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RIP Hideki Irabu

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by secretariat, Jul 28, 2011.

  1. EStreetJoe

    EStreetJoe Well-Known Member

    RIP Hideki Irabu

    Found dead in LA of an apparent suicide. One of the late 90s Yankees who will be remembered more for comments about him than his on-field performance.
    http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2011/07/hideki_irabu_former_yankees_pi.html
     
  2. Gator

    Gator Well-Known Member

    Re: RIP Hideki Irabu

    Wow. RIP.
     
  3. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    Re: RIP Hideki Irabu

    http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/85221/
     
  4. Stoney

    Stoney Well-Known Member

    Yep, his biological father was reportedly an American and his mother was Okinawan, so he was always percieved as a bit of an outsider even in Japan. Then he got utterly excorciated in NY, as well as scorn back in Japan because of the perception of him as an underacheiver.

    Perhaps the worst thing that could've happened to him was joining the Steinbrenner Yankees when he came over. He might've done better if he'd gone to a smaller market lower pressure U.S. destination.
     
  5. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I'm always a little bit skeptical when this line of reasoning is applied to any player who doesn't perform in New York. I think, in part, it is a myth perpetuated by the New York media in order to reinforce its own perception of itself as the center of the world.

    People said it about Jose Contreras. Couldn't take the pressure. Then he was lights out in the postseason for a major market team.
     
  6. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    Chicago doesn't have a damn thing on NY, Boston or Philly when it comes to being in a pressure cooker. It's not even close.
     
  7. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Thinking more about the World Series than the market, though.

    And Contreras has been pretty good in Philly, albeit with less of a spotlight role.
     
  8. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Fans are as tough or tougher, but there's more media in New York.

    And, if you're Japanese, there's a lot more media, regardless of where you play.
     
  9. mpcincal

    mpcincal Well-Known Member

    Like, oh, San Diego, maybe?

    Seriously, though, although I was in SD at the time all that went down and was one of the haters, I feel horrible about this. Anytime someone takes his own life like that (and someone who's my age) that's a sad, sad thing.
     
  10. printdust

    printdust New Member

    I don't intend for this to sound racist, but Japanese culture as I understands it takes a harsh view of shame ...shaming family, etc. Suicide would be a pretty harsh way to cope with shame.
     
  11. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Completely agree.
     
  12. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Heard a guy on the radio today mentioning this in a top of the hour news update (one of the major syndicated ones; Fox, I think). He pronounced his name "Head-a-hey Ear-a-boo."
    Took me a good 30 seconds to figure out who the hell he was talking about. If I hadn't heard about it earlier I still might be scratching my head.
     
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