We've seen how popular shaved heads have become in sports. Whether for fashion or function, Michael Jordan, Andre Agassi and Brazilian soccer stars are among countless male athletes noted for taking it all off.
But getting sheared as an act of contrition? That could only happen in this part of the world.
A week-and-a-half ago in Yokohama, it did.
With the 1998 Japan Series champion Yokohama BayStars slumping at the bottom of the Central League standings, team captain and four-time All-Star shortstop Takuro Ishii suggested that the players alone were not to blame.
"If I say words of encouragement, it won't make a difference," Ishii was quoted as saying after a June 16 defeat gave the BayStars their first seven-game losing streak in four years. "The problem with this team isn't just with the players," he added.
While Ishii didn't come right out and say it, the inference was that the manager deserved a share of the blame.
A day after making his comments, Ishii showed up to work with the militaristic buzz-cut associated with Japanese high school baseball players, a fact not lost on the local sports papers. It appeared Ishii was repenting for speaking out of line.
This is not an uncommon practice in Japanese baseball. I recall a couple years back a Hiroshima Carp pitcher was demoted to the farm team for his poor attitude in spring training. He reacted by getting a Buddhist monk-like haircut and going up to the mountains, where he cleansed himself in a waterfall. The effort seemed to work, as he was back with the big club before long.
Even Yomiuri Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima once used his head to express regret. Two summers ago, when then-ace Balvino Galvez was banned for the season after throwing a ball at umpire Atsushi Kittaka in a fit of rage, "Mistah" Japanese baseball cropped his hair accordingly.
Since Ishii's little outburst and subsequent visit to the barbershop, he's let his bat and glove do the talking. In this past weekend's three-game sweep of the first-place Giants, Ishii went 7-for-11 with two home runs, along with some dazzling plays in the infield, as Yokohama escaped the CL basement and moved back within sight of the pennant race. Talk about redemption.
One BayStar who hasn't contributed to the team's turnaround is Norihiro Komada. That's because he's been wearing the uniform of Shonan Searex, Yokohama's farm team, after a June 18 incident.
That day, having lost their previous seven games, the BayStars were hosting the Carp. With the score tied 1-1 in the sixth inning, Komada was lifted for a pinch hitter after striking out in his previous two at-bats. The 37-year-old warhorse slammed down his helmet and bat in front of the dugout, then walked into the clubhouse and right out of Yokohama Stadium.
It seems Komada was miffed at being yanked with his wife and two children in attendance for Father's Day. So he called his wife on her cell phone and said, "We're going home." Without their disgruntled first baseman watching, the BayStars went on to win 3-1 and snap the losing skid.
The club responded a day later by fining Komada 300,000 yen and sending him down to the minors. Yokohama manager Hiroshi Gondo said the purpose of Komada's demotion was to give him a chance to work on his batting and was not part of the disciplinary action. (Yeah right, and John Rocker's demotion from the majors earlier this month had nothing to do with him threatening a Sports Illustrated writer the day before.)
The fact is, Komada deserved to be sent down for his attitude and his anemic performance at the plate. A first baseman in the middle of the order batting .234 with three homers and 23 RBIs near the season's halfway mark just doesn't cut it. He should have been able to handle getting pinch hit for without walking out on his teammates.
To his credit, Komada (unlike Rocker) accepted his assignment with grace and has committed himself to getting back in gear. He may yet play an important role with Yokohama this season, but there's no doubt it will be under the team's terms.
The events surrounding the BayStars this month illustrate something I find right with the Japanese brand of baseball.
Unlike most major leaguers, players in this country -- be it under duress or not -- take responsibility for their deeds and bow to the general good of the team. They even voluntarily take pay-cuts after sub-par seasons. Imagine those spoiled, selfish, greedy, disloyal prima donnas in the majors ever doing that!
Sorry, that may have been a bit harsh. I'm on my way to the barber now.