D-backs' brass set for trip to Japan

PHOENIX -- On Wednesday night, a contingent of D-backs executives was set to embark on a trip to Japan for several meetings and activities through Aug. 20.

D-backs president and CEO Derrick Hall, chief baseball officer Tony La Russa and special assistants to the president and CEO Luis Gonzalez and Randy Johnson were making the trip, which features stops in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai and Ishinomaki.

The D-backs contingent's agenda will include meetings with the Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner's Office, MLB Japan, several teams' front offices, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and more. It will be the first trip to Japan for La Russa, while Gonzalez and Johnson were both there as part of an MLB All-Star tour in 2000.

The trip will also feature a public appearance at the Major League Baseball Road Show, a grassroots program designed to give children an opportunity to experience baseball activities through fun and games. It is an event that has been hosted in Europe, South America, Canada and Asia.