off the wall.

The first thing visitors see when entering the museum is a trophy case full of memorabilia from the inaugural two World Baseball Classics in 2006 and 2009, both of which were won by Japan. It made me wonder about the quality of play in Japan. How does it compare to American baseball?

"A lot of people ask me about the level of play here," said Graczyk. "It's higher than Triple-A, but lower than the major leagues."

And what about the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, winners of last year's Japan Series, Nippon Professional Baseball's equivalent of the World Series? How would they have fared in the majors?

"I don't think they would have made the postseason," he said. Would they have had a winning record? "Probably not." But Graczyk added thathe thought there are enough high-caliber players in the country -- as evidenced by the success players such as Darvish and Ichiro Suzuki have enjoyed in the U.S. -- that a Japanese all-star team could possibly make the playoffs in MLB.

It was now two hours before game time -- when they were scheduled to open the gates -- and a large crowd was already lined up waiting to get inside. Before going in, I walked over to the Tokyo Dome Hotel and rode an elevator up the 40th floor for a better view of the stadium. I could see why the Dome, which opened in 1988 and was the first covered baseball venue in Japan, is commonly referred to as "The Big Egg." From above, that's exactly what