war. But it happened. Japan's leaders of the time may have been wise to take a closer look at them. That is not to say I believe any Muslim baseball players are terrorists or anything. Just saying the world is a more complicated place than just balls and strikes.

Look up Moe Berg. He was recruited to spy on Japan during tours like this.

In 1934, Herb Hunter arranged for a group of All-Stars, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Gomez, to tour Japan playing exhibitions against a Japanese all-star team. Despite the fact that Berg was a mediocre, third-string catcher, he was invited at the last minute to make the trip. Among the items Berg took with him to Japan were a 16-mm Bell & Howell movie camera and a letter from MovietoneNews, a New York City newsreel production company with which Berg had contracted to film the sights of his trip. When the team arrived in Japan, he gave a welcome speech in Japanese and also addressed the legislature.[30]

On November 29, 1934, while the rest of the team was playing in Omiya, Berg went to Saint Luke's Hospital in Tsukiji, ostensibly to visit the daughter of American ambassador Joseph Grew. Instead, Berg sneaked onto the roof of the hospital, one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, and filmed the city and harbor with his movie camera.

As a spy working for the government of the United States during WW2, Berg traveled to Yugoslavia to gather intelligence on resistance groups the U.S. government was considering supporting. He was then sent on a mission to Italy, where he interviewed various physicists concerning the German nuclear program.