The first Japanese graduate of Ohio’s Sports Administration program is living his life’s dream of working in professional baseball
Noby Ito slept at the old Greyhound Bus station in Athens the night before he walked up to the office of Charles Higgins, Director of Sports Administration at Ohio University, and asked to be enrolled in the program.
Just a short time before, Ito was sitting in the bleachers of Cleveland Municipal Stadium watching the Cleveland Indians, dreaming of working in the field of professional baseball. He had just asked the team manager for a job, as he had with multiple minor league baseball teams. That’s why he left his sales job in Osaka, Japan and moved to America.
In the bleachers, Ito sat next to a man with whom he shared his dream of working in baseball and how he has been knocking on the doors of minor league teams, only to be repeatedly rejected.
“That’s one way to do it,” the man, who was a student in OU’s Sports Administration graduate program, told Ito. “Another way is to be first, be patient and learn the system here. Usually, if you want to get a job in professional sports, we go to school and learn the sports business.”
With that advice, and a Greyhound bus ride later, Ito was at Higgins’ door.
“Who are you?” Higgins barked at Ito.“What are you doing here?”
Ito was wearing the same clothes he arrived to the United States in and had worn while traveling the country for three months.
“Go away,” Higgins told Ito. “Stay in a motel and come back tomorrow after you dress up.”
Higgins remembers the story slightly differently. He said that an obviously exhausted Ito showed up at his door, so he told him to get rested up and come back the next day, so they have more time to converse.
Regardless of his condition, Ito returned, and the next day, he was enrolled in the program. Two years later, in 1991, Ito became the first Japanese graduate of the program.
During his time at OU, Higgins remembers Ito as a driven student who had a meticulous attention to detail. He recalls that Ito used to write down details in a black journal and that, despite cultural differences between Ito and his classmates, he blended in seamlessly.
Ito then interned with Winter Baseball, a now-defunct body, and used his time to help attract Japanese players to America to play.
Soon after, Ito accepted an offer from the Office of the Commissioner for the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the highest level of professional baseball in Japan and commonly considered by Americans as a breeding ground for some of the top stars in MLB.
Ito is now the Executive Director of Baseball Operations for NPB, who also serves as the main contact between NPB and MLB.
“The relationship between the NPB and the MLB has been good,” Ito said. “We have some differences, the business negotiations have been so tough, the player movement system has been sometimes difficult, but other things, like umpire exchange, rule interpretation, minor league player and umpire exchange program, spring training participation, World Baseball Classic and MLB tour have been good.”
Ito is often involved in the posting system, in which NPB players can transfer to the MLB. He modified the program, which allowed Masahiro Tanaka to sign with the New York Yankees in late 2013.
Ito’s biggest challenge is developing successful athletes to play in Japan and not leave for America.
That is typically done through the high school baseball tournament, where players begin to accumulate their own following of fans. Ito compared it to the NCAA Final Four or the Super Bowl.
“Player development is the name of the game,” Ito said. “We need to scout the good players and develop them in the minors to replace the players who left.”
Ito returns to the United States on occasion to conduct business in New York City at the Commissioner’s Office and to meet with other officials at the MLB Winter Meetings.
He normally reunites with Higgins, who said that the two have remained close despite the geographic distance. A few years ago, Higgins visited Japan and stayed with Ito and his family in Tokyo.
This past week, Ito returned to the U.S. to participate in an event organized by the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio’s Akisa Fukuzawa — the OU’s Sports Administration program’s second Japanese graduate.
Saturday, he visited Athens and paid a visit to Higgins, President Roderick McDavis and students of the Sports Administration program. Ito departed for Japan again Sunday.
Although he resides in Japan, he feels close to his Ohio family. Ito has worked alongside OU graduates in America and internationally, which strengthens the bond he feels with the place that started his international baseball career.
“Every time I come to the States,” Ito said, “I have a chance to meet with Ohio University Sports Administration program graduates. Every time I see them, I feel the strong ties between that somebody and me. They’re everywhere around this country and internationally. Their ties are so strong and that’s why I appreciate the effort to keep and develop their strong program here in Athens.”
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