��������

DUBAI: Baseball United has announced that 13 of the 23 roster spots for its Mid East Falcons franchise will feature Japanese players.

The Falcons will compete in the league’s inaugural season this November and December in Dubai.

The group represents nearly 60 percent of the team’s roster and includes nine players who have competed in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, the highest level of the game in Japan.

Japan is currently ranked No. 1 in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, a position it has earned through decades of international dominance.

The country boasts a deep heritage dating back to the 19th century, with the NPB widely regarded as the No. 2 professional league in the world, behind Major League Baseball.

Japan has won multiple World Baseball Classic championships and consistently produces elite talent on both the domestic and MLB stage, including the reigning MVP from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani.

Japan boasts the highest per capita baseball viewership in the world. The nation’s games in the 2023 World Baseball Classic posted massive viewership, with all seven drawing 30 million or more viewers.

More recently, the 2024 MLB World Series averaged 12.9 million viewers in Japan, making it the most-watched Fall Classic in the country’s history.

Baseball United has been making inroads in the country over the past year, including through a partnership with the Tokyo Broadcasting System that includes a reality TV series to discover the nation’s next stars.

 The competition’s top players will also join the Falcons roster. The winners will be announced before the start of the season.

“Japan is one of the greatest baseball nations in the world,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Baseball United.

“It has everything that produces elite baseball — an elite professional league, strong minor and independent leagues, exceptional high school programs, widespread youth engagement, and one of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports.

“It’s an honor to have so many Japanese players representing the Falcons. Their experience, talent, and knowledge of the game will make an immediate impact — not only on the field, but also in inspiring fans back home and across the world.”

The Japanese players represent a mix of international stars, NPB standouts, as well as young prospects from the Yokohama DeNA Baystars organization.

Munenori Kawasaki, 44, an infielder from Kagoshima, is a veteran whose career spans the NPB, MLB, Chinese Professional Baseball League, and now the Route-Inn BCL, a Japanese independent league.

He debuted with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (currently Fukuoka Softbank Hawks) in 2001 and later played in the US for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago Cubs. He also represented Japan at the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics, winning both tournaments.

Kawasaki played in Taiwan with Wei Chuan Dragons in 2019, and since 2020 has been a member of the Tochigi Golden Braves in Japan’s independent BCL, where he plays and serves as a technical advisor.

Hiroyuki Nakajima, 43, an infielder from Hyogo, has built a distinguished career as a shortstop in the NPB, starring for the Seibu Lions, later joining the Orix Buffaloes, Yomiuri Giants and Chunichi Dragons.

In 2012, he signed with the Oakland Athletics, bringing his talents to the US. During his career in the NPB, he earned multiple Best Nine and Golden Glove awards and represented Japan in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2009 World Baseball Classic.

After announcing his retirement in 2024, Nakajima is now making a surprise return for Baseball United’s inaugural season, bringing veteran presence and decades of expertise to the clubhouse.

Shuhei Fukuda, 36, an outfielder from Kanagawa, who has played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Chiba Lotte Marines in the NPB, is known for his speed and defensive range.

He announced his retirement in 2024, but in February 2025 returned to play in the Baseball United UAE Series. Later that year, he began serving as a special assignment coach and consultant with the Seattle Mariners, an uncommon honor for a Japanese player without prior MLB experience.

Manato Tanai, only 18, an infielder from Hiroshima, began his professional career when he was drafted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in 2024, and is regarded as one of their top prospects.

A right-handed hitter, he is known for his speed, strong arm, and reliable defense. In his rookie year, he played in the Eastern League, the NPB’s farm system, gaining experience and selection to the 2025 Fresh All-Star Game.

The Mid East Falcons will debut alongside the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, and Arabia Wolves in Baseball United’s first season this November. The Falcons’ first game is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 19, against the Monarchs.

The first season will feature 21 games in four weeks at Baseball United Ballpark in Dubai, with broadcasts to fans around the world. The season will culminate with the United Series — a best-of-three championship final — from Dec. 12 to 14.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y.: Rory McIlroy got so fed up with one American at the Ryder Cup that he asked security to throw out the spectator. The noise was so loud and relentless that McIlroy talked about taking medicine for a headache.

This was 2016 at Hazeltine.

The behavior at Bethpage Black took the atmosphere to a new level, which surprised no one who has seen championship golf on the Long Island public course even without an “us versus them” competition involving flags like the Ryder Cup.

The tone was set Friday morning when a fan screamed out, “Fore, right!” as Jon Rahm was over his tee shot. A small section started an expletive chant at McIlroy, which was repeated Saturday morning by Heather McMahan, hired as a master of ceremonies by the PGA of America.

The Ryder Cup crowd has been getting out of control going back to Brookline in ‘99, when Colin Montgomerie took so much personal abuse that his father walked off the golf course. The crowd began turning on the home team for losing in a year when money was at the forefront. And then on Sunday, it flipped hard the other direction with the US comeback to win.

There was curiosity going into the week if the New York fans — no stranger to teams underperforming — would turn on the Americans or double down on their vitriol toward the Europeans. It turned out to be the latter.

“Things got out of hand — that was disappointing. We knew the crowds would be like that,” former PGA of America president Ted Bishop told golfchannel.com. “If you’ve attended any New York sporting event, Yankees, Mets, that’s what you’re going to get in New York.”

Bishop was PGA president when the Ryder Cup was awarded to Bethpage Black. He also was the president who appointed Tom Watson captain of the ‘14 matches at age 65, which led to a task force to give players more control.

What makes it worse now is a culture in which fans think it’s acceptable to do this. Think back to The Players Championship in a practice round when a University of Texas player took video of heckling McIlroy after a tee shot into the water. McIlroy walked over and took his phone.

There is loud, and there is lewd. Bethpage was the latter. That prompted McIlroy to say golf should be held to a higher standard. “I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf. I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.”

Then again, McIlroy and Shane Lowry retaliated with F-bombs of their own.

Equally troubling, however, is another trend on both sides of the Atlantic. When the visiting team missed a putt or missed the fairway, there used to be a lag time of a few seconds before the home crowd clapped or cheered. Now it’s immediate.

There’s little chance of that going back to the way it was.

Back to work

The extreme highs and lows of the Ryder Cup are over, and now it’s time to get to work for 10 players directly involved at Bethpage Black.

Rasmus Hojgaard went from his Ryder Cup debut to trying to keep his full PGA Tour status. The Dane is No. 87 in the FedEx Cup standings and playing in the Sanderson Farms Championship this week in Mississippi.

The top 100 in the FedEx Cup keep their PGA Tour cards. Also in Mississippi are vice captains Brandt Snedeker and Francesco Molinari.

Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntire have flown to Scotland for the Dunhill Links Championship, where Hatton is the defending champion.

And then there was this reminder from Tabitha Furyk, the wife of Jim Furyk who does most of the heavy lifting for the Constellation Furyk & Friends event on the PGA Tour Champions this week in Jacksonville, Florida. She told of Thomas Bjorn approaching her at Bethpage Black and asking about his pro-am time.

Bjorn and fellow vice captain Jose Maria Olazabal were on a flight Monday from New York to Jacksonville. Furyk, meanwhile, goes from being a vice captain to his first time playing since hip replacement surgery in April.

Fleetwood Honor

Along with being the leading points-earner for Europe at Bethpage Black, Tommy Fleetwood won the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award, which honors the player who best embodies the true spirit of the Ryder Cup. It’s named after Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, part of Ryder Cup lore for allowing the 1969 matches to end in a draw.

Fleetwood went 4-1-0, raising his record in four Ryder Cups to 11-4-2.

He also kept a cool head during the one tense moment inside the ropes, when Justin Rose barked at Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie for walking in his space as Rose was studying his putt during fourballs.

“Sportsmanship is important to our game and the Ryder Cup is the most intense environment we experience, and things can always happen that test you,” Fleetwood said. “But Luke Donald has instilled in this team an amazing attitude that we should always play with the right spirit. That has really helped us get over the line and win the Ryder Cup once again.”

Moving on

Wake Forest alum Michael Brennan is among 10 players from the PGA Tour Americas who are moving up. Brennan won three times to secure Korn Ferry Tour membership, and he picked up a $25,000 bonus for leading the Fortinet Cup in Canada.

Brennan also secured a spot in the RBC Canadian Open next year.

The others from the top 10 who move on to the Korn Ferry Tour are Jay Card III, Davis Lamb, David Perkins, Brett White, Derek Hitchner, John Marshall Butler, Drew Nesbitt, Theo Humphrey and Carson Bacha.

Nesbitt also gets into the Canadian Open as the top Canadian on the points list.

Divots

Tyrrell Hatton now has gone eight consecutive Ryder Cup matches without losing, dating to his singles loss to Justin Thomas in 2021 at Whistling Straits. ... The Netherlands can count on local presence when it hosts the Solheim Cup next year. Anne van Dam has been appointed a vice captain for Anna Nordqvist. ... Nicolas Colsaerts is making his 500th career start on the European tour this week in the Dunhill Links Championship. Colsaerts is retiring from full-time golf after this year. ... The Travelers Championship generated more than $4 million for 245 charities, the most in its tournament history. ... The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the Memorial again will provide one spot into the British Open for the leading player not already exempt. The Canadian Open will have three spots.

Stat of the week

Starting with the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone, Scottie Scheffler has won 38 percent of the tournaments he has played and 22 percent of his Ryder Cup matches.

Final word

“It’s the best. It’s more fun than any event we play. There’s nothing else you can be a part of where you can just get your face kicked in like we did the first two days and have that much fun.” — Justin Thomas on the Ryder Cup.