it’s a testament to the game of baseball that the 2007 All-Star balloting includes the option to cast a Japanese-translated ballot. English and Spanish are the only other options. Is it possible to cast a vote from outside the US? I don’t see why not. Voting online only requests your name, email and birthday, pitting your details against a database of entered information – you can vote up to 25 times. Votes from Japan (and everywhere else for that matter) no doubt would be included in the results.
Pretty remarkable to consider how well the game of baseball has grown in Japan: last year not only did that country win the premiere World Baseball Classic but that same series saw Daisuke Matsuzaka named MVP, who has since been acquired by the Boston Red Sox. With the quality of their athletes, and so many players being acquired by Major League teams, American baseball is increasing its fan-base abroad. In return, those fans are allowed to vote for the All-Star Game, in their native language.
Influence spills both ways it would seem.
6 days left to vote. Don’t know who to vote for? Might I recommend voting for Albert Pujols where applicable, and writing him in for every other position! Pujols for shortstop. Pujols for catcher. That’d be a great game of baseball!
Related websites:
Baseball has been around in Japan for longer than you might think (wikipedia)
How everybody else is beating us at our own game
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