Review of “A Basebll Gaijin”

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. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Gaijin-Chasing-Dream-Japan/dp/B0D7N3KTZP/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 

Review of "Lefty O'Doul"

Admittedly, I knew very little about Lefty O'Doul until I received this book from the publisher. After reading it, not only did I learn a lot, but I now understand how much of a role he played in the baseball relationship between Japan and the United States. I won't give too much away - I will simply say to read this book.  Here is my review of "Lefty O'Doul."

Title/Author:

“Lefty O’Doul: Baseball’s Forgotten Ambassador” by Dennis Snelling

Tags:

Baseball, biography, Yankees, Giants, minor leagues

Publish date:

May 1, 2017

Length:

392 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Francis “Lefty” O’Doul can be considered a rarity in baseball – while he was an outstanding major league player, retiring with the fourth-highest career batting average in history, it was his work in the minor leagues and in Japan where he truly made a difference in the game.  The story of his life in and out of baseball is told in this biography by Dennis Snelling.

O’Doul was raised in the Butchertown section of San Francisco, a tough neighborhood which got its name from the proliferation of butchers and slaughterhouses in the area. O’Doul was destined to follow his father into that business until he was encouraged to use his athletic gifts by his teacher Rose Stolz. It was uncommon for women to be coaching sports at that time in the early 20^th century, but she was his coach and O’Doul gave her credit for teaching him the game and mentoring him early in his athletic career.

His career started with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League , which at (PCL)the time was considered close to the equal of the Major Leagues and the highest level of baseball played west of the Mississippi.  O’Doul was playing the outfield and pitching, eventually gaining a spot on the New York Yankees, but not succeeding in either position. He set a record during that brief time that still has not been broken – he gave up 13 runs in one inning, the most allowed by a single pitcher in one inning.  He was convinced to give up pitching during another stint with the Seals, and this time it proved to be better when he played for the New York Giants, becoming a prolific hitter including a season in which he hit .398 in 1929.

However, despite this success, where O’Doul left his mark in the game was with his coaching and managing, which he did for a few decades for the Seals and San Diego in the PCL. One of his prize pupils was Joe DiMaggio, who gives O’Doul much credit for his success.  They stayed friends long after both of their careers were over.

The book’s format has each chapter start with an excerpt describing O’Doul’s biggest accomplishment, and that was the 1949 series of exhibition games between a team of Major League all-stars and Japanese teams played in Japan. This exhibition was notable for several reasons – the countries still had some bitter feelings so soon after World War II, the American players were treated like royalty by the Japanese fans, and General Douglas MacArthur even attended games.  O’Doul worked tirelessly to promote the game in Japan, having made several trips there and was in attendance when Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese player to play in the Major Leagues in 1964.

Given the variances in topics in which to write about O’Doul, I felt that Mr. Snelling did a very good job of piecing all of these aspects of the career of O’Doul and wrote a book that is not only easy to follow with all of these pieces, but is also informative enough that the reader will finish it believing that he or she knows a lot about O’Doul. That was the case for me as I had not known much about the man’s career and certainly not that he was a true ambassador for the game in Japan.  After reading this book, I believe that Lefty O’Doul’s story is one that anyone interested in the game’s history, whether in the United States or in Japan, is one that should be read.   

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links:

http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803290969/

https://www.amazon.com/Lefty-ODoul-Baseballs-Forgotten-Ambassador-ebook/dp/B01MDSFSB3/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494169581&sr=1-1&keywords=lefty+o%27doul+baseball%27s+forgotten+ambassador

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lefty-odoul-dennis-snelling/1125021018?ean=9780803290969

Interview with Robert Fitts and additional chances to win a book

This is a first for the blog - two interviews in one week!  This interview is with Robert Fitts, author of "Mashi" and other books on Japanese baseball.  He talks about Japanese baseball, his upcoming book tour and his own baseball experiences.  I thank him for taking the time to answer these questions.

I am also extending the chance to win a copy of the boxing book "Death In the Ring" by George Thomas Clark.  In addition to entering by leaving a comment on the reivew of that book or my interview with Mr. Clark, if you leave a comment here, you can enter to win as well.   If you do comment, but do not wish to enter the drawing for the book, please state so in your comment. Otherwise, enjoy and good luck!

Robert K. Fitts

Questions for Robert Fitts

1.  Why did you decide to write about Japanese baseball and its players?

In 1993 my wife was transferred to Tokyo and we lived there for two years.  The night I arrived in Japan, she took me to my first Japanese baseball game.  The atmosphere was unlike any game I had seen before.  The fans sang fight songs, blew horns, clapped in unison.   The stadium shook.  I fell in love with Japanese baseball that night. Later that year, I wrote a few dozen retired players to ask for their autographs.  To my surprise, these players not only signed but many wrote letters back and some sent me gifts.  How different from Major Leaguers!  I’ve been interested in the history of Japanese baseball ever since.

2.  “Mashi” took a little different approach to illustrating the struggles of a player who was a minority to fit in with his teammates.  Instead of telling about injustices, most of these anecdotes are humorous.  How were you able to approach a sensitive subject with so much humor?

That’s Mashi.  He has a great sense of humor—something every former teammate mentioned when I interviewed them.  He loved his time in the US and focused on the positive rather than difficult experiences.

3. Are you a fan of Japanese baseball?  What are your observations on the game in Japan and do you feel that the quality of play is close to that of Major League Baseball in the United States?

Major League baseball is more aggressive, faster and powerful than Japanese ball.  I feel that the American game in played at a higher level but that one should not dismiss Japanese baseball as inferior.  They produce many, many great players and watching their games can be a lot of fun.  I worry that with many of their stars coming to the US that baseball in Japan will no longer be able to maintain its high level.

4. Tell us about your baseball experience – whether as a player, a fan of a certain team or player, or if you just enjoy writing about it.

I played baseball—poorly – as a kid and for a company team when I lived in Japan.  For a while I was an avid softball player but now just play in a relaxed league.  I’ve been a baseball card collector since I was 10 and that led me to start selling Japanese baseball cards about 15 years ago.  To promote the cards, I started writing about the history of Japanese baseball but soon found that more interesting than selling cards, so I began focusing on writing about 10 years ago.  Mashi is my fourth book on Japanese baseball. 

5.  What future books can readers expect from you?  Do you have any work in progress currently?

I’m working on a story about the early days of Japanese-American baseball.  I’m studying a group of men who immigrated to Los Angeles around 1903 and formed a baseball team.  They barnstormed across the Midwest and hoped to become the first professional Japanese team on either side of the Pacific.  But, things didn’t work out.

6.  Feel free to add anything here that you would like readers to know.

This summer, Masanori Murakami is joining me for a 9city book tour.  We will stop in Chicago, Boston, New York, Rhinebeck NY, Cooperstown, LA, Fresno, San Francisco, and San Jose.  Information on these events will be posted on my web site www.RobFitts.com.  I hope everybody can come out to meet Mashi and have him sign your copy of the book

Review of "Mashi" and giveaway

When I received a request to review this book from the author, little did I know what an experience I was going to have.  Most importantly, I loved reading this book and the review will reflect that. Also, I ended up receiving two hardcover copies of the book.  I am holding a giveaway for that copy, with the drawing to be held on Monday, April 27.  To enter, simply leave a comment on this review.  Short or long, even just a greeting - that's enough to have a chance to win a copy of the book.  Then cross your fingers, because you will certainly want to read this one. 

Title/Author:

“Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer” by Robert K. Fitts

Tags:

Baseball, history, Giants, Japan, race

Published:

April 1, 2015

Length:

221 pages

Stars: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Jackie Robinson was not the only baseball player who was a pioneer for his race in the game.  In 1964, a nineteen-year-old pitcher named Masanori Murakami, known as “Mashi”, was sent by his Japanese team to the minor leagues’ class A Fresno Giants.  Later that season, the parent club, the San Francisco Giants, called up the young left-hander as a relief pitcher.  As a result, Murakami became the first Japanese player in the major leagues.  His journey to the major leagues and the subsequent squabble between the Japanese and American clubs is chronicled in this wonderful book by Robert K. Fitts.

This book doesn’t read like the typical biography of an athlete. The reader is taken into the life of Murakami in both Japan and the United States. Mashi’s experiences in the Japanese baseball leagues and its training camps and methods are well researched and written in a manner that will inform the reader as well as entertain him or her. There are many stories that illustrate the passion that Murakami had for the game and yet he never wavered in his loyalty to family, even while pitching in the United States.

The dialogue in the book about Mashi’s experience learning the culture and customs in America reads much differently than that in books about the struggles of African-American players in the early days of baseball integration. While there are a few instances of this type of discrimination documented, the focus is how he interacts with people while struggling to learn English.  There are many more humorous stories about this than ones that will anger or upset the reader.

One of the best ones told of Mashi’s teammates giving advice to him on what to tell the manager when he came out to the mound to take Mashi out of the game.  When manager Herman Franks took the ball, he was greeted by some very colorful language from Mashi.  Immediately Franks realized the prank played by Mashi’s teammates and everyone had a good laugh over it.

However, this baseball story doesn’t have a happy ending for Mashi, as a contract dispute between his Japanese team and the Giants will result in an ugly exchange that became a major sticking point for future opportunities in major league baseball for Japanese players.  The Japanese baseball officials believed that they simply loaned Mashi to America in order to sharpen his game.  Major League Baseball, concerned that the reserve clause would be threatened if they let Mashi return to Japan, claimed that he was under contract with the Giants and therefore was obligated to pitch for them.  Like every other conflict he encountered in his baseball career on both continents, Mashi gets anxious to have it resolved but eventually makes the best of his opportunities, no matter where they occur.

If a reader wishes to learn more about Japanese baseball and the differences in the way the game is run between the two countries, this book is a very good source for that.  If the reader just wants to read a good story filled with humor and inspiration, this book does that too, thanks to the excellent writing by the author. 

I wish to thank Mr. Fitts for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Pace of the book:

The writing style lends itself to be an easy read as it flows very well.  Because I was not familiar with many of the Japanese baseball references, it was a little slower for me so I could learn as much as I could about baseball in Japan.

Do I recommend?

Any reader interested in baseball history, whether in the American Major Leagues or in Japan will appreciate this well-written and well-researched book.

Book Format Read:

Hardcover

Buying Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Mashi-Unfulfilled-Baseball-Masanori-Murakami-ebook/dp/B00TJFBWNQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429486653&sr=1-1&keywords=mashi

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mashi-robert-k-fitts/1120736832?ean=9780803255210