Robert K. Fitts – författare & böcker

Banzai Babe Ruth

Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan

Inbunden, Engelska, 2012

408 kr

Skickas inom 10-15 vardagar

In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of "Banzai! Banzai, Babe Ruth!" The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill. Politicians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour—and the two nations' shared love of the game—could help heal their growing political differences. But the Babe and baseball could not overcome Japan's growing nationalism, as a bloody coup d'état by young army officers and an assassination attempt by the ultranationalist War Gods Society jeopardized the tour's success. A tale of international intrigue, espionage, attempted murder, and, of course, baseball, Banzai Babe Ruth is the first detailed account of the doomed attempt to reconcile the United States and Japan through the 1934 All American baseball tour. Robert K. Fitts provides a wonderful story about baseball, nationalism, and American and Japanese cultural history.

Wally Yonamine

The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball

AvRobert K. Fitts

Häftad, Engelska, 2012

288 kr

Skickas inom 10-15 vardagar

Wally Yonamine was both the first Japanese American to play for an NFL franchise and the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II. This is the unlikely story of how a shy young man from the sugar plantations of Maui overcame prejudice to integrate two professional sports in two countries. In 1951 the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants chose Yonamine as the first American to play in Japan during the Allied occupation. He entered Japanese baseball when mistrust of Americans was high—and higher still for Japanese Americans whose parents had left the country a generation earlier. Without speaking the language, he helped introduce a hustling style of base running, shaking up the game for both Japanese players and fans. Along the way, Yonamine endured insults, dodged rocks thrown by fans, initiated riots, and was threatened by yakuza (the Japanese mafia). He also won batting titles, was named the 1957 MVP, coached and managed for twenty-five years, and was honored by the emperor of Japan. Overcoming bigotry and hardship on and off the field, Yonamine became a true national hero and a member of Japan's Baseball Hall of Fame.

Banzai Babe Ruth

Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan

AvRobert K. Fitts

Häftad, Engelska, 2013

279 kr

Skickas inom 10-15 vardagar

In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of "Banzai! Banzai, Babe Ruth!" The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill. Politicians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour—and the two nations' shared love of the game—could help heal their growing political differences. But the Babe and baseball could not overcome Japan's growing nationalism, as a bloody coup d'état by young army officers and an assassination attempt by the ultranationalist War Gods Society jeopardized the tour's success. A tale of international intrigue, espionage, attempted murder, and, of course, baseball, Banzai Babe Ruth is the first detailed account of the doomed attempt to reconcile the United States and Japan through the 1934 All American baseball tour. Robert K. Fitts provides a wonderful story about baseball, nationalism, and American and Japanese cultural history.

Mashi

The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer

AvRobert K. Fitts

Inbunden, Engelska, 2015

347 kr

Skickas inom 10-15 vardagar

In the spring of 1964, the Nankai Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League sent nineteen-year-old Masanori Murakami to the Class A Fresno Giants to improve his skills. To nearly everyone’s surprise, Murakami, known as Mashi, dominated the American hitters. With the San Francisco Giants caught in a close pennant race and desperate for a left-handed reliever, Masanori was called up to join the big league club, becoming the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues. Featuring pinpoint control, a devastating curveball, and a friendly smile, Mashi became the Giants’ top lefty reliever and one of the team’s most popular players-as well as a national hero in Japan. Not surprisingly, the Giants offered him a contract for the 1965 season. Murakami signed, announcing that he would be thrilled to stay in San Francisco. There was just one problem: the Nankai Hawks still owned his contract. The dispute over Murakami’s contract would ignite an international incident that ultimately prevented other Japanese players from joining the Majors for thirty years. Mashi is the story of an unlikely hero caught up in an American and Japanese baseball dispute and forced to choose between his dreams in the United States and his duty in Japan.

Issei Baseball

The Story of the First Japanese American Ballplayers

AvRobert K. Fitts

Inbunden, Engelska, 2020

346 kr

Skickas inom 5-8 vardagar

2021 SABR Baseball Research Award2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards, Silver Medal Winner Baseball has been called America’s true melting pot, a game that unites us as a people. Issei Baseball is the story of the pioneers of Japanese American baseball, Harry Saisho, Ken Kitsuse, Tom Uyeda, Tozan Masko, Kiichi Suzuki, and others-young men who came to the United States to start a new life but found bigotry and discrimination.In 1905 they formed a baseball club in Los Angeles and began playing local amateur teams. Inspired by the Waseda University baseball team’s 1905 visit to the West Coast, they became the first Japanese professional baseball club on either side of the Pacific and barnstormed across the American Midwest in 1906 and 1911. Tens of thousands came to see “how the minions of the Mikado played the national pastime.” As they played, the Japanese earned the respect of their opponents and fans, breaking down racial stereotypes. Baseball became a bridge between the two cultures, bringing Japanese and Americans together through the shared love of the game.Issei Baseball focuses on the small group of men who formed the first professional and semiprofessional Japanese baseball clubs. These players’ story tells the history of early Japanese American baseball, including the placement of Saisho, Kitsuse, and their families in relocation camps during World War II and the Japanese immigrant experience.

Mashi

The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer

AvRobert K. Fitts

Häftad, Engelska, 2020

214 kr

Skickas inom 10-15 vardagar

In the spring of 1964, the Nankai Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League sent nineteen-year-old Masanori Murakami to the Class A Fresno Giants to improve his skills. To nearly everyone’s surprise, Murakami, known as Mashi, dominated the American hitters. With the San Francisco Giants caught in a close pennant race and desperate for a left-handed reliever, Masanori was called up to join the big league club, becoming the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues. Featuring pinpoint control, a devastating curveball, and a friendly smile, Mashi became the Giants’ top lefty reliever and one of the team’s most popular players-as well as a national hero in Japan. Not surprisingly, the Giants offered him a contract for the 1965 season. Murakami signed, announcing that he would be thrilled to stay in San Francisco. There was just one problem: the Nankai Hawks still owned his contract. The dispute over Murakami’s contract would ignite an international incident that ultimately prevented other Japanese players from joining the Majors for thirty years. Mashi is the story of an unlikely hero caught up in an American and Japanese baseball dispute and forced to choose between his dreams in the United States and his duty in Japan.

In the Japanese Ballpark

Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball

AvRobert K. Fitts

Inbunden, Engelska, 2025

413 kr

Skickas inom 3-6 vardagar

Baseball is the national pastime of both the United States and Japan, but the two countries approach and play the game differently both on the field and away from it. To shed light on these differences and help fans gain a greater appreciation for Nippon Professional Baseball, Robert K. Fitts turns to the true experts, the people who play, oversee, promote, and watch the game, to find out what makes Japanese baseball special. In the Japanese Ballpark features engaging interviews with twenty-six baseball personalities to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the game.Fitts speaks with participants in the games such as players, managers, and an umpire; support staff including an interpreter, trainer, and data analyst; front office personal such as an owner, general and assistant managers, and marketing directors; ballpark workers including cheerleaders, a mascot, beer vendor, and usher; and professionals who surround the sport, such as baseball writers, a player agent, and a sports card dealer; as well as a league commissioner. Through their personal experiences, these individuals reveal the inner workings of the Japanese game and explain the cultural aspects that make Nippon Professional Baseball different from Major League Baseball.In the Japanese Ballpark features interviews with Bobby Valentine, Trey Hillman, Matt Murton, Robert Whiting, Marty Kuehnert, Tomoko Namba, Ambassador Ryozo Kato, and many others. Their experiences and insights provide inside knowledge to make the fan experience more enjoyable, for both those watching a Japanese game for the first time and well as for seasoned followers.

Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, Volume II

1960-2019

AvRobert K. Fitts

E-bok

Engelska, 2023

168 kr

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To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Japanese baseball, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) has published the two-volume set, Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, Volumes I and II. Over 100 baseball teams from the United States and Hawaii have crossed the Pacific to play baseball in Japan since 1906. Nichibei Yakyu Volumes I and II are the first works in English that focuses on these international tours and volume 2 focuses on the latter portion of the 20th century and the 21st.

Since 1960 these tours have featured World Champions like the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers, and have even incorporated the official opening Day of the Major League Baseball season, as well as triumphant returns to Japan for stars such as Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui. These tours helped spread the game across the globe, spawned thousands of individual friendships, and helped bring nations together through the mutual love of baseball.

Volume II contains chpaters on all 29 major league squads that travelled to Japan from 1960 to 2019. Each chapter is accompanied by game results and player statistics. Also included for the first time in any language are tables showing the all-time leaders from the Japan tours in various statistical categories, as well as the statistics of selected Japanese players against major league competition.

Del 2 - Nichibei Yakyu: Us Baseball in Japan

Nichibei Yakyu

US Tours of Japan, Volume II: 1960-2019

AvRobert K Fitts

Häftad, Engelska, 2023

395 kr

Skickas inom 3-6 vardagar

Nichibei Yakyu

US Tours of Japan, Volume 1, 1907 - 1958

AvRobert K. Fitts,James Forrm. fl.

E-bok

Engelska, 2022

168 kr

Läs direkt efter köp

Foreword by Allan "Bud" Selig. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Japanese baseball, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is proud to publish a two-volume set, Nichibei Yakyu: US Baseball Tours of Japan. The first book in the set is Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan,1907 - 1958.

Over 100 baseball teams from the United States and Hawaii have crossed the Pacific to play baseball in Japan. Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan is the first book written in English that focuses on these international tours.

Discover in this book, how:

The female Philadelphia Bobbies team tour ended in tragedyBabe Ruth tried to prevent World War IILefty O''Doul helped reunite the US and Japan through baseballA Native American baseball team was cheated and stranded 5000 miles from homeA Negro League team helped start Japanese professional baseballJapanese Americans used baseball to build a bridge between the two culturesJoe DiMaggio and Jackie Robinson finished their careers in Japan

These, and many other stories, introduce readers to the fascinating world of Japanese baseball.

Volume One focuses on tours between 1907 and 1958. During this time period, many of the sport''s greatest stars-including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson-played in the Land of the Rising Sun. These tours helped spread the game across the globe, spawned thousands of individual friendships, and helped bring nations together through the mutual love of baseball.

Volume One contains individual chapters written by leading members of the Society for American Baseball Research on all 15 professional squads that traveled to Japan before 1960 as well as four collegiate and eight amateur/semipro teams. Each chapter is accompanied by game results and, when available, player statistics.

Del 1 - Nichibei Yakyu: Us Baseball Tours of Japan

Nichibei Yakyu

US Tours of Japan, Volume 1, 1907 - 1958

AvRobert K Fitts,Bill Nowlinm. fl.

Häftad, Engelska, 2022

356 kr

Skickas inom 5-8 vardagar

Remembering Japanese Baseball

An Oral History of the Game

AvRobert K. Fitts

Häftad, 2005

244 kr

Tillfälligt slut

Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game describes team-mates and opponents, corporate owners and loyal fans, triumphs and frustrations, collectively capturing all the spirit and emotion engendered by the game from personal vantage points. Throughout, readers glimpse the unique traits of baseball in Japan.

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Robert K. Fitts – författare

Banzai Babe Ruth

Wally Yonamine

Banzai Babe Ruth

Mashi

Issei Baseball

Mashi

In the Japanese Ballpark

Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, Volume II

Nichibei Yakyu

Nichibei Yakyu

Nichibei Yakyu

Remembering Japanese Baseball

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