It hasn’t gotten a ton of attention, so you may not even know, but MLB is staging a five-game series (plus two exhibition games (but aren’t they all exhibition games, really?)) that pits its players against Japan’s national team from Tuesday, November 11 until Thursday, November 20.
Complete schedule for next week's Japan All-Star Series; all games to be broadcast live & re-aired on @MLBNetwork. pic.twitter.com/WQwuf6pDvf
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) November 7, 2014
Today, the full roster for MLB was released, and it features Cubs lefty Tsuyoshi Wada getting a chance to go to Japan and pitch for Team MLB:
The full roster for Japan All-Star Series 2014, just announced by MLB & @MLB_PLAYERS: pic.twitter.com/4J28M8wngf
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) November 7, 2014
As you might expect, the roster is position-player heavy, as teams are understandably reluctant to allow their arms to accumulate too much more mileage in the offseason. But it’s a cool opportunity for Wada, who threw 183 innings this year between AAA and MLB.
The All-Star Series against Japan’s national team has been played 10 times before, but not since 2006. It’s probably a nice scouting opportunity for teams, if nothing else. And, hey, big-time baseball in mid-November is never a bad thing.