I Think I am Turning Japanese

I love Japan and the Japanese people," said Ramirez, who is making his second trip to Japan. "I'm looking forward to eating some sushi and playing against some great players."

Ramirez, Boston Red Sox teammate David Ortiz and 26 other major-league players arrived in Japan on Wednesday to take on a team of All-Stars from Japan's professional leagues.

The eight-game trip from Nov. 5-14 is the second in three years to Japan for the major leagues and will feature games in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka, Sapporo and Nagoya. The first team of major leaguers visited Japan in 1908.

Game 1 will be at Tokyo Dome on Friday. San Diego Padres manager Bruce Bochy said Roger Clemens will start for the major leaguers. He'll face Yomiuri Giants ace Koji Uehara, considered one of the of the best pitchers in Japan.

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