His manager suggested it and Hawai'i's Benny Agbayani said it would be interesting.

Bobby Valentine, manager of the newly crowned Japan Series champion Chiba Lotte Marines, was reported as saying he would put his team up against the World Series winner. That was before the Chicago White Sox finished their sweep of Houston Wednesday night.

"That would be good for the fans, especially in Japan," said Agbayani in a telephone interview from Kahin Makuhari section of Chiba, west of Tokyo. "That would show where their level of playing is with the U.S. team."

There also would be a cultural adjustment for the U.S. team.

"I think (the American team) would be overwhelmed at first because the fans here cheer (constantly) from the first inning to the ninth inning," Agbayani said.

Agbayani, who starred at Saint Louis School and Hawai'i Pacific University, returned yesterday to Chiba by shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo and then by commuter train to Chiba. While the U.S.-Japan series is merely a dream, the season isn't over for the Marines, who won their first Japan crown since 1974, when they were known as the Lotte Orions.

The Marines, who scored a four-game sweep of Hanshin in the Japan Series, will play for bragging rights of all Asia in the Konami Cup, Nov. 10 to 13, at Tokyo Dome. The series features league champions from Nippon Professional Baseball (Chiba), the Chinese Baseball Association, the Chinese Professional Baseball League and the Korea Baseball Organization (Samsung Lions). This is the first such event for pro baseball in Asia. According to the Konami Cup Web site, this is "the first step to internationalize baseball in the world."

Until then, Agbayani said Valentine has given the players a couple weeks off to rest. He said he plans to take his daughters to nearby Tokyo Disneyland and do some sightseeing during the break. He won't return to Hawai'i until after the Konami Cup.

Agbayani was happy for the Chiba fans. He said some 20,000 showed up at the 30,000-seat Chiba Marine Stadium to watch the playoffs when Chiba played at Fukuoka.

"There were a lot of people crying when we won (the playoffs)," Agbayani said of Chiba's fans.

But he said Hanshin has a larger following. He said at Hanshin's Koshien Stadium, about 80 percent of the 55,000 cheer for the home team. But when the series was at Chiba, about half cheered for the visitors.

Besides following the Japan Series, the Japanese also showed interest in the American playoffs. Agbayani said New York Yankees games are on all season because the fans follow the progress of Hideki Matsui, who was Japan's top player when he left after the 2002 season. When the Yankees were eliminated, they followed the White Sox because of second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who played for Fukuoka through the 2004 season.

Agbayani said he will return to Chiba next season. He also anticipates that Valentine will be rewarded for the team's success.

"He made the team a No. 1 contender," Agbayani said.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.