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© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Japan baseball boss apologizes for ball switch
By JIM ARMSTRONG TOKYO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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JeffLee
He's apologizing for creating "confusion"? No, he should apologize for lying and staging a cover-up.
To whit: "NPB previously denied this year’s increase in home runs had anything to do with changes to the baseball."
some14some
NPB commissioner and former top diplomat to U.S. Mr. Kato refuses to resign...was quite expected.
ViennaSausage2
"Confusion". Love it. This story, if anything, is a reflection of how Japanese shift, manipulate, and distort responsibility.
danalawton1@yahoo.com
The NPB Commissioner should be fired.... this is not a question of resigning. It is obvious that this man has zero common sense or else he would not have tried to conceal changing the ball in the first place without the full knowledge of all those in Japanese Baseball. How certain people rise to such high positions in Japan while they have gaping holes in character is a mystery to me.
ultradarkmelvin
The 12 owners of the team can demand the resignation of Kato and that is exactly what they should do. T
spudman
Only story here is he got outed. He knows baseball is seriously in decline and tried to do something about it. It's still a boring dinosaur that can't be saved at this stage. Fan base is even more askew than Japanese demographics i.e upside down pyramid.
smithinjapan
Thank you for your meaningless, mandatory apology. If you truly mean it, resign, and have the NBP go back to not just having Mizuno supply the balls, but all four companies again. Until then, apologize to the mirror for kidding yourself you think we'd care.
Japan Yesterday
Excuse me, but can someone more knowledgeable than me explain what a "livelier" ball is?
wanderlust
Ryozo Kato, Kunio Shimoda and his deputy should all resign. They have zero integrity. Expect to hear: regrettable, misunderstanding, deep apologies, unique sports culture; the usual platitudes...
But I'm sure in a few months they'd all appear on the Mizuno payroll...
tjguy
"instructed to lie".
What great role models we have here!
And if players lied to them, they would be upset, right?
Is honesty a value worthwhile practicing or not?
If we adults don't practice it, then how can we expect our kids to practice it?
True. I think he has lost trust and to show that honesty really does matter, perhaps he should resign.
Oh, a "livelier" ball is one that is made to travel when hit than the previous ones. In other words, they made the baseballs so they can be hit further which is why the number of home runs has dramatically increased this year.