However, it isn’t just this year that the umps have been watching different games than everyone else. Turns out the Stevie Wonder swagger jackers have been at it for decades, as you’ll see with our list of the 5 biggest blown calls in MLB playoff history…

#5: ERIC GREGG’S ENDLESS STRIKE ZONE
• Those Involved: Livan Hernandez (Florida Marlins), umpire Eric Gregg, Fred McGriff (Atlanta Braves).
• When: 1997 NLCS Game 5
• The Call: Eric Gregg had been calling a wide strike zone all game so it really wasn’t that much of a surprise when he called Fred McGriff out on the final pitch on a ball that was at least a foot outside of the average strike zone. The Marlins went on to win the series in six. Overweight and hungry umpire + Miami’s sweltering heat = pitcher’s paradise.

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#4: ED ARMBRISTER RUNS INTO CARLTON FISK
• Those Involved: Carlton Fisk (Boston Red Sox), Ed Armbrister (Cincinnati Reds) umpire Larry Barnett.
• When: 1975 World Series Game 3
• The Call: After attempting a sacrifice bunt, Armbrister collided with Fisk at the plate, causing Fisk to make a throwing error. Umpire Barnett failed to make the interference call and the Reds went on to win the game 4-3, and the Series in 7. Barnett and Bill Buckner are the reasons why every Boston fan who died before October 2004 went to their grave without ever seeing the Sox win it all.

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#3: RON GRANT WRESTLED OFF 1ST
• Those Involved: Ron Gant (Atlanta Braves) and Kent Hrbek (Minnesota Twins) and umpire Drew Coble.
• When: 1991 World Series Game 1
• The Call: After a single, Gant rounds toward second but heads back, and that’s when Twins’ pitcher Kevin Tapani throws back to first. Twins’ first baseman Kent Hrbek then wrestled Gant off first to get the out call. In what ended up being a seven game series where five games were decided by one run, the players didn’t need a WWF SummerSlam intro.

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Jeffrey Maier saves the day

Larry | MySpace Video

#2: JEFFREY MAIER CATCH
• Those Involved: Fan Jeffrey Maier, right fielder Tony Tarasco (Baltimore Orioles) and umpire Rich Garcia
• When: 1996 ALCS, Game 1
• The Call: With the Orioles leading 4-3 in the eighth, 12-year old fan Jeffrey Maier reaches over the right field wall to turn what would be an out, into the game tying home run for some Yankee rookie named Derek Jeter. You know the rest: New York won in extra innings and went on to win the World series that year, with ‘Roids and an endless bank roll Maeir’s catch jumpstarting the Yankees dynasty that decade. Don’t worry Oriole fans, your city can still claim The Wire and better crabs than NYC.

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#1: DON DENKINGER’S SAFE CALL
• Those Involved: Jorge Orta (Kansas City Royals) Todd Worrell (St. Louis Cardinals) and umpire Don Denkinger
• When: 1985 World Series Game 6
• The Call: With the Cardinals only three outs away from a World Series title, Don Denkinger calls Orta safe at first on a routine ground ball where he was clearly out. Royals went on to rally and score two runs and to win the game and eventually the series. Cardinals’ fans subsequently sacrificed Denkinger’s first-born as equal retribution for the blown call. Maybe not, but Denkinger did say he received death threats for years to come.

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BONUS: WHO’S ON 3RD?
• Those Involved: Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano (New York Yankees), Mike Napoli (Anaheim Angels) and umpire Tim McClelland
• When: 2009 ALCS Game 4
• The Call: Posada caught in a rundown heads back to third, Cano advances on the fielders choice and runs from second to third, only problem neither of them ever touches base and Napoli tags both out. When it comes to baserunners, McClelland obviously takes after Ray Charles. He don’t see nobody!

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Normally Complex jumps at any chance to make a joke about dudes getting balls upside their heads, but there was nothing funny about San Francisco pitcher Matt Cain’s 93mph fastball hitting New York Mets third baseman David Wright in the head Saturday, knocking his batting helmet off. After crumpling to the ground, he lay face down in the dirt for a minute until he was able to turn over with help from team trainers. Wright, who sustained a concussion and spent a night at the hospital, may miss the rest of the season, but he is actually quite fortunate.

In 1920, Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman died 12 hours after being hit in the head by Carl Mays. Thanks to batting helmets, which became mandatory protective gear in 1956, bean balls aren’t quite as deadly, but that doesn’t mean batters are completely safe, or that we cringe less when we see one of them catch head shots. With fingers crossed for Mr. Wright, Complex revisits other high and tight knockdowns that made us look away. Three yikes and you’re out.

MIKE PIAZZA
On July 8, 2000, New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens gunned a fastball at the head of the New York Mets slugging catcher, who’d smacked a grand slam off him earlier that year. The Rocket’s heat knocked Piazza unconscious and gave him a concussion that forced him to miss the 2000 MLB All-Star Game.

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TONY CONIGLIARO
On August 18, 1967, California Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton hit the Boston Red Sox slugging right fielder in his left cheekbone (batting helmets back then didn’t have the protective ear-flap that is now standard). Conigliaro, who suffered a linear fracture of the left cheekbone, a dislocated jaw, and severe damage to his left retina, had to be carried off the field on a stretcher.

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RICKI WEEKS
On April 13, 2009, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez hit the Milwaukee Brewers second baseman in the jaw with a fastball as he was attempting to lay down a bunt. Weeks lay on the ground several minutes but ultimately shook off the facial and played the rest of the game with slight swelling and soreness.

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JIMMY ROLLINS
On June 18, 2007, Cleveland Indians pitcher Cliff Lee hit the Philadelphia Phillies shortstop in the face with a 90mph fastball. Rollins was not severely hurt, as he went on to win the 2007 National League MVP.

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SAMMY SOSA
On April 20, 2003, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Salomon Torres hit the Chicago Cubs slugger in his left temple with a fastball that shattered his batting helmet. Though shaken, Sosa never fell to the ground. He walked off the field to be examined at a hospital, where it was determined that the worst of his injuries were a few cuts from helmet shards.

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EDGAR GONZALEZ
On July 18, 2009, Colorado Rockies pitcher Jason Hammel hit the San Diego Padres third baseman in the head with a 93mph fastball. Gonzalez, who complained of extreme dizziness and ringing in his ears, lay on the ground several minutes before sitting up and eventually being driven off the field by trainers. He spent a night at the hospital.

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SCOTT ROLEN
On August 2, 2009, Colorado Rockies pitcher Jason Marquis hit the Cincinnati Reds third baseman in the head. Rolen fell to the ground but was able to walk off the field after less than a minute. He missed two games with a concussion, then returned to action before leaving again with headaches and dizziness.

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IAN KINSLER
On August 15, 2009, Boston Red Sox pitcher Fernando Cabrera hit the Texas Rangers second baseman with a 92mph fastball that deflected off of his left shoulder into his helmet. Kinsler, who ultimately suffered only a light bruise on his shoulder, stayed in the game.

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Although his past comments, solidifying Philadelphia Phillies as the “it” team in the National League East, won criticism from its rival team—the New York Mets—fans and players on both sides know who’s having the last laugh. In our Complex 7 with J-Roll, he talked to us about his Red Bull consumption, music taste, and rivalry with the Mets. Read on to see if he can beat Shaq in a rap battle, and a video of Rollins giving a tour of his house…

Interview by Jaeki Cho

 #1: WHAT HAS TO BE IN YOUR FRIDGE AT ALL TIMES?

Jimmy Rollins says: Red Bull, man. [Laughs.] I love ice tea lemonade from Wawa, and I recently got these mint ice tea lemonade that I’m crossing over to.

 #2: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SNEAKER OF ALL TIME?

Jimmy Rollins says: The Jordans that came out in about ‘96. It was the 11s. It was the first pair of Jordans I was able to get on my own. I was hustling cutting hair, trying to get myself some Js.

 #3: WHAT’S THE MOST EMBARRASSING PIECE OF CLOTHING YOU’VE EVER WORN?

Jimmy Rollins says: You remember them short biker spandex that was out? This was around ‘88 or ‘89. Everybody was rocking’em! So I had me one of those joints in black with white stripes down the side. Looking back I don’t know what I was thinking. I remember going outside and seeing the girls wearing them, and I’m like, “Ah, I think this was a mistake.”

 #4: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ACTION MOVIE OF ALL TIME?

Jimmy Rollins says: The first Matrix. The other ones got too futuristic for me. When I suited up the Cadillac Escalade with the sound system, and TV screens, I had to play The Matrix in the car to check the sound.

 #5: WHAT ALWAYS HAS TO BE BUMPING IN YOUR CAR?

Jimmy Rollins says: In every car I bump different music. When I’m in a Bentley, I always have Raheem Devaughn. When I’m in the Audi, I play [Shanelle], an R&B act, which I signed to my record label called Jimmy Rollins Entertainment. And one more thing, when I’m in the Benz, I have to bump E-40.

 #6: IF YOU HAD A WEEK HOLIDAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Jimmy Rollins says: I’ll probably go to the Caribbean somewhere. Jump on some jet skis, play some golf, make sure I line up some nice dinners, and have a couple Caribbean drinks…If I could go diving or swimming with some dolphins that’ll be cool. I’m a nature man myself.

 #7: WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Jimmy Rollins says: I don’t recall from the top of my head, but it was probably when one of my relatives passed away.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

Complex: Now that MLB banned greenies [Amphetamines], is Red Bull regarded as a replacement?

Jimmy Rollins: It’s definitely been a substitute now that you can’t do amphetamines. Back in the days cats would pop a greenie and you would have the energy to carry you through. Obviously that’s illegal, so you have some cats that’ll take about three Red Bulls to get ready before the game. That’s way too much for me. I’m trying to go to sleep when the game is over. I don’t drink coffee, but some cats have a coffee and then have a Red Bull as the game starts. Their heart rates must go way off the charts. Two Red Bulls a day are good enough for me.

Complex: Since you own a music label, and you seem to have a good knowledge of rap, if you get into a rap battle against Shaq, do you think you stand a chance?

Jimmy Rollins: [Laughs] I don’t know. Shaq’s been doing it for a while. I think that’s something he’s passionate about. I like the creation process of music, but I’m going to let the people who are naturally born with the talent to do it. So I’m going to take my hat off, and give it to Shaq.

Complex: Does the Phillies versus the Mets rivalry exist amongst players, and not just the betting fans?

Jimmy Rollins: Well, fans are always going to be more intense than the players. They’ll be drinking, and they want to rep for their city harder than the other team. And as a player, don’t get me wrong, there’s a big rivalry, but the implications are on, which team gets to go the playoffs.

VIDEO:Jimmy Rollins Gives A Tour of His House

Rocking a mean set of dad jeans and a White Sox jacket, Obama, by most accounts, got a somewhat wobbly pitch off that just barely made it to Albert Pujols‘ glove. See, it’s tough to tell from the TV clip, because the Fox Network cameraman fucked up Barry’s moment of glory athletic mediocrity with a bad angle. In fairness, anybody’s gonna look wack after Dubya, who could definitely find work as a relief pitcher if this whole legacy-building thing doesn’t pan out.

The Prez has a lot to live up to with his toss: one of the few only things his predecessor did really well was throw first pitch strikes, and in the immortal words of baseball fan Phife Dawg (whose favorite jam back in the day was “Eric B. is President”): “You don’t want to make a pitch that’s wild.” To get a sense of how other politicians have fared on the mound, we take a look back at the History of Political First Pitches…

POLITICIAN: Mark Mallory, Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio
DATE: April 2, 2007
GAME: Cincinnati Reds Opening Day
• If Obama fudges the first pitch this badly, he’ll have to answer to the Special Olympics again.

POLITICIAN: Dick Cheney, Former Vice President
DATE: April 1, 2006
GAME: Washington Nationals Opening Day
• To be fair, the veep had them ban beer sales during this game so the ovation has nothing to do with his politics. Nothing.

POLITICIAN: Jim and Joe Bernard, Mayor and Former Mayor of Milwaukie, Oregon
DATE: April 1, 2007
GAME: North Clackamas local league
• We’re not sure which one in this father/son duo actually tossed the first pitch, but we know that mess was weak. Underhanded? Really?

POLITICIAN: George W. Bush, Former President
DATE: April 6, 2009
GAME: Texas Rangers Opening Day
• Best. Throwing. President. Ever. Yee-haw!

POLITICIAN: Blaine Luetkemeyer, Missouri Congressman
DATE: June 2009
GAME: Hannibal Caveman Game (huh?)
• Wow. Obama is so much cooler than this guy.

POLITICIAN: Joe Biden, Vice President
DATE: April 6, 2009
GAME: Baltimore Orioles Opening Day
• Biden’s got a history of shooting himself in the foot, so we’re a little surprised he actually got off a decent pitch here.

One of the most bad-ass figures in sports announced his retirement yesterday: Donald Fehr, the longtime head of the Major League Baseball Player’s Association has decided to hang up his spikes, and chances are the MLBPA will be worse off for his absence.

In his 25-plus-year tenure, while other leagues adopted management-friendly policies like salary caps and saw their unions get broken, Fehr presided over the strongest player’s association in sports using four words: “no,” “no,” and “hell no.” Sure, one of his biggest “no”s backfired (steroids), but his constituents saw their salaries skyrocket under his watch (even if their balls shrank). Take a look back at Fehr’s Biggest Power Moves…

1. CANCELING THE WORLD SERIES
Ok, so MLB commissioner Bud Selig was the one who actually canceled a sport’s postseason for the first time in American major sports history, but if Selig pulled the trigger, Fehr bought the gun, loaded the bullets and cocked the hammer. With owners set to unilaterally impose a salary cap in 1994, the MLBPA called their bluff, walking off the job in August, forcing the cancellation of the remainder of the season. They stayed on strike through spring training of the following year (until the owners tried to use replacement players, see below), and MLB is now the only major sports league that still doesn’t have a salary cap.
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2. BLACKBALLING REPLACEMENT PLAYERS
As anybody familiar with unions knows, scabs get no love, even when they’re longtime minor league ballplayers just looking for a fleeting glimpse of the big leagues. After ‘95, when a few such minor leaguers (plus some retired MLBers) crossed picket lines to play in the owners’ short-lived experiment with replacement players, Fehr barred the scabs from ever being members of the MLBPA. When a few of those players went on to play for championship-winning clubs (Shane Spencer with the ‘99 and ‘00 Yankees, Damian Miller with the ‘01 D’backs, and Brendan Donnelly with the ‘02 Angels), Fehr prevented them from appearing on (and sharing in the profits of) officially-licensed MLBPA championship gear. Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the Family again!
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3. BUSTING COLLUSION

In the mid-’80s, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf (above) and then-Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig conspired with other owners to hold down player salaries by not offering contracts to each others’ free agents (in 1987 player salaries dropped 16% while overall baseball revenues increased 15%). Fehr was spearheaded a series of lawsuits charging the owners with collusion, culminating in a $280 million judgment for the players in 1990. Collude that!
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4. (HOME RUN) TROTTING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK

Do the math: the average MLB player’s salary was $289,000 in 1983, in 2009 it’s $3.24 million. Now that’s gangsta.
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5. SAYING NO (TO DRUG TESTING)

It ultimately blew up in the players’ faces, but in the late ’90s the union said it didn’t want to have to submit to drug testing and until 2003, Fehr made sure they didn’t have to. Of course half of those players have a syringe in a haystack chance of making the Hall of Fame (not to mention needing microscopes to find their nuts), but Fehr wasn’t the one sticking a needle in his ass.

Turns out you can’t keep a good, fun-loving, dreadlocked, prima donna baseball player down for long (well, maybe if his estrogen is particularly low you could…). Currently serving a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez finds himself a few votes short of making the Major League’s All-Star Game in July. He returns from his ban July 3 and the game is July 14, and there aren’t any rules prohibiting him from playing should he get enough fan votes to make it as a starter.

Not surprisingly, this has the dignitaries in the sports blahblahblah-o-sphere very indignant. And of course that’s produced a similarly predictable host of nose thumbers who’ve started an Internet campaign to get Manny elected just for the eff of it (get your contrariness on here). But this isn’t the first time voting irregularities have clouded an All-Star game, as you’ll see with our History of All-Star Selection Shenanigans…

1957: Cincinnati Fans Stuff Ballots, Elect 7 Reds Starters
• In the days before online voting, Cincinnati fans conspired to get seven Reds on the ‘57 National League All-Star team (though contrary to popular legend, this was not the cause of Joseph McCarthy’s death that spring). NL Commissioner Ford Frick evidently believed a couple guys named Willie Mays and Hank Aaron were more deserving of two of the spots, and he bumped Gus Bell and Wally Post from the starting lineup.

1999: Nomar and the Indians Shut Out Jeter
• With the Boston and Cleveland franchises making late pushes in the early days of online voting, Nomar Garciaparra beat out Derek Jeter for the starting nod at shortstop on the ‘99 American League All-Star squad (four members of the Indians would be elected, completely shutting out Jeter’s Yankees). Of course that year the Yanks were in the midst of a three-year title run, plus they’d get their own measure of All-Star revenge two years later (see below).

2003: Yao Ming Elected to Start His Rookie Year
• Yao was the NBA’s Rookie of the Month in December and February of his freshman season and garnered the fourth most votes for the All-Star game, most via online balloting in his native China. The only problem? His back-up was a guy named Shaquille O’Neal who was the reigning Finals MVP and in the midst of a season in which he’d average 27 points and 11 rebounds.

2006-2007: “Vote for Rory”
• Prior to the 2007 NHL All-Star Game, a fan in Upstate New York decided to start a campaign to get the Vancouver Canucks’ journeyman Rory Fitzpatrick (he of the nine career goals scored) elected. Fitzpatrick’s name wasn’t even on the official ballot, but after viral YouTube ads, not to mention a voting web bot, he was running in second place in voting for Western Conference defensemen—until huge chunks of expected votes for Rory disappeared. Many puckheads suspected a conspiracy.

2009: Canadiens Fans “Hab” a Ballot-Stuff Party
• With the help of web bots, Montreal fans attempted to elect six of their own to the All-Star Game in their hometown. They ultimately only got four of the six starters in, but the controversy again forced the NHL to reexamine their online voting protocols. Suggestion for League brass: Please type the letters that you see: “Hire an IT dude, stat!”

BONUS, NON-VOTING RELATED SHENANIGAN:

2001: Joe Torre Selects Seven Yankees
• For the ‘01 MLB All-Star Game in Seattle, New York Yankee manager Joe Torre decided to take along some traveling companions for the long trip to the West Coast—namely, seven of his own players. As the American League manager, Torre was allowed to pick his squad’s reserves after fans had voted on the starters. Since no Yanks made the starting lineup, Joe chose a septuplet of Pinstripers, including such immortals as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and…Mike Stanton.

And even if the AL squaring off with the NL is like mixing vodka and milk (hardball White Russian anyone?), at least it’s good for a few fights each year, as you’ll see with our History of Great Moments in Interleague Play…

July 11, 1999: Dodgers and Mariners Brawl for 15 Minutes
• This intra-coastal interleague game featured one of the all-time great fights in MLB history. With the Dodgers ahead 12-3 after a Trenidad Hubbard three-run double, Seattle reliever Frankie Rodriguez buzzed Mark Grudzielanek. Tempers flared, but the situation seemed to be under control until the bullpens got involved, setting off a wild melee which included players, coaches, running sucker punches and dog piles. Altogether, seven players were ejected.

July 16, 2000: Carl Everett Headbutts Umpire Ron Kulpa
• In a matchup against his former team (the New York Mets), Everett went a lot 7:30 on umpire Kulpa when the man in blue gave him a warning for stepping out of the batter’s box in an at-bat against Mike Hampton. It was suggested that the Mets had complained about their former teammate crowding the plate prior to the game. It’s also been suggested that dinosaurs once roamed the earth, but if you haven’t seen ‘em yourself, can you say for sure?

May 20, 2006: Michael Barrett Sucker Punches A.J. Pierzynski
• In this Windy City Series game, the Cubs and White Sox catchers got into a dustup after the South Side Sox’ Pierzynski bowled over the North Side Cubbies’ Barrett in a collision at home. Benches cleared and both receivers were ejected. It’s referred to as a “sucker punch” because a) Pierzynski was hit unawares, and b) Pierzynski is a sucker.

July 8, 2000: Roger Clemens Beans Mike Piazza
• Sick of having Piazza hit home runs off his steroid-taking (abcessed) ass, Clemens plunked the Mets catcher in the head in the second inning of a Subway Series get-together. The fallout from Clemens’ head-hunting reverberated through that year’s World Series (when Clemens chucked a shard of broken bat at Piazza), all the way to another interleague game two years later…

June 15, 2002: Shawn Estes Brushes Clemens…Forward?
• With the American League Yankees visiting the National League Mets where, under NL rules, Clemens would be required to hit, the Metropolitans had a perfect chance to finally exact revenge on the Rocket. The only problem? The Mets’ pitcher that day happened to be Shawn Estes, the kind of guy who doesn’t throw out sour milk ’cause he’s afraid of hurting its feelings. So when Clemens came to bat, Estes wound up…and promptly threw the ball behind him. Which sorta explains 40+ years of Mets frustration (minus a couple high points) in a nutshell.

Do you miss the clear, the cream and players sneaking off to inject each other in the ass? The MLB’s loosie-goosie steroids era may be over, but fortunately The BIGS 2, which drops this July, has all the juice needed to pump-pump-pump you up. The second installment in 2K Sports‘ arcade-style franchise continues to embrace the superhuman brand of baseball that we all enjoyed before Jose Canseco had to go and snitch on everybody. Like Mark McGwire’s neck or Barry Bonds’s melon, the high-jumping, home-run hitting action is back and bigger than humanly possible.

Complex recently caught a demo of the game at Citi Field, the New York Mets’ new stadium, where 2K has a gaming center and mini wiffleball field set up in the center field concourse. To read more about The BIGS 2 game features and check out the latest trailer, see below…

THE BIGS 2 GAME FEATURES:
• In the new and improved “Become A Legend” story mode, you pick up at the end of the “Rookie Challenge” mode from The BIGS and create a player who has to work his way up from a Mexican league to the majors and, eventually, into the Hall of Fame, with boss battles against MLB legends all along the way. Our advice—just watch out for the pork tacos in Mexico.

• Using “Legendary Moves,” the “Batter’s Wheelhouse” and a more powerful “Big Slam,” you can flex your neck veins and make the vein in your opponent’s forehead pop.

• In Home Run Pinball, you can use your long balls to bash the hell out of street environments like the old or new Times Square and rack up points. In Tokyo, there’s even a monster that will come to life if you hit it, word to Matsui’s porn collection.

• There’s nothing messing with the new mini-games, which include a race along the roof of Wrigley Field. Seriously, you have to have a major VIP pass to do some shit like this in real life. Or a BAC above .20.

THE BIGS 2 GAME TRAILER:

Our neighbor’s up north aren’t the only ones that resort to violence to defend their teams’ honor. It seems every year there are more and more fights between fans at baseball games. We don’t condone fighting here at COMPLEX, but damn, do we love to watch. And since we know you do too, we compiled five of the craziest baseball fan brawls that were caught on tape below…

DODGERS VS. GIANTS, 8/2/07

PHILLIES VS. METS, 8/29/07

BLUE JAYS VS. RED SOX, 4/4/08

WHITESOX VS. CUBS, 6/29/08

RED SOX VS. YANKEES, 8/27/08

To celebrate Opening Day, we put together a quick video with second baseman MVP Dustin Pedroia. We only had a few minutes to talk to him at a press event for MLB 09: The Show (the crazy new PlayStation game that he graces the cover of), so we made some small talk about his favorite sneakers, car shopping for his wife and more. Watch the video below…

To paraphrase J.M. Coetzee paraphrasing Rene Girard: The fewer the differences between two parties, the more bitter their mutual hatred. Korea and Japan are right next to each other and share similar bloodlines, cultures and economies, yet an extremely bitter tension still exists between the two countries. Why? Check out our breakdown of the Korea-Japan beef through history below…


1592-1598: Toyotomi Hideyoshi led one of the first recorded Japanese invasions of Korea as part of the Seven Year War. The Japanese decimated the peninsula and kidnapped thousands of Korean artisans and brought them home'along with the ears and noses of troublemakers. The Mimizuka monument, which translates to “Ear Mound,” still stands today in Kyoto. That shit just don’t sound right!

1910-1945: Japan’s 35-year annexation of Korea included the familiar imperialist atrocities, but perhaps none worse than the “comfort women” forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military. Actual numbers vary, depending on where you’re from (Korea says 200,000+; Japan says 20,000), but there’s no disputing that the majority of comfort women were Korean. The debate continues today, with a recent uproar over Japanese historical textbooks denying the existence of comfort women, which is about as believable as Rawse’s denials about being a C.O.

2001-2006: Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi created a stir with his annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors soldiers'and convicted war criminals'who died fighting for Imperial Japan. These public visits angered Japan’s neighbors, adding to widespread anti-Japan sentiment. Imagine the Chancellor of Germany paying homage to old Nazi leaders and you might get a sense of the outrage in East Asia.

2005-Present: South Korea currently occupies Dokdo, a group of islets between Korea and Japan that Japan claims is part of its territory. The two countries have long bickered over the area, with tensions rising in recent years with multiple protests and diplomatic sneak disses by each country. Should the two nations rap battle for it?

2009: The Japanese were none too pleased when Korea planted a flag in the pitcher’s mound after beating them last week. Who will get the last laugh? That’s why we’ll be watching tonight.

Yup, McBride’s racist, coked-up, fashion-retarded character Kenny Powers is a real black eye for baseball'precisely because the character is based on a handful of actual racist, coked-up, fashion-retarded ballplayers. Complex dusted off the ol’ Encyclopedia of Misanthropic Baseball Players to trace Powers’ real life lineage…

MITCH WILLIAMS
The most obvious inspiration for Kenny Powers’ awesomely awful mullet-goatee combo, Williams is most famous for giving up Joe Carter’s World Series-winning homer in the 1993 World Series. That and having the most effed-up hair in baseball history (which is saying a lot).

JOHN ROCKER
McBride shares a hometown (Statesboro, GA) with the former Braves closer, and while Kenny Powers’ “Jew York” and “fags in San Francisco” comments echo Rocker’s infamous 7 train rant, Powers might not even be as fucked up as the real thing. And we’re assuming Powers will steer clear of having cleavage contests with his wife.

KENNY ROGERS
The Gambler’s well known for his shoddy hygiene, but he’s also the source for the camera-tossing scene in Eastbound’s opening montage. Although to be fair, Rogers’ camera-toss wasn’t prompted by roid-rage; that dude’s just an asshole.

TOMMY LASORDA
Lasorda wasn’t the first baseball man to curse a lot, he was just the first to elevate it to art.

STEVE HOWE
Like Powers, Howe was impressive in his debut, blowing into the majors as a 22-year-old in 1980 and winning the National League Rookie of the Year. And like Powers, Howe blew himself right out of the league as well, getting suspended 7 times for cocaine-related offenses.

What won’t be in the book, however, are the following excerpts'obtained exclusively for Complex.com*'deemed too juicy to print. You’ll never look at the man Derek Jeter calls Mr. Torre the same again…

THE REAL SOURCE OF THE RIFT WITH YANKEE BRASS

• “Things first went sour between Torre and the Yankee front office during spring training in 2005. Torre's personal grooming had long been a bone of contention for George Steinbrenner, with the Boss asking the manager whether he used HGH on his prodigious nose hairs and constantly telling him he'd missed a spot shaving. That spring, after Steinbrenner pointed out that Torre “once again” had some dandruff on his jersey, Joe snapped, telling Steinbrenner, “Hey big guy, you got a big ol' booger hanging from your nose.” It was actually scar tissue from a cancerous mole the Boss had had removed that morning; their relationship would never be the same again.”

DEREK JETER'S EARLY GIRLFRIENDS

• “Torre had picked up photography whiling away summer afternoons as a minor leaguer in Topeka, and in the mid-'90s the hobby helped him bond with his star shortstop. Before he began dating pop divas like Mariah Carey, Jeter would spend his off-seasons trolling for girls on Florida's west coast by telling them he was Tom Petty's cousin. Torre tagged along, keeping a photographic record of Jeter's conquests. A dedicated family man, Torre never participated in the Cuervo-fuelled romps himself, although he occasionally enjoyed having one of Jeter's paramours braid his nose hairs.”

HIS SECRET ALLIANCE WITH PEDRO MARTINEZ

• “By the 2003 American League Championship Series Torre's frustration with Don Zimmer had reached a boiling point. For much of the season the longtime Yankee bench coach had been yelling “Hey batta, batta, saa-WING!” at his own players and had successfully convinced half the bullpen that pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre was a cyborg sent by the Texas Rangers to ruin their screwballs. When he ran into Pedro at a Back Bay Stop & Shop before Game 3, Torre hatched a plan to get his revenge, showing the pitcher his secret 72-year-old bald geezer takedown move. The next day Torre nearly choked on his nose hairs in glee as he watched Zimmer writhing on the ground.”

HIS UNRELEASED RAP ALBUM WITH RUDY GIULIANI

• “In 2006, after the Yanks were bounced from the playoffs in the first round for the second consecutive year, Torre teamed with golfing buddy and longtime Yankee stan Rudy Giuliani to “fire back at all the haters” with a hardcore rap album. Rhyming over beats provided by Gary Sheffield, the pair recorded some 15 tracks, including ‘Everyone Nose (Hairs),’ ‘Quinton McCracken’s On the Way,’ and ‘Machine Gun Bunt.’ The project was ulimately shelved two weeks prior to its intended release, due to Torre’s insistence on including the controversial track ‘A-Rod Money’ (leading Sheffield to imply that Torre was a racist).”

THE NIGHT HE CUCKOLDED HALF THE PITCHERS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES (AND CARL PAVANO, TOO)

• “Wrecked on Big League Chew and Fuzzy Navels, Torre stumbled into a White Plains Ruby Tuesday's after announcing his departure from the Yankees, looking for some jalapeno poppers to take the edge off. After lodging a few in his tangled nose hairs, he was approached by a young woman in a matching MLB-licensed halter top/hot pants set who offered to help clean him up. The next thing he knew, he was drifting off to sleep next to the woman as she sat up in bed and began to fill out the 'manager' line on a well-worn lineup card.”

*Yes, we made all of these up. But as far as we know, they could be true.

Recently, a Japanese nunchaku master took things one step further by showing some real-world applications of his beloved fighting sticks. Down at his local batting cage, he took a crack at knocking baseballs out of the park, substituting his nunchucks for a bat. To celebrate his success, he also used the weapon to pop open a bottle of champagne. Watch the whole thing below…

[Wikipedia Via Japan Probe]

You see, we’ve been riding with the Rays since last winter, when we went down to Chesapeake, Virginia to do a fashion story on the Rays’ center fielder, B.J. Upton, and his brother Justin, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rightfielder. In fact, as far as we can tell, we’re the only publication to (kind of) predict the Rays would be in the World Series before the season started. Analyze that Baseball Prospectus! Anyway, to celebrate B.J.’s breakout performance in the ALCS (homie shoulda won the MVP!) we revisit our prescient Q&A where B.J. predicted his squad’s success as well as talked about the presence of African-Americans in baseball…

Complex: People talk a lot about the dwindling number of African-American ballplayers in the major leagues. How do approach handling that mantel?

B.J Upton: You definitely have to be proud of it. You don't see a lot of African-Americans in baseball. The kids look on TV they see guys like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, you see the football players like Michael Vick'he used to be Michael Vick you could say'and baseball doesn't appeal to them as much as the other two. We've got to work to try to get those kids to adjust. We have a charity at home that helps kids and tries to get them into baseball, so people are working on it and I think it's going to be better in the future.

Complex: So what are the odds on a Rays-Diamondbacks World Series this year?

[Laughs.] B.J Upton: I'd love to see it and I definitely wouldn't count it out. We're going to be strong this year and we're going to be ready to play.

Complex: Were you jealous when Justin went to the League Championship Series in just his first year?

B.J Upton: I mean, I was a little jealous, but definitely happy for him. I'm just hoping I can get there some day. Because not many get that opportunity and that's what we're working for right now.

Click HERE for our original story on the Upton brothers from the April/May 2008 issue of Complex Magazine.

Although Boston management may have been happy to see Manny go, there's no doubt that Sox fans are going to miss their resident quote-monster/hilarious-but-not-on-purpose power hitter. Manny’s gotta be psyched about his recent relocation, given all the fun shit he’ll have at his fingertips while playing in the City Of Angels…

1. WOMEN

Duh! To be fair though, MLB players don’t need to live in LA to sleep with Alyssa Milano. Boston has its one supermodel who comes to Boston for Patriots games and then goes home to F the QB (it’s like high school all over again). Los Angeles, on the other hand, practically invented the platinum blond/fake boob combo. Hot tub and late night pool invites in the hills are way better than any tea party during the playoffs in October.

2. WEED

On September 7th, 2002, in one of Manny’s first seasons on the Red Sox, he was asked to give a song to the audio department at Fenway that would play before he came out onto the field. Manny decided that that Styles P’s “Good Times (I Get High)” might be appropriate. You’re naive if you think Manny just “liked the beat” or some shit. Dude enjoys the greenery, and Cali’s sticky-icky (which is legally prescribed in L.A) is going to keep him high on more than just life.

3. CLIMATE

It snows in Boston. A lot. Going to a playoff game at home requires multiple layers. In Los Angeles, it is sunny. Sunny equals girls (See reason #1). That’s it. No contest.

4. GURUS

We all enjoy a little help in the spiritual/mental department, and there is no better place to find someone to follow you around and advise you on the best way to spend-your-money-while-still-being-in-touch-with-nature than Los Angeles. Manny is already a fan of The Secret, so this move into the Los Angeles scene should be seamless.

5. SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

Boston is home to Harvard professors, frat boys, and heavy drinkers who are done working on the Big Dig. Los Angeles has rappers, actors, the aforementioned chicks and gurus, and Jack Nicholson. What's better? Hangin' courtside at a Lakers game with the nutjob Nicholson, or with Benzino at a Celts game? Not even close.

This $199 gadget uses Bluetooth to wirelessly connect to the internet, where it downloads the game’s stats and displays them on the scoreboard. You can set it to 3 different modes: “Basic mode” follows only the score of one team’s games, “full mode” displays the current game when your team of choice isn't playing, and “cycle mode” rotates through all the teams. The best part is that this discrete little guy can sit on your bookshelf next to your picture frames without your company realizing that you’re ignoring everything they say. Buy one at their website, and see a few more pictures after the jump.

[Like Cool]

[Lion Oil via DeadSpin]