 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
Working together Yankees forge agreement with Yomiuri GiantsPosted: Saturday November 16, 2002 2:34 AMTOKYO (AP) -- Two of baseball's strongest teams just got stronger. The New York Yankees and the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League signed a cooperative agreement Saturday for the purpose of strengthening ties between the two baseball superpowers. "On behalf of the Steinbrenner family and the New York Yankees, we're excited to be part of this historical agreement," Stephen Swindal, general partner of the New York Yankees, told reporters Saturday at a Tokyo hotel. Under the agreement, the two teams will exchange scouting reports on players in Japan and the United States and will support each other in scouting and player development in Japan, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. But the real question at Saturday's announcement was the future of free agent Hideki Matsui. Matsui, who became a free agent after 10 seasons with Yomiuri, is reportedly on the wish list of Yankee owner George Steinbrenner. Yankee general manager Brian Cashman denied there was any link between the signing of the agreement and the possible signing of Matsui. "The sole purpose of this agreement is to form a working relationship," said Cashman. "We're both smart enough to recognize we can learn a great deal from each other." But Cashman said he hoped to meet with Matsui when the seven-game series between Major League all-stars and their Japanese counterparts ends Sunday. "We respect the fact that he is engaged in a tremendous competition and needs to stay focused," said Cashman. "On the conclusion of the series, if appropriate, I would love to meet with him." Cashman admitted the Yankees were interested in Matsui. The 28-year-old Matsui is a three-time Central League MVP. He belted a league-leading 50 homers for the Japan Series champion Giants this season and has 332 homers since signing with the Giants in 1993. "A player of that ability would be attractive to any organization," said Cashman. "We certainly appreciate his abilities." Yoshinori Horikawa, president of the Yomiuri Giants, said the cooperative agreement came about after Yankee president Randy Levine sent a letter to Yomiuri owner Tsuneo Watanabe earlier this year. Yankee assistant general manager Jean Afterman arrived in Japan in August to further discuss the arrangement. Among other features, the agreement will allow the two teams to take advantage of their considerable marketing clout on both sides of the Pacific. "We'll be looking at all aspects when it comes to marketing," said Levine. "We'll be working within the rules of major league baseball to do things together that can help drive growing the game all over the world." The Yankees previously has a similar agreement with the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League. The Yomiuri Giants, however, are by far Japan's most popular team and have won a total of 20 Japan Series championships.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
