By Ethen Lieser
These days in the sporting world, anybody who’s anybody will have a bobble-head doll day. For Ichiro Suzuki, that day came on Saturday, and the Mariner hit-machine made the most of it by going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs during its 5-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins. The seemingly innocuous Suzuki bobble-head dolls were given out to the first 20,000 fans at Safeco Field. But the event triggered a controversial topic in the Seattle area because, for some fans, the dolls could be exploited for profit. Eager collectors lined up at Safeco Field the night before to make sure they got one of the dolls, which were already up on online auction sites for as much as $100 each. Online auction site eBay already features a wide range of Suzuki bobble-heads, sold at this year’s All-Star festivities and local shops for $11.99-$35. Mariners’ closer Kazuhiro Sasaki will be up next in this bobble-head craze when the team plans to give out 20,000 dolls at the Sept. 8 game against Baltimore … Though Oakland A’s outfielder Johnny Damon has struggled through much of the first half of the season, the leadoff man is catching fire lately. The former Kansas City Royal is hitting .302 after the break and is a big reason why the A’s are making a run at the American League Wild Card … One day after the Arizona Diamondbacks made a move to bolster their staff, the Los Angeles Dodgers answered Thursday by acquiring right-hander James Baldwin from the Chicago White Sox for three minor league pitchers, including prospect Onan Masaoka. For the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s, Masaoka was 7-5 with a 4.61 ERA … After making golf a hot TV commodity, Tiger Woods is committing to play in made-for-TV events for ABC and ESPN. Woods agreed to play in four of the next five Skins Games and a prime-time match each of the next five years under a deal with Walt Disney Co. announced Friday. Last month, Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg described the contract as a “creative golf package” … Wimbledon doubles runner-up Ai Sugiyama is currently 18th on the WTA Tour money list with $300,589.
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com. |
