Link Banana

I love titles that write themselves. The substance:

Japanese television used to broadcast domestic games almost every day, and high-school tournaments still fixate the nation. But in recent years the Americans have lured Japan’s best players with fat salaries; 17 now play in MLB, including two pitchers for the Red Sox. American games attract huge television audiences, pushing aside domestic teams. Sales of merchandise jump when American clubs sign Japanese players. MLB’s revenue in Japan, $100m last year, now accounts for 60% of its income outside America. Japan risks becoming a mere farm-team and fan base for America, frets Masaru Ikei, a professor at Keio University and author of “Baseball and the Japanese People”.