Robert Whiting, author of The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, You Gotta Have Wa, and The Meaning of Ichiro, writes in the Japan Times with the latest forecast of doom for Japanese baseball because of raids from MLB. Whiting also does cite the poor management of the sport in Japan, which I think is a much bigger reason.
Then again, I don't think that NPB is in any danger of going under and at worse, would just get bought out by MLB.
Whiting cites, without any support, that water consumption in Japan increased by 25% during commercial breaks of the WBC final. It's good to know that American urban legends can make their way around the world.
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