Baseball ready to give Pesky the hook
Johnny Pesky, who turns 88 in September, has been hit with another eviction notice by Major League Baseball. ()

Matsuzaka is the ultimate cover story
It was madness. Daisuke Matsuzaka, hidden behind some netting, was throwing for the first time as a member of the Red Sox. Every reporter there had to see it, had to write about it, had to beam the images back home to a salivating public that will hang on every pitch, every word, every move Matsuzaka ... ()

Picture of growth in Japan
The nation of Japan cares about baseball. That is a given. When Ichiro Suzuki steps in against Daisuke Matsuzaka April 11, the country might come to a standstill. Everyone will be parked in front of a television. ()

For Matsui, pinstripes suit him just fine
Hideki Matsui feels there's too much made in distinguishing Japanese players on American teams because, he believes, if you're a Yankee, then you're a Yankee regardless of your heritage. ()

Premier stopper Sasaki closed out his career early
Before his personal life unraveled, necessitating him to opt out of the final year of his lucrative contract with the Seattle Mariners after the 2003 season, Kazuhiro Sasaki left his mark as one of baseball's elite closers over a four-year stretch. ()

Nomo: Special delivery for Dodgers
By the time Hideo Nomo got to Boston in 2001, his celebrity and novelty had faded. That didn't stop him from pitching a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles in his first start and reviving a stagnant career. ()

Ichiro has built a model career in Seattle
He is sitting at his locker in the Seattle Mariners clubhouse, laughing at times and gesturing while entertaining a flock of Japanese reporters who seek a daily State of Ichiro briefing for their news outlets. He grabs a Sharpie and starts in on several dozen boxes of baseballs with a script that you could never decipher as ... ()    A hit show

Ex-Yankee Irabu still has good stuff
He was an absolute headache to Larry Lucchino, and so frustrated George Steinbrenner that the Yankees owner derided him as a "fat, puss(filled) toad." ()

Murakami made a giant impact in '64
Gaylord Perry had just jumped off his tractor at his farm in the mountains of North Carolina when the phone call came and the subject brought him back, oh, about 43 years. ()

Saito has stuck around till the end
Takashi Saito wasn't like Daisuke Matsuzaka or Hideki Matsui or Ichiro Suzuki or Hideo Nomo, Japanese superstars who were offered millions of dollars to take their talents to the major leagues. ()

There are 868 blasts in Oh's past
Before Hideo Nomo was throwing no-hitters in the big leagues . . . before Ichiro Suzuki was winning batting titles and Hideki Matsui was torturing the Red Sox . . . before the World Baseball Classic championship game in San Diego . . . before a posting fee of $51 million and 14 million Japanese fans ... ()    Sadaharu Oh