I want to discu s what is definitely a first-world baseball problem and is about the overall ambience but perhaps more of the postseason, notably the World Series. The teams involved should be thinking about more than who is throwing the ceremonial first pitch but who is catching it (like I mentioned, first-world baseball i sues). And no organization should be doing it more than the Yankees, who have such a backlog of worthy candidates and so much potential connectivity to provide their fan base. And in the case of Game 5, something even greater. Nick Swisher ki ses the ball before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con The Yankees are having Hideki Matsui throw the first pitch prior to the final 2024 game in The Bronx. That was a great pick the World Series MVP of the last Yankee champion in 2009 and someone the Stadium fan base adores for his overall excellence and dignity, but also for how great he was in big games. But this is a World Series that is crushing in Japan. The games are in the mornings and yet one-tenth of the TVs in the country are tuned into the World Series while the Japan Series is concurrently going on in the evenings and the total number of viewers is outstripping how many are watching in the United States. More From Joel Sherman The reason is obvious. The Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani, who is the most popular player in the world and, according to my unscientific poll of Japanese reporters, the most popular person in the country. The claims from this poll were that the second-most popular mammal is Ohtanis dog Decoy and this was dead serious. Ohtanis presence/popularity helped the Dodgers also land Yoshinobu Yamamoto over the two other most ardent pursuers, the Mets and the Yankees. And Ohtani has made the Dodgers the team of Japan. And there are certainly team officials around MLB who believe that this offseason (or sometime in the next few years), the Dodgers have a sizable edge to land arguably Japans best pitcher. Derek Jeter and Oswaldo Cabrera embrace after the first pitch prior to Game Three of Brant Hurter Jersey the 2024 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium on October 28, 2024 Getty Images Which is why I think the Yankees needed to send a statement before a pitch in Game 5 with a pitch on multiple levels. That should have been delivered by Masahiro Tanaka to Matsui as a subliminal recruitment that: 1) Not long ago, the Yankees would win the duels for the best Japanese players; 2) A reminder that Japanese players can thrive and be happy here; 3) The return of another big-game guy, in Tanaka, that the fan base loves. Follow The Posts coverage of the Yankees in the postseason: Look, I dont have every ex-Yankees itinerary, so who knows who is asked but cant attend. But the Yankees should be thinking about offering up two-for-the-price-of-one connections. The way this works is teams recommend who they would like to throw out the pitch for MLBs ble sing, which usually comes unle s the league has someone who absolutely must jump in. AJ Burnett reacts after Yankees great Paul ONeill throws out the first pitch before Game 4 of the World Series. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Derek Jeter threw out the first pitch in Game 3. Again, perfect. But he did so to Oswaldo Cabrera. This isnt some Bank of America president who has paid for the privilege and you send out any available Yankee to catch him. Either the current captain, Aaron Judge, should have caught the pitch from the previous one. Or the current shortstop who grew up in New Jersey idolizing Jeter, Anthony Volpe, should have. The two getting together for a picture after Volpes brilliance in Game 4 only emphasized how natural of a duo that should have been. and it almost was like A.J. Burnett was around and, sure, why not catch the pitch? The two have a faint connection at best, having never played together. If you are going with ONeill, then someone like Tino Martinez would have been a good catch partner for their ties as the high-end complementary players. ormer New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui is introduced at the Old Timers Day Ceremony. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports But while ONeill was well regarded and should be on the potential list, I just think there would have been so many better choices. The Yanks tapped Andy Pettitte, Willie Randolph, CC Sabathia and for some reason Nick Swisher to throw out pitches in the first two playoff rounds (one of these things is not like the other). Really, the Steinbrenner familys belief that Swisher is some beloved Yankee which elevates him to have a front office voice and first-pitch status is a blind spot. In case the family does not have acce s to Baseball Reference, Swishers .165 postseason batting average is the worst in Yankee history for anyone allowed to bat 100 times. But I digre s. How about Mariano Rivera or Orlando Hernandez to Jorge Posada? Martinez to Scott Brosius (the shocking homers in the 2001 World Series)? Joe Torre to Joe Girardi (the only living Yankees championship managers)? Yankees great Derek Jeter waves to the crowd as he walks out to throw the first pitch of the game. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Is Reggie Jackson out because he now works for the Astros? Is Alex Rodriguez out because he is Alex Rodriguez? Heck, have Reggie throw to A-Rod and see if that me ses with the time-space continuum. Want to bring the house down? I know Brett Gardner has angrily stayed away from the Yankees, including for the past Old-Timers Day for how the divorce between team and player went. But, really, do whatever is nece sary to bring back the last guy who played with the Yankees from the 2009 champions. He was so influential as a leader to Judge and his lunch-pail ethos endeared him to the fans. Masahiro Tanaka and Hideki Matsui would make a great first-pitch pair, according the The Posts Joel Sherman. Paul J. Bereswill Have him throw to Judge. Or have him throw to Bernie Williams the center fielders the last two times the Yankees clinched a title. Sure, it is a first-world baseball i sue. But the Yankees can do better here. Bryan Sammons Jersey