April 5, 2021: Crystal Lake, Illinois—The Lupin Cliff Hanger baseball team will open the regular season here in just a few hours, on ground that stands a half a globe away from any other place their franchise has ever played. Their ace, 26-year-old right hander Shinobu Takeuchi, fresh off a 20-win season in the Japanese league, is expected to face Alfredo Velázquez, a PEBA veteran with a career record of 86-54. In all likelihood, right fielder Kuniyoshi Kato (.285/.374/.421 last season) will see the first of Velázquez’s pitches.

Yes, we all know that the Lupin franchise has been successful in recent seasons. We know they took home the last Neo-Tokyo Cup worth any value in dramatic fashion last season. But this is a new day, and a new league. This is history. Today fans will be able to begin answering the long-heralded question of whether the remains of the League of the Rising Sun can play with the big leaguers across the seas. This three-game series will test the true strength of the Cliff Hangers, as Crystal Lake is expected to be one of the front-runners in the Sovereign League.

No pressure, though.

Atop all this hoopla lies the fact that the Cliff Hanger front office has been famously ineffective in their quest to improve much, whiffing on several name starters (which was a stated goal), and embarrassing themselves when a pissing match between owner Paul Walker, and General Manager Ron Collins spilled out over the tabloids. “It’s hard to sign anyone when your purse strings only stretch one year,” Collins was heard to mumble at one luncheon. The two were rumored to have patched things up, but those kinds of rumors won’t hold much water until the proof hits the pudding. In the meantime, the team managed signing only a couple of injured pitchers, and swung only a deal for over-priced journeyman Josh Shaffer as a stop-gap to hold down third base.

“I am very happy with my team,” said veteran  manager Kinnosuke Iwasaki. “We are young, but experienced. We will be a good test for the PEBA”

This is probably true.

Perhaps it can be said that Collins did his best work in preparing for this season by wrapping up Lupin’s better players, players just entering their primes, in multi-season deals last year. And given that, perhaps it has been for the best that the Lupin Cliff Hangers have stayed relatively pat in this tumultuous off-season. If nothing else, perhaps the static nature of the squad will allow us to best compare the old LRS to the PEBA in our quest to answer that ultimate of all international question. The degree to which Lupin—the last LRS Champion—can hold their own this year, goes the thinking, could stand for the quality of the old LRS.

As Iwasaki says, Lupin’s players are solid. And they are as ready as they will ever be.

The outfield, for example, consists of the previously mentioned Kato in right, who is 27 years old this year. The centerfielder is Sadatake Sato (.304/.352/.507, 20 HR, 90 RBI), 28 years old, and thought to be one of the better Japanese stars.  Left field will probably be platooned by 24-year-old phenom Okakuru Ishikawa and 27-year-old American Kevin Arnold, both of whom have been productive in Japan. Arnold is not the most adroit in the field, but the rest are gold-glove quality (Japanese fans do adore their defense, by the way).

Any discussion has to start, of course, with first baseman Hirotugu Tenno (.340/.437/.631, 49 HR, 153 RBI), the 28-year-old silent superstar, who did nothing but take home the LRS triple crown last season. He’s joined by 29-year-old 2B Kazunari Yamada (.263/.351/.366), and 28-year-old SS Shiro Adachi (.245/.332/.364), both of whom are oft overlooked, but both have won gold gloves, both can get on base, and both have provided consistent presence in the clubhouse since Collins took over the GM reins back in 2019. Third base has been a bit of a fantasy land, of course. But it is what it is.

Add in 28-year-old catcher Shigekazu Munakata (.274/.328/.498, 21 HR, 89 RBI) and you have a solid crew of position players all at or entering their primes.

Then, of course the rotation starts with Takeuchi (26) and last season’s Cup Series star Akira Watanabe (who will also turn 26 in May). The back end of the rotation looks like it will be held down by 24-year-old Isei Makino. And the bullpen ace is 27-year-old Jo Kichida. All of these players are under cheapish contracts for the next couple seasons.

Can this club compete?

Can the Lupin Cliff Hangers bring their fans prime baseball while playing half their games on soil a half a planet away?

My friends, that is what we shall soon be seeing.