Japan wins the World Baseball Classic

Congratulations to Japan, the winners of the inugural World Baseball classic, defeating Cuba 10-6 in what was a very controversial and rather unorganized tournament.

Although I am not much of a baseball fan, I still can appreciate the signficance of this event. Comparing it to Canada winning the Olympic hockey gold medal or Australia winning the World Cup of Rugby wouldn't be understating it.

But in true Japanese form, there was hardly a boisterous celebration, even in Tokyo, where the only parade was to the newstand for a glimpse of the evening paper's headline.

By the way, Team Japan's very cool manager is Sadaharu Oh, who ruled Japanese baseball through out the 60's and 70's. He still holds the record for most home runs by a professional player -- kicking Hank Aaron's ass by over 110 taters-- and was immortalized in the Beastie Boys' song Hey Ladies.