Kuroda to rejoin Hiroshima Carp

wow.. now what about Ichiro

I sort of thought Kuroda would remain in Major League Baseball for at least two more years to take advantage of MLB's good pension fund. A player needs 10 years for this pension, and Kuroda needed only two more. Surely he could have latched on with a major league team ... but guess his loyalty lies with the Carp, where he will probably finish out his career. Would like to see the Carp win it all next season ... with Kuroda being one of the key factors in the drive.

Wonder about Dice-K joining the reigning champs Softbank. Was that an odd move on Softbank's part?

This article needs a correction; Kuroda wore number 18 for the Yankees (and the Carp, if memory serves), not 15. Number 15 was most recently worn by catcher Thurman Munson, who was tragically killed in a plane crash; his number was then retired in his memory.

Kuroda wore number 18 with the Yankees and Dodgers, and number 16 with the Carp. IMO the best pitcher from Japan to play in MLB, and that includes Nomo.

Ichiro will try to get to 3,000 hits if he gets enough playing time to get there. Sure hope he can do it. I see him retiring in two years as it might take two more seasons to reach that mark. Ichiro has 2,844 hits in his 14 years in the Major Leagues. This past season he had 106 hits and the previous year he had 136. His hits have declined, so pretty unlikely he will get to 3,000 in 2015. First round Hall of Fame elect in my eyes.

2015 will be the YEAR OF THE CARP