His pitcher was struggling, so the Illinois-bred catcher yanked off his mask and instinctively hustled out from behind home plate for a quick conference.

But about a step from the mound Joe Perona came to the sudden, quick-braking realization his Osaka-bred pitcher "didn't speak a word of English and I didn't speak a word of Japanese, either. So, I'm wondering, 'OK, what am I gonna do now?' "

"I just stood there at first," Perona recalled. "Then, I said a few things. He just smiled at me. We both shook our heads and I went back behind the plate."

That was the inaugural season of Hawai'i Winter Baseball, circa 1993, when it was a league ahead of its time in taking the game global. Before Major League Baseball rosters were dotted with players from Japan, Korea and Taiwan, HWB was test-driving the concept, sometimes to its own head-scratching amusement, on four islands.

Word that the HWB is being scheduled for a 40-game return in October — a press conference today promises resurrection after an eight-year hiatus — means the league that gave the Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, the Chicago White Sox's Tadahito Iguchi and dozens of others their first look at baseball in America, can resume its experiment in international relations.

It means that others, such as Ichiro, who said the HWB experience, "gave me confidence" to "produce results," may get the same opportunity and Major League Baseball will be the better for it.

Of course, asked about his No. 1 memory of HWB, Ichiro said recently, "that I was told I would receive a ring if we won the championship. But I still haven't received that ring."

Years in advance of the World Baseball Championship, the "world" — or at least a portion of it — gathered on diamonds from Hans L'Orange to Hilo. In English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Spanish they found communicating could be as much of a challenge as hitting a breaking ball. Lost in translation took on a whole new meaning.

It meant, for example, an American coach calling his Korean catcher, Myungchul Song, "Tony" because of a curious resemblance to Tony Pena. That and Myungchul was more of a mouthful than the coach wanted to tackle on a roster that included nine foreign players. Ickjae Kim became "Icky" and Hankyung Choi "Hank" to their teammates.

But it also meant players from diverse cultures and backgrounds teaming up, whether to ignite a rally or just order a postgame pizza or get takeout sushi.

Ultimately, it was financing, not syntax that put the league on hold after 1998. Now, blessed with an infusion of capital from both Asian and MLB sources plus multi-country television deals, we're told HWB is returning to deliver on its promise.

In the meantime, can somebody, please, get Ichiro his ring?

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.