41.   There is a widening gap between the rich and poor teams in Japanese baseball.

42.   This could deprive Japanese baseball of its best players, leaving it as moribund as the once-mighty Russian ice hockey leagues.

43.   Under the current system, Japanese baseball players may not hire an agent.

44.   Traditionalists in Japanese baseball might be grinding their teeth about these developments, but Japanese fans are ecstatic and Japanese media are in a frenzy.

45.   You can tell a lot about a nation by the way people play their games, and Japanese baseball has long reflected the values of the society.

46.   Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, the best hitter in Japanese baseball, signed with the Seattle Mariners last month.

47.   A court in central Japan handed down suspended prison terms Tuesday for two Japanese pro baseball players convicted of income tax evasion, a court official said.

48.   A Japanese professional baseball umpire will take time off to accept responsibility for a missed call, a spokesman said Tuesday.

49.   A loophole in the standard Japanese players contract allows players to play elsewhere by retiring from Japanese baseball.

50.   A top Japanese baseball official apologized to his U.S. counterparts for the roughing up of an American umpire who later quit over the incident, officials said Wednesday.