Italo Zanzi, assistant to MLB Exec VP Robert DuPuy,
will be at tonight's Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL) game
featuring the Wahoos-Pride in Akron "to get a closer look"
at the league, according to Jason Butler of the AKRON BEACON
JOURNAL, who writes that the visit "represents another
tangible step forward in the relationship" between the two
leagues. WPSL Commissioner John Carroll said the
relationship "could be something like a marketing
relationship or something as extreme as a takeover."
Carroll adds, "It could be a tremendous boon to the
advancement of women's fast-pitch softball. The thing we
suffer from is lack of exposure and brand identity." Butler
notes that the WPSL has "since opened all of its books" to
MLB and "had talks with high-ranking officials" including
DuPuy, who has been a part of the Commissioner's Initiative
on Women and Baseball (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/11).
MLB IN JAPAN: A team of MLB All-Stars will travel to
Japan in November to play eight games against their Japanese
counterparts in All-Star Series 2000. The series, sponsored
by Mainichi Shimbun, will consist of eight games between
November 3-12 in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka and Nagoya (MLB).
