Akiyama agreed to a three-year, $21 million deal with the Reds, the only Major League team that hasn’t had a player born in Japan.
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Count Jerry Martin and Mark Fugate as two of those excited about watching Akiyama this season in Cincinnati.
Martin spent 20 years in Japan and six years ago returned to the U.S. to serve as Regional Director of Global Programs at Miami University’s three regional campuses in Butler County. While living in Japan, he watched closely as Japanese players signed contracts with MLB teams.
He expects Akiyama, a 31-year-old center fielder who was a five-time All-Star during his nine seasons with the Seibu Lions in Japan’s Pacific League, to make a difference on the field and at the gate.
“The economic impact will be huge,” Martin predicted. “From merchandising to tickets to the exposure. What they spent on him, they will get back 10 fold.”
At Wednesday’s press conference announcing the signing of Akiyama, the media included 21 reporters from 11 Japanese news outlets, and it was streamed around the world by MLB.com.
“I’ve had the pleasure of participating in many press conferences, but I don’t think any of them have been this historically significant,” said Dick Williams, president of baseball operations. “That’s why we have a full room. I would like to welcome members of the media and baseball fans watching around the world, especially in Japan.”
In the audience were Akiyama’s wife Akaya and sons Fumiya, 5, and Yuya, 3, along with members of the Japan-America Society of Greater Cincinnati, which helped welcome Akiyama and his family to the area. The experience included a stop Tuesday at a Skyline Chili for lunch.
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Martin predicted that Japanese baseball fans will travel to the U.S. to watch their favorite stars, including Akiyama.
“Cincinnati will become a destination for Japanese baseball fans,” Martin said.
In Japan, the high school baseball tournament is the equivalent to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in the U.S., Martin said. Those same players in high school are followed throughout their professional careers, he said.
“The players are idolized like you wouldn’t believe,” he said. “It starts in high school and it never ends.”
While watching baseball in Japan, Martin said he appreciated the players’ work ethic.
“Second to none,” he said. “They want to play baseball to the best of their ability each and every day.”
Martin said he’s “super excited” about purchasing Akiyama merchandise, including his No. 4 jersey, and attending more Reds games with his wife.
That’s exactly what Fugate wants to hear from Reds fans. He owns Sports Gallery, a sports memorabilia store in Butler County, and brings in about 20 former and current Reds players every year for public autograph signings. More wins means more interest in the team, he said.
Since Akiyama is the first Japan-born player in Cincinnati there will be “a great demand” for the autograph, Fugate said.
Baseball is “king” in Japan because, unlike the U.S., there aren’t the same number of sports competing for fan attention, he said.
But this isn’t the first time the Reds have been associated with Japan. In 1978, the Reds made a 17-game trip to Japan in which the team finished with a record of 14-2-1, which came on the heels of finishing second in the National League.
Ironically, Manager Sparky Anderson, who won back-to-back World Series in 1975-76, was fired when the team returned from Japan.
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