This column, identifying the foreign players signed by the 12 Japan pro baseball teams, normally gets written in mid-to-late February. That's about the time the clubs have usually announced most of their non-Japanese acquisitions for the coming season.
However, this year, the Central and Pacific League teams appear to be already just about finished with their import-hiring. Only the Chunichi Dragons have fewer than four non-Japanese names on their roster, and a total of 62 players, four managers and six coaches are set to participate in the 2008 Japan pro ball campaign.
We have men from the United States, Canada, Australia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, South Korea and Taiwan, one born in Spain and another in Anchorage, Alaska, that hotbed of baseball excitement.