Article I wrote for Highschool newspaper in Toronto, Canada

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Hey, i was wondering how this compares to other articles you think High School journalists are writing. It is an old article - but i was just curious. Thanks
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Six Billion Yen

By: Matt Klar


The biggest thing to surface from Japan since Nintendo is going to land in Boston next spring. His name is Daisuke Matsuzaka, and he’s coming to a Ballpark near you.



There was palpable excitement on the eve of November fifteenth on a stretch of Beacon Street near Fenway Park, where the local bakery serves Japanese delicacies, lunch menus are heavy on sushi, and the wine shop stocks 37 types of sake. Sprawled across the tables of the Japonaise Bakery and Café was a Boston Globe, was an open sports section, which graced a snapshot of the best pitcher in the world.
The news that the Boston Red Sox secured 26-year-old Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka triggered an enthusiastic buzz that spread throughout Red Sox Nation, that Wednesday night. However that buzz did not come at a reasonable cost, as GM Theo Epstein placed a winning bid of a whopping 51.1 million, or 6 billion Yen, if you prefer that currency, for simply the right to negotiate with Matsuzaka.

“We have long admired Mr. Matsuzaka’s abilities and believe he would be a great fit with the Red Sox organization,” Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein told reporters. “Clearly, we believe Mr. Matsuzaka is a real talent.”
So why is this Japanese pitcher who has yet to throw a single pitch in the major leagues worth so much to the Red Sox? First off, Boston fans having been searching for the missing piece of the puzzle to help the boys from Bean Town restore their glory of 2004, as the Sox were Champions of the world. The most important thing however, is that the Red Sox denied the Yankees of Matsuzaka, assuring their rightful place in baseball’s big spenders. The acquisition of Matsuzaka is hoped by all Red Sox Nation to drastically improve a pitching staff who last season, posted a dreadful ERA that ranked 24th in the Major leagues. Matsuzaka was 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA and 200 strikeouts this year in Japan for the Seibu Lions, impressing many major league scouts last March during the inaugural World Baseball Classic, where he was selected MVP after Japan won the title.

With snagging of the Japanese phenom, the Boston Red Sox will establish themselves a foothold in the Far East Market, the birthplace of some of baseball’s brightest stars, in the objective of translating Japanese success to an America filled with opportunity. MLB superstars among the likes of the Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki and the Yankees’ Hideki Matsui have been able to make the transition and have flourished overseas. In Matsuzaka’s case, he must face tougher lineups than he ever saw in Japan. This gun from the Rising Sun, reminds baseball enthusiasts that this perfect sport we have mythologized as the American Pastime has never seemed so un-American.

However, a significant amount of doubt has been lifted off the shoulders of Daisuke, as it is presumed he holds a pitch in his arsenal, a pitch so un-hittable, that it will transfigure the game of baseball—a game that has been taken over by hitting. A pitch known as the gyroball. The gyroball is baseball's version of alien life. No one knows if they've seen it. No one knows what it looks like. No one knows much about it. The concept of the gyroball was perfected in a supercomputer by two Japanese scientists named Ryutaro Himeno and Kazushi Tezuka. In simulations, they showed how a pitcher with good mechanics could throw the baseball in a way that it spun like a bullet – or, in sporting sense, like a perfect football spiral – and broke like nothing anyone has ever seen.

Coming off a third-place finish in the American League East, the Red Sox are speaking softly and carrying a big, big checkbook. With a triumph in the Matsuzaka sweepstakes, the Red Sox will not only put fans in the stands but victories in the win column. Whether Matsuzaka is baseball’s next brightest start or its biggest bust is yet to be determined. However, the importing of the Asian-born pitcher is just one more reason to be excited about the 2007 MLB season.


The acquisition of a single player rarely guarantees anything in baseball. Over 162 games, the more balanced teams rise to the top. The Red Sox front office still has much work to do in order to compete with the Yankees, but they may have just picked up an ace in Matsuzaka. On the other hand, if he is a flop, it may be the biggest waste of a fifty million dollar check in the history of competition. Either way, the fact that Matsuzaka won’t be wearing Yankee pinstripes on opening day will undoubtedly please Red Sox Nation, and that in itself may be worth every cent. And now, with a Red Sox contract seemingly in his immediate future, he will fulfill his childhood dream next season as a major league pitcher. Of course, the dream comes with a contract that has exceeded all expectations. It is the American dream -- made in Japan.

 

Matt, my part of this isn't going to be about the writing. I'll leave that for others.

The subject matter is what I'm going to address.

Is this like what other high school journalists are writing? No. Other high school journalists are writing about high school events. You're indulging yourself writing about major-league baseball as a teen-ager, plain and simple.

You need to get out and cover the events where you have to do your own leg-work, interview subjects, keep statistics. Any Joe Fan can sit down and blog. You want to be a writer? Be a REPORTER.

 

I meant is the quality of the writing at a calibre of other high shcool journalists. I DIDN'T mean.."Do other write about non-high school sports?"

but good advice nontheless,

Thanks

 

Matt, the caliber of writing is determined on if you can show you can get out there and do what shotglass said... report on a story. Once you have facts and quotes, then you have the foundation of writing quality stuff.

Think of it this way... the piece you wrote on baseball, simply localize it. For example, find a kid that transfered from out of town and talk to him, talk to his new coach and old coach and analyze how he will fit into the team this season. Keep your opinions out of it and write a story on this. This is the fastest way we can see if you're writing at the caliber of other high school journalists.