Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game (Writing Baseball) (Paperback)

by Robert K. Fitts (Author), Robert Whiting (Foreword) "BEFORE THE WAR [World War II], a couple of American All-Star teams visited Japan and were very popular..." (more)
Key Phrases: gaijin players, percentage baseball, foreign players, Japan Series, United States, Nankai Hawks (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The fact that such different cultures could share a similar love for a simple ballgame first sparked attention when American players began having second careers in Japan. Now that stars from Japan are joining stateside teams, the pertinence of what Fitts has done is clear. Through these narratives Fitts grants us unrivaled firsthand knowledge of Japanese baseball from old- and new-timers alike.”—Jerry Klinkowitz, author of Owning a Piece of the Minors and Basepaths

Product Description

Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game transports us onto diamonds and into dugouts on the other side of the globe, where the vigorous sportsmanship of the game and the impassioned devotion of its fans transcend cultural and geographic borders and prove that baseball is fast becoming an international pastime.

 

Called Yakyu, baseball has been played in Japan since the 1890s but has only recently gained a substantial global following. Robert K. Fitts chronicles the nation’s distinctive version of the sport as recounted by twenty-five of its players. Fitts’s careful choice of subjects represents the experiences of a mix of American and Japanese players—including stars, titleholders, and members of the Japanese Hall of Fame. Informal, candid, and remarkably specific, these recollections describe teammates and opponents, corporate owners and loyal fans, triumphs and frustrations, collectively capturing all the spirit and emotion engendered by the game from decidedly personal vantage points. Throughout, readers glimpse the unique traits of baseball in Japan and discern how the game has evolved since its inception as well as how it differs from its American counterpart.

An unparalleled introduction for an American audience, Remembering Japanese Baseball is augmented by photos of its twenty-five interviewees and a timeline demarking milestone moments in the game’s Japanese history. Robert Whiting, author of You Gotta Have Wa! and The Meaning of Ichiro, provides the foreword.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (March 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809326302
• ISBN-13: 978-0809326303
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #860,519 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars arigato, Fitts-san, June 2, 2005

By	William W. Kelly (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very welcome addition to the growing literature on Japanese baseball. Oral history is hard work, but unlike the daily quotes of player pablum that fill newspaper game reports, reflections over long careers are often informative and moving (even if occasionally self-serving). The real virtues of this collection are the range of baseball people that Fitts was able to get to open up (from outstanding stars to working stiffs, from players to coaches, managers, and executives) and the range over time (with representative stories from six decades of Japanese professional baseball). Some of the most powerful chapters evoke the difficulties of Japanese-American players in the 1950s. Such range is extraordinarily valuable in demonstrating the surprising breadth of baseball experiences. It's a collection that instructs both the devotee and the neophyte to Japanese baseball lore.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homu-ran!, May 25, 2005

By	J. Gall - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book does for Japanese baseball what Lawrence Ritter's classic, "The Glory of Their Times", did for early twentieth century baseball. It tells the story of Japan's passion for the game, through the first hand accounts of those who lived it.

Using both Japanese and American-in-exile players, Robert Fitts presents a spectrum of candid and engaging stories that cover nearly the entire history of Japanese Professional Baseball.

This book is not just for those looking to probe beyond Robert Whiting's fine books, but for all baseball fans. And, it's a great read.

More please!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oral history of Japanse baseball left me speechless, May 24, 2005

By	R. Lapides "zenbaseball" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a longtime fan of Japanese baseball, I was thrilled to come across Rob Fitts' book about something I have a real passion for. I had great expectations when I saw it, and would say they were met, if not surpassed. The oral accounts directly by the players themselves put some "flesh on the bone" of my image of Japanese baseball. I enjoyed the humble accounts by Japanese players and marveled at the differences between their style of play and ours. In fact, it was sort of mindblowing to me to hear about the culture and philosophy of Japanese baseball. Had it not been from the mouths of the players themselves, I might not have even believed it! I found the book quite enjoyable, extremely informative, and would not hesitate to recommend it.