DAILY DIRT: ‘There’s nothing dumb about it … why the hell not?’

March 26, 2023 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Could you imagine the TV ratings for the first-round series between the Seibu Lions and the Yankees, or the Yomiuri Giants and the Dodgers? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 563 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Bring the two division winners from Japan’s 12-team Nippon Professional Baseball Organization into the MLB playoffs?

That seems to be a popular idea since the conclusion of the recent World Baseball Classic, won by Japan.

“I think we should invite (the two best Japanese baseball teams), after their season is over, into our playoffs,” said Evan Roberts, an on-air personality for WFAN radio in New York City. “Let’s see how the Seibu Lions do in a best of five series against the Yankees. Bring it on. There’s nothing dumb about it … why the hell not? We used to have a World Series for 50 years in which the leagues had nothing to do with each other. There was no such thing as inter-league play.”

I have tried to find something wrong with Roberts’ logic — and I can’t. Bring it on!

2. Words to live by:

“Remember, when you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It’s only painful to others. The same applies when you are stupid.”

— Ricky Gervais.

3. I came across some interesting license plates in the past week.

None quite good enough to reach the medal stand, but creative nonetheless:

DOG FUN 2
BASIC
KIWI 37
1 SEALS
GNAT 10

The ongoing 2023 medal stand:

Gold medal: BATLADY.

Silver medal: STARVED.

Bronze medal: VRROOM.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Back to baseball for a second. Another first-round matchup in one of those future MLB playoff series could be the Nippon Ham Fighters vs. the Cardinals at Busch. Can you imagine? Within a few years of this truly World Series concept, baseball might even begin to threaten soccer in global popularity. We’ve kept baseball to ourselves for all these years — and rightly so when talking about a world championship — but the time is coming (and soon) when the “world” part of the World Series will begin to mean just that.