Picture this: It's the year 2010 and the Yomiuri Giants are gunning for their first title in 10 years. It's late in the season and they desperately need a win. With two out in the bottom of the ninth, an aging batsman strolls to the plate. You've seen him a million times before on both sides of the Pacific. His name is Roberto Alomar.
"You never know," Alomar says about the possibility of playing for a Japanese club in the twilight of his career. "I'm not going to say yes or no. I want to see where I'll be then, if my body still allows me to play baseball. But I would love to play here at some point, for the experience. I heard if you come here, you want to play for the Giants. But right now my first priority is playing in America."
Right now the Cleveland Indians second baseman finds himself in Japan for the All-Star Series 2000. The major leaguers lead their Japanese counterparts 3-2-1 in the eight-game biennial tour.
Alomar, who captured his ninth gold glove on Tuesday, is impressed with the quality of baseball played on these shores.
"I've only faced the Japanese pitchers a handful of times, but they appear to have great arms," says the 32-year-old. "They're real intelligent. The ones in the big leagues are real talented, too." One of those big leaguers he's referring to is Seattle Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, his teammate in Japan this week.
"I asked Sasaki about a few of the pitchers, but he told me he (doesn't know) because there are a lot of new ones. I think it's up to us to figure them out on our own."
Figuring out pitchers is something the switch-hitter does with ease. He hit .310 with 19 homers and 89 RBIs in 2000. Despite such gaudy numbers, the Indians failed to reach the postseason for the first time since the 1994 strike. Alomar, who vows Cleveland will return to the playoffs next season, is equally impressed with Japan's hitters. "I think there are a lot of guys who could play overseas," says the Puerto Rican. "A lot of them don't have much power but they make contact. They run the bases real well and know how to play the game. And they have a few power hitters, but not a lot.
"Take the Cleveland Indians, for example. We have Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Travis Fryman. We have five guys who can hit you maybe 20 or 30 home runs. And the Yankees have that, too. Maybe in Japan they have only two guys on one team who'll get you 25 home runs."
Remembering the names of those guys is another story.
"There's (Yomiuri center fielder Hideki) Matsui," he says. "And then there's that, um, right fielder (he's referring to Yomiuri's Yoshinobu Takahashi) and the guy at third (Norihiro Nakamura of the Kintetsu Buffaloes). They'll get you some homers." What does Alomar think of Ichiro Suzuki, the Orix BlueWave outfielder who's aiming to play in the majors next season? He answers with caution. "I haven't seen Ichiro play," says the 10-time All-Star. "I've talked to some teammates about him, but I can't decide just by that. He's hurt right now, but they say he's a big-league product. We'll welcome him to the States for sure. I hope he plays for the Cleveland Indians."
If the Indians re-sign Ramirez, they won't have much cash left to pay Ichiro. Ramirez is seeking a contract in the offseason that would make him the richest player in baseball history. Alomar thinks his teammate is worth whatever the market is willing to shell out, even if that figure reaches $20 million a year. "I haven't been in the States for a while, so I don't know too much about what's going on over there," he admits. "I heard Ramirez wants $200 million over 10 years. The market has changed a lot and he has great numbers. If Cleveland doesn't pay that kind of money, no one's going to pay it. "But that's his market value. If (teams) keep paying a lot of money, then there's always going to be some better players each year who'll be there to get it. Manny Ramirez is going to be up there. (Mariners shortstop) Alex Rodriguez is going to be up there. And there are more guys to come."
Alomar will be one of them when his four-year, $32 million deal ends after the 2002 season. But making tons of cash in the free-agent market is low on his wish list.
"I'm just playing the game," he says. "I love the game. I never dreamed in my life that I'd earn the money I'm earning. Money, to me, isn't my highest priority."
That's good news if Alomar comes to play in Japan, where the highest baseball salary this past season was Ichiro's paltry $5 million. For those who'd love to see the second baseman in a Yomiuri uniform, here's some more good news: He's smitten with the Japanese culture.
"I was in Japan 10 years ago with the baseball (tour), but last year I came with my fiancee," says Alomar, who is engaged to tennis star Mary Pierce. "The only difference is now I've come to play baseball and last time I just watched the (Toray Pan Pacific) tennis tournament. But it's really great here. Everyone is so polite and nice. They make your stay so much more enjoyable." Enough to make you want to come back for an entire season? The Yomiuri Giants should be so lucky.