2012-07-13

Japan baseball exports to MLB striking it big in US

By Mariko Oi, BBC News, Tokyo

Far away from the US city of Kansas, Missouri, die-hard Japanese baseball fans gathered around their television sets earlier this week to watch the 83rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

They were utterly disappointed, however, when their star Yu Darvish didn't get to pitch.

He is Japan's latest addition to Major League Baseball (MLB) after signing a six-year contract worth $60m ( £38.7m) with the Texas Rangers in January.

It was the most expensive contract that any Japanese player has scored so far.

He has only been pitching in the US for less than half a year, but 25-year-old Mr Darvish was selected for the final and 34th spot on the All-Star team as a result of online voting by MLB fans.

Read the full story at www.bbc.co.uk