The New York Yankees were global even before Kei Igawa, Wang Chien-ming and Hideki Matsui donned the pinstripes, but diversifying the roster is only the beginning for the well-known club.

After visiting China to further spread the Yankees brand and baseball at large, officials from the team stopped in Japan, building on some of its old ties.

General manager Brian Cashman and team president Randy Levine met with Yomiuri Giants officials Thursday and will travel to Okinawa on Friday, when they will meet with counterparts from the Hanshin Tigers, Igawa's former team.