Just like the story of this book’s subject, Tony Barnette, my adventure with this book was interesting. The author was kind enough to send me a copy and when I started reading it, I just wasn’t getting into it. With an Audible credit available, I let the author know that I would try the audio version instead and it turned out to be a good choice. Here is my review of “A Baseball Gaijin.”
Title/Author: “A Baseball Gaijin: Chasing a Dream to Japan and Back” by Aaron Fischman, narrated by Brian Nishii
Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review: While many baseball fans may not recognize the name Tony Barnette as a relief pitcher for the Texas Rangers, his story of how he became a member of the team’s bullpen from 2016 to 2018 is one that will inspire any reader or listener of this book. Author Aaron Fischman does a terrific job of telling Barnette’s story of his time in the Japanese team and his determination to make it to the major leagues.
Whether one reads the book or listens to Brian Nishii’s very good narration (I did the latter), Barnette’s adventures in Japan are quite interesting. When Barnette struggled as a starting pitcher - enough to be released by the Yakult Swallows, a team in Tokyo, he still didn’t let that deter him. In a move that isn’t common in Japanese baseball, the Swallows took him back and he responded by posting some incredible seasons out of the Swallows bullpen. It was enough to catch the attention of the Rangers, who signed him and immediately put him in the bullpen, becoming a 32 year old rookie pitcher.
The book, while an excellent recap of Barnette’s career in Japan and Texas, is a very good biography of Barnette and a good introduction to Japanese baseball for those who are not not familiar with their customs and traditions as there are differences between Japanese baseball and their American counterparts. The chapters on Barnette’s life off the field, especially when his daughters were born, are also good. I particularly enjoyed the stories on the adjustments to life in Japan that his wife Hillary made as the life of a baseball wife in Japan can be even more challenging than it is in the US.
Lastly, I enjoyed the information Fischman provided about other baseball gaijin from the US on how they adjusted to playing in Japan. The most interesting stories of these was whenever the home run record for one season by Sadaharu Oh was threatened by a foreign player, Japanese pitchers refused to throw strikes to those batters, ensuring that Oh’s record would be safe. This happened to Randy Bass, Tuffy Rhodes and Alex Cabrera. Oh’s record was finally broken by a Swallows teammate of Barnette’s, Wladimir Balentien, in 2013.
If a reader wants an inspiring story about a pitcher who never gave up on his dream and went to a foreign country to keep it alive, then they will want to pick this one up.
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