The Feb. 27 edition of the Nikkan Sports Japanese language newspaper carried a front-page banner headline, complete with blaring blue, yellow and red kanji characters featuring the names of major league superstars Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. Photos of the two sluggers were included on Page 1 as well. So, what was the news?
Did Piazza and Griffey say they want to play ball in Japan some day? Are the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds going to play regular season games in Japan? Was there a trade between the two National League teams, that would send Mike the masked man to Cincy and Junior to the Big Apple?
Nope. None of the above. In fact, the story had nothing to do with Piazza or Griffey. Rather, it was speculation the Yomiuri Giants are about to sign a foreign position player to take the place of Domingo Martinez who was released over the winter. One of the leading candidates on the Giants shopping list is said to be outfielder Butch Huskey, a former big-league fence buster who spent the 2001 season in the minor leagues.