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Accomplished baseball writer Robert Obojski went off the beaten path when covering stories about Japanese baseball in the 1970s and found stories to tell. Best yet, this book covers some of the forgotten names from the early days of professional baseball in Japan that could be overlooked.
Naturally, some material in this book is outdated for the 21st century from how the rules were to how the culture was back then. However, this is still a good history lesson. Keep in mind, the Saitama Seibu Lions were still in Fukuoka at the time of this writing and didn't even have the Crown Lighter title yet.
For those who began following the history of baseball in Japan, they're often told about Horace Wilson introducing the game where it spread like wildfire at the amateur level to eventually become professional decades later.
Most are aware of the 1934 Japan Tour documented featuring Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and manager Connie Mack to name a few. What isn't talked about were the frequent tours both before and after 1934 involving stars of the past, instructing the Japanese to improve their game. Even after World War II, several teams had tours in Japan including the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Obojski fills in the gaps and provides full context to Masanori Murakami's story of how he ended up playing for the San Francisco Giants. A scout named Tsuneo Harada, who was employed by both the Giants and Nankai Hawks, made sure Murakami's contract made it possible to go stateside as a project to develop as became the first Japanese born ball player in MLB.
Other adventurous stories include Joe Pepitone and Val Snow leaving a negative mark in Japan. Other direct quotes and observations from the game at the time feature Bobby Taylor, Don Blasingame (as a Hawks coach), Joe Lutz, Clarence Jones, Mickey McGuire, Clete Boyer, Ron Lolich, Jim Hicks, Wes Parker and George Altman.
In a lot of ways, this book can feel like a prequel to Robert Whiting's "You Gotta Have Wa" which came out 14 years later and was given an updated chapter 20 years after that.
If there was something to criticize for this part of history, there is no mention of Kazuhisa Inao even though Futoshi Nakanishi is in the section talking about star players of the past and present of its time. There is no mention about the Black Mist scandal that hit the Lions either. Even Matty Alou is mentioned as he was playing for the Taiheiyo Club Lions when this book was written.
It's understandable to have a section devoted to Sadaharu Oh, who was still playing at the time of this writing, as well as Shigeo Nagashima, but some things in this book lean towards the Yomiuri Giants due to their easy proximity at then-Korakuen Stadium, let alone being the first professional team.
That being sad, Obojski has nothing but great things to say about Japanese baseball and how the development of the sport came about up to 1974. He had plenty of Japanese culture stories from the food options, hospitality, fan support, work ethic (both in and outside of baseball) and other nuggets of information in that time frame.
This is not a book to apply towards today's game of NPB, but it's a way to understand the past and how the birth and love of baseball in Japan has come a long way since it was introduced in the 19th Century.
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Special thanks to our friends at Japan Ball (@JapanBall) for sending this book.
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