by Fred Lovato
Players push themselves
‘neath gray February skies
time to shake off rust
.
Fred writes, “All Japanese teams end up in various places in my neck of the woods (Okinawa) from February 1st. The Yomiuri Giants and Hiroshima Carp send their minor league rosters here, while their first teams practice in Kyushu for the first two weeks, then come down for a couple of weeks. By the end of February/beginning of March, everyone returns to what Okinawans call “Mainland Japan” for the last bit of training before the season starts.”