Baseball Japanese Tokyo Giants Pitcher Hollywood Stars Minoru Suzuki 1953

£193.19 Buy It Now, Click to see shipping cost, 30-Day Returns, eBay Money Back Guarantee
Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176299959363 BASEBALL JAPANESE TOKYO GIANTS PITCHER HOLLYWOOD STARS MINORU SUZUKI 1953. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL 7 1/8 X 9 INCH PHTOO FROM 1953 DEPICTING  IN LOSANGELES MINORU SUZUKI, A TOP PITCHER FOR THE TOKYO GIANTS, GIVE HIS AUTOGRAPH TO YOUNG JAPANESE-AMERICAN FANS AT GILMORE FIELD IN LOS ANGELES, PRIOR TO THE GAME WITH THE HOLLYWOOD STARS. THE TOKYO GIANTS, PLAYING SOME EXHIBITION GAMES IN THE U.S. WON THE GAME WITH THE STARS , 2-0

Gilmore Field was a minor league baseball park in Los Angeles, California, that served as home to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League from 1939–57 when they, along with their intra-city rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, were displaced by the transplanted Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. Contents 1 History 1.1 Location 1.2 Field 2 Baseball 2.1 Hollywood Stars 2.2 Pittsburgh Pirates 3 Football 4 Movies 5 Demolished 6 References 7 External links History Gilmore Field opened on May 2, 1939 and was the home of the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League until September 5, 1957. The stadium had a seating capacity of 12,987 people. It was there on September 23, 1948, that Ronald Reagan introduced President Harry S. Truman at a campaign rally, the first time that Reagan personally met a U.S President. Location The ballpark was located on the south side of Beverly Boulevard between Genesee Avenue and The Grove Drive, just east of where CBS Television City is currently located. A couple hundred meters to the west was Gilmore Stadium, an oval-shaped venue built several years earlier, which was used for football games and midget auto racing. To the east was the famous Pan-Pacific Auditorium. Both facilities were built by Earl Gilmore, son of Arthur F. Gilmore and president of A. F. Gilmore Oil, a California-based petroleum company which was developed after Arthur struck oil on the family property.[1] The area was rich in petroleum, which was the source of the "tar" in the nearby La Brea Tar Pits. Later, the Gilmore Drive-In Theater was built, just south of the ballpark and east of the Farmers Market. Field The field had intimate quarters from the spectator standpoint – first and third bases were 7.2 meters (24 feet) from the first row of seats. Home plate was 10.2 meters (34 feet) from the stands.[2] The outfield gave the pitchers more of a break with foul lines 101 meters (335 feet) long, power alleys about 116 meters (385 feet), and 123 meters (407 feet) to center field. (Ritter, p. 75) The power alleys were thus 12 meters (40 feet) deeper than in the cross-town counterpart, Wrigley Field. The diamond was situated in the northwest corner of the field. Baseball Hollywood Stars Hollywood Stars memorabilia In 1938 Herbert Fleishaker, owner of the Mission Reds moved his team to Los Angeles, and took the name of the Hollywood Stars after the city's previous PCL franchise. After but one season, the team was sold to new owners, among them Bob Cobb of Brown Derby Restaurant fame and the inventor of the California Cobb Salad. In their salad days, as it were, the Stars attracted glamorous actors and other celebrities or anyone else who wanted to be "seen", much as Dodger Stadium would later. One of the L.A. Angels players, Chuck Connors, made a successful move from one side of the box seat railing to the other, becoming the star in The Rifleman, a popular 1950's TV show. The Stars would play at Gilmore Field through the 1957 season. Pittsburgh Pirates In 1948, Gilmore Field became the spring training location for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Football The Hollywood Bears football team of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League played at the stadium in 1940–1942 and 1945.[3] Movies Although L.A.'s Wrigley Field seemed to get the lion's share of Hollywood screen time, Gilmore Field also had its moments on celluloid. It was featured in a 1949 movie called The Stratton Story, starring James Stewart and June Allyson, the true story of a promising pitcher (Monty Stratton) whose career was curtailed due to a hunting accident that left him with an artificial leg. Stratton's major league baseball career was over, but he made a comeback at the minor league level. The scenes at the end of the movie were set elsewhere but were filmed at Gilmore Field. The layout of the outfield, and especially the exceptionally high left and right field corners, help to identify it. In The Atomic City (1952), Gilmore Field plays the site of a "Communist spy drop" during a game, with the still-new televising of the game providing the FBI agents with close-ups. Gilmore Field was also seen in the movie 711 Ocean Drive (1950). Half of the neon art deco "Hollywood Stars" sign, above the stadium entrance, is clearly visible. Demolished The ballpark site was abandoned after 1957. Gilmore Field was razed in 1958, beginning soon after an announcement in the Los Angeles Times of January 17. Much of the site is now occupied by a parking lot at CBS Television City, near the Farmers Market. In September 1997, the Pacific Coast League Historical Society, CBS, and the A.F. Gilmore Company dedicated a bronze plaque in commemoration of Gilmore Field on a wall outside CBS Studio 46. "The Ferris Wheel", one of the episodes of "Rescue 8", a syndicated United States television series broadcast in September 1958, was filmed at the demolition of Gilmore Field and includes many views of the stadium as it was being razed. The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Contents 1 Hollywood Stars (1926–1935) 2 Hollywood Stars (1938–1957) 2.1 Innovations 2.2 Notable players 3 Affiliations 4 Cultural references 5 References 5.1 Sources Hollywood Stars (1926–1935) The first incarnation of the Hollywood Stars began its existence in 1903 as the Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the Pacific Coast League. The team moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1904, where it won the pennant as the Tacoma Tigers. During the 1905 season, the team returned to Sacramento to finish out the season, moved to Fresno in 1906 to finish last as the Fresno Raisin Eaters, then left the PCL altogether. The Sacramento Solons rejoined the PCL in 1909, then moved to San Francisco during the 1914 season, finishing out the season as the San Francisco Missions. The team was sold to Utah businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane and moved to Salt Lake City for the 1915 season. They played as the Salt Lake City Bees for the next 11 seasons until Lane moved the team to Los Angeles for the 1926 season. Originally they were known as the Hollywood Bees, but soon changed their name to the Hollywood Stars. The original Stars, though supposedly representing Hollywood, actually played their home games as tenants of the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles. Though the Stars won pennants in 1929 and 1930, they never developed much of a fan base, playing their home games miles from the glamorous Hollywood district. They were merely a team to watch when the Angels were on the road. Attendance had been quite good (by standards of that era) during their inaugural year in 1926, but tapered off after that, exacerbated by the Great Depression. When, after the 1935 season, the Angels doubled the Stars' rent, Lane announced the Stars would move to San Diego for the 1936 season, to become the San Diego Padres. Los Angeles became a one-team city once more for the 1936 and 1937 seasons. Hollywood Stars (1938–1957) The second incarnation of the Hollywood Stars joined the Pacific Coast League in 1909 as the Vernon Tigers. As the Tigers, the team won two PCL pennants (and finished first in another only to lose the postseason series) before moving to San Francisco for the 1926 season. The transplanted Tigers, now known as the Mission Reds or usually just "the Missions", foundered in San Francisco, failing to establish a rivalry with the existing San Francisco Seals. Hollywood Stars memorabilia In 1938, Missions owner Herbert Fleishaker moved his team back to Los Angeles, and took the name of the departed Hollywood Stars. After one season the team was sold. In early December 1938[1] the team was purchased by attorney Victor Ford Collins and Robert H. Cobb, owner of the Brown Derby restaurants. They formed the Hollywood Baseball association and enlisted the financial support and enthusiasm of many stars and community leaders.[2] Celebrities who were stockholders and part-owners of the team included Lloyd Bacon, Gary Cooper, William Powell, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor,[3] George Raft, Charles Rogers, Raoul Walsh,[4] Roscoe Karns, William LeBaron,[5] Gene Autry (who later became owner of his own major league franchise), George Burns and Gracie Allen, Bing Crosby, Cecil B. DeMille, William Frawley, Gail Patrick (then married to Bob Cobb) and Harry Warner. "No one was permitted to invest any big money", wrote the Los Angeles Times, which described the Hollywood Stars as "a civic thing ... plainly and simply, a Chamber of Commerce activity on the part of a group of people who want their little corner of the world to be better than all other corners."[2] The club was promoted as "the Hollywood Stars baseball team, owned by the Hollywood stars".[2] Moreover, the team actually played in the Hollywood area. In January 1939 it was announced that plans were under way to create a $200,000 ballpark seating 12,500 by May 1939.[4] Gilmore Field was opened in the Fairfax District adjacent to Hollywood. (The club played part of the 1939 season in nearby Gilmore Stadium, after having played at Wrigley Field during 1938.) Nicknamed the Twinks by the press,[3] the new Hollywood Stars caught on and became a very popular team, winning three pennants before 1958. They had successful affiliations with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. In 1955, actress Jayne Mansfield was named Miss Hollywood Star. The Stars became genuine rivals of the Angels, and it was not uncommon for fights between the teams to break out during Angels-Stars games. In fact, on August 2, 1953, a brawl between the two teams lasted 30 minutes, broken up only when 50 riot police were sent to Gilmore Field by Chief of Police William Parker, who was at home watching the game on television when the fight started. The Columbia Broadcasting System, owner of Gilmore Field, announced plans to raze the facility to build a new headquarters—CBS Television City, as it became known—in 1952. In October 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers confirmed their long-rumored move to Los Angeles for the 1958 season, which forced the Stars and the Angels to relocate. The Angels, who had been purchased by Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley prior to the 1957 season, became the Spokane Indians in 1958. Having no interest in operating the Twinks anywhere but in Los Angeles, the ownership group led by Frank J. Kanne, Jr., was compelled to sell the team, which it did, to a group based in Salt Lake City. The Stars, in a sense, "returned" to Salt Lake City (whence the original Stars had moved in 1926) in 1958, becoming the Salt Lake Bees once more. Innovations Pioneers in broadcasting, the Hollywood Stars televised a home game in 1939 as an experiment, and became the first team to regularly broadcast home games in the late 1940s.[2] In the summer of 1951, Gail Patrick hosted Home Plate, a post-game interview show at Gilmore Field that immediately followed KTTV broadcasts of the Hollywood Stars home games. Patrick was assisted by sportswriter Braven Dyer.[6] Mark Scott, who later became nationally known as the host of Home Run Derby, was the team's last play-by-play announcer. The Twinks began the custom of dragging the infield during the fifth inning, creating an artificial break in the action hoping fans would run to the concessions stands.[2] The Stars adopted the use of batting helmets in 1949, at the mandate of Branch Rickey, who wanted to popularize the product as a safety precaution and a personal business venture.[2] Notable players Notable players for the Hollywood Stars include pitcher Rinaldo Ardizoia who, at the time of his death on July 19, 2015, was the oldest living former member of the New York Yankees. He moved to Los Angeles with the Mission Reds, and eventually joined the Hollywood Stars' starting rotation before being drafted by the Yankees in 1940. His large store of memorabilia included a rabbit's foot given to him by Gail Patrick.[7] A great many future Major League Baseball standouts played for the Hollywood Stars, among them Gus Bell, Bobby Bragan, Bobby Doerr, Gene Freese, Babe Herman, Dale Long, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Meusel, Lefty O'Doul, Mel Queen, Dick Stuart, Lee Walls and Gus Zernial. The team's managers included Bragan, Jimmy Dykes, Fred Haney and Charlie Root. Affiliations The Stars were affiliated with the following major league teams: Year Affiliation(s) 1941 New York Giants 1945–46; 1951–52; 1954–57 Pittsburgh Pirates 1947–48 Chicago White Sox 1949–50 Brooklyn Dodgers Cultural references Cover of Double Play! (1957) The Hollywood Stars were immortalized on the 1957 jazz album, Double Play! by André Previn and Russ Freeman. The baseball-themed album, with song titles like "Called On Account of Rain", "Batter Up", "Who's on First" and "In the Cellar Blues", features a topless model on the cover wearing a Hollywood Stars cap.[8] The Stars were also mentioned on episode 24 of the fourth season of I Love Lucy. The Hollywood Stars are mentioned by Officer Ramirez in episode 212:The Big Lift of the radio program Dragnet. References The Yomiuri Giants (読売ジャイアンツ, Yomiuri Jaiantsu, formally Yomiuri Kyojingun (読売巨人軍)) are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The team's owner is Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomerate which also owns two newspapers (including the eponymous Yomiuri Shimbun) and the Nippon Television Network (which includes flagship Nippon TV). The Giants are the oldest team among the current Japanese professional teams. Their main rivalry is with the Hanshin Tigers, a team especially popular in the Kansai region. The Yomiuri Giants are regarded as "The New York Yankees of Japan" due to their widespread popularity, past dominance of the league, and polarizing effect on fans. (Baseball fans who are indifferent about teams other than their local team often have an intense dislike for the Giants; on the other hand, the Giants have a large fan base even in areas with a local team.) The English-language press occasionally calls the team the "Tokyo Giants", but that name has not been in use in Japan for decades. (Lefty O'Doul, a former Major League Baseball player, named the team "Tokyo Giants" in the mid-1930s.) Instead, the team is officially known by the name of its corporate owner, just like the Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes. The team is often referred by fans and in news headlines and tables simply as Kyojin (巨人, the Japanese word for "giant(s)"), instead of the usual corporate owner's name or the English nickname. The Yomiuri Giants name and uniforms were based on the New York (now San Francisco) Giants. The team's colors (orange and black) are the same colors worn by the National League's Giants (both in New York and San Francisco). The stylized lettering on the team's jerseys and caps is similar to the fancy lettering used by the Giants when they played in New York in the 1930s, although during the 1970s the Yomiuri Giants modernized their lettering to follow the style worn by the San Francisco Giants. Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club 1.2 Tokyo Kyojin 1.3 Yomiuri Giants 2 Managerial history 3 Players of note 3.1 Current roster 3.2 Former players 3.3 Retired numbers 4 Season-by-season record 5 "Japan's team" and allegations of corruption 6 Controversies 6.1 1973 First nine consecutive victories in professional baseball history 6.2 Oh home run controversy 6.3 1994 8 October tie-breaker game 6.4 1996 Nagashima controversy 6.5 2008 Miracle season 6.6 2011 Kiyotake controversy 6.7 2012 Hara controversy 6.8 2015 gambling controversy 7 MLB players 8 Notes 9 Books 10 External links Franchise history Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club The team began in 1934 as The Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club (大日本東京野球倶楽部, Dai-Nippon Tōkyō Yakyū Kurabu), a team of all-stars organized by media mogul Matsutarō Shōriki that matched up against an American All-Star team that included Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Charlie Gehringer. While prior Japanese all-star contingents had disbanded, Shōriki went pro with this group, playing in an independent league. Tokyo Kyojin In 1936, with the formation of the Japanese Baseball League, the team changed its name to Tokyo Kyojin. It won eight league championships under that name from 1936–1943, including at one point six championships in a row. Pitcher Victor Starffin, nicknamed "the blue-eyed Japanese", starred for the team until 1944. One of the league's premier pitchers, he won two MVP awards and a Best Nine award, and won at least 26 games in six different years, winning a league record 42 games in 1939. He followed his record-setting performance with another 38 wins in 1940. Pitcher Eiji Sawamura co-starred with Starffin on the Kyojin. He pitched the first no-hitter in Japanese pro baseball, on September 25, 1936, as well as two others. In 1937, he went 33-10 with a 1.38 earned run average. From 1937 to 1943 Sawamura had a record of 63-22, 554 strikeouts, and a 1.74 ERA. Sawamura enlisted in the Japanese Imperial Army in 1943, and was killed in battle when his ship was torpedoed near the end of World War II. Outfielder Haruyasu Nakajima was a featured hitter during the franchise's first decade-and-a-half, and as player-manager led the Kyojin to a championship in 1941. Tetsuharu Kawakami was a team fixture from 1938–1958, winning the batting title five times, two home run crowns, three RBI titles, and had six titles for the most hits in a season. He was the first player in Japanese pro baseball to achieve 2,000 hits and was named the league's MVP three times. Leadoff man Shosei Go starred for the team from 1937–1943, winning league MVP in 1943. Only 5-foot-6 and 140 pounds, he was nicknamed "The Human Locomotive" due to his speed. Pitcher Hideo Fujimoto (also known as Hideo Nakagami) pitched for the team for 12 seasons from 1942–1955. He holds the Japanese records for lowest career ERA (1.90) and seasonal ERA (0.73 in 1943), as well as best all-time winning percentage (.697). He threw two career no-hitters, including the first perfect game in professional baseball. In addition, he served as the Giants' player-manager in 1944 and part of 1946. Yomiuri Giants In 1947 the team became the Yomiuri Giants, winning the final JBL championship in 1949 (again under player-manager Haruyasu Nakajima). From 1949–1987 the Giants played at Korakuen Stadium, moving to their current home the Tokyo Dome in 1988. In 1950 the Giants were one of the founding members of Nippon Professional Baseball, joining the Central League. Slugger Noboru Aota starred for the Giants from 1948–1952, winning the home run championship twice, and hitting a home run in the 1951 Japan Series, when the Giants defeated the Nankai Hawks 4 games to 2 for their first NPB championship. Hawaiian Wally Yonamine was the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II when he joined the Giants in 1951. A multi-skilled outfielder, as a Giant Yonamine was a member of four Japan Series Championship teams, the Central League Most Valuable Player in 1957, a consecutive seven-time Best Nine Award winner (1952–58), an eleven-time All-Star, and a three-time batting champion. The team was the Central League champion every year from 1955–1959, winning the Japan Series championship in 1955, but losing four consecutive Japan Series thereafter. World career home run record holder Sadaharu Oh starred for the Giants from 1959–1980, and fellow Hall of Famer Shigeo Nagashima played for the team from 1958–1974. The Giants lineup, consisting of Oh batting third and Nagashima batting fourth, was nicknamed the ON Hou, (translated to: Oh-Nagashima Cannon) as the two players emerged as the best hitters in the league. Now the team's manager, Tetsuharu Kawakami led the Giants to nine consecutive Japan Series championships from 1965–1973,[1] and Oh and Nagashima dominated the batting titles during this period. During his career, Oh was a five-time batting champion and fifteen-time home-run champion, and won the Central League most valuable player award nine times. Nagashima won the season MVP award five times, and the Best Nine Award every single year of his career (a total 17 times). Future Hall of Famer Tsuneo Horiuchi pitched for the team during its heyday, from 1966–1983. The renowned left-hander Masaichi Kaneda pitched for the team from 1965–1969, later having his number retired by the Giants. Shigeo Nagashima was appointed manager of the Giants almost immediately after his retirement in 1974, staying in that position until 1980. After a couple of down years the Giants re-assumed their dominant position in the Central League, winning league championships in 1976 and 1977. Sadaharu Oh rejoined the team as manager from 1984 to 1988. Nagashima returned as Giants manager from 1993–2001, winning Japan Series championships in 1994, 1996, and 2000. Outfielder Hideki Matsui starred for the Giants for ten seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s before migrating to Major League Baseball. He was a three-time NPB MVP, leading his team to four Japan Series, winning three titles (1994, 2000 and 2002), and earning the popular nickname "Godzilla". He also made nine consecutive All-Star Games and led the league in home runs and RBIs three times. Tetsuharu Kawakami in 1946   Former three Giants star in 1950's, Tetsuharu Kawakami, Shigeru Chiba and Noboru Aoki (left to right)   Suguru Egawa, after 1981   Tatsunori Hara in 2012   A celebrate with Giants supporters for NPB championship parade in November 2009   A celebration for awarding the National Honor Award served to Shigeo Nagashima, former stars and manager for long period, in Tokyo Dome, May 2013.   A current main pitcher of Giants, Tomoyuki Sugano Managerial history Name Nationality From To Sadayoshi Fujimoto  Japan 1936 1942 Haruyasu Nakajima  Japan 1943 1943 Sadayoshi Fujimoto  Japan 1944 1944 Sadayoshi Fujimoto  Japan 1946 1946 Haruyasu Nakajima  Japan 1946 1947 Osamu Mihara  Japan 1947 1949 Shigeru Mizuhara  Japan 1950 1960 Tetsuharu Kawakami  Japan 1961 1974 Shigeo Nagashima  Japan 1975 1980 Motoshi Fujita  Japan 1981 1983 Sadaharu Oh  Japan 1984 1988 Motoshi Fujita  Japan 1989 1992 Shigeo Nagashima  Japan 1993 2001 Tatsunori Hara  Japan 2002 2003 Tsuneo Horiuchi  Japan 2004 2005 Tatsunori Hara  Japan 2006 2015 Yoshinobu Takahashi  Japan 2016 2018 Tatsunori Hara  Japan 2019 [page needed][2] Players of note Current roster Yomiuri Giants rosterviewtalkedit First squad Second squad Pitchers 12 Rubby De La Rosa 13 Shōsei Togō 15 Hirokazu Sawamura 17 Kan Ōtake 18 Tomoyuki Sugano 20 Ángel Sánchez 26 Yūki Takahashi 28 Kazuto Taguchi 30 Yōhei Kagiya 31 Seishū Hatake 35 Toshiki Sakurai 40 Yūri Furukawa 41 Kōta Nakagawa 42 C. C. Mercedes 45 Nobutaka Imamura 46 Takuya Kuwahara 49 Thyago Vieira 53 Hōsei Takata 57 Kyōsuke Takagi 023 Hirotaka Yonahara Catchers 22 Seiji Kobayashi 24 Takumi Ōshiro 27 Ginjirō Sumitani 38 Yukinori Kishida Infielders 3 Hiroyuki Nakajima 6 Hayato Sakamoto 25 Kazuma Okamoto 29 Naoki Yoshikawa 37 Akihiro Wakabayashi 51 Shunta Tanaka 52 Takumi Kitamura 56 Yasuhiro Yamamoto 021 Hibiki Kuroda 002 Hayato Hirama Outfielders 2 Dai-Kang Yang 8 Yoshihiro Maru 9 Yoshiyuki Kamei 36 Shingo Ishikawa 43 Shinnosuke Shigenobu 59 Seiya Matsubara 88 Gerardo Parra 94 Shūhei Katō 009 Takumaru Yaoita Manager 83 Tatsunori Hara Coaches 77 Daisuke Motoki (head coach) 87 Sadaaki Yoshimura (strategy) 88 Kōji Gotō (position player) 89 Takurō Ishii (position player) 81 Kazutomo Miyamoto (chief pitching) 73 Kōichi Misawa (pitching) 86 Shigeyuki Furuki (infield defense) 79 Ryōji Aikawa (battery) 98 Yoshinori Murata (bullpen) Pitchers 21 Hisashi Iwakuma 23 Ryōma Nogami 32 Kenshin Hotta 33 Ryū Ōta 47 Takahiro Fujioka 50 Chiaki Tone 54 Daisuke Naoe 58 Ryōsuke Miyaguni 62 Kai Yokogawa 63 Seiji Tahara 64 Ryūsei Ōe 68 Shun Ikeda 91 Haruto Inoue 95 Hayato Horioka 96 Nattino Diplan Catchers 67 Shinnosuke Yamase 69 Takaya Tanaka Infielders 00 Daiki Yoshikawa 0 Daiki Masuda 60 Hirokazu Kikuta 61 Riku Masuda 65 Yoshiya Matsui 93 Dai Yuasa Outfielders 39 Sōichirō Tateoka 44 Israel Mota 66 Kaito Murakami 97 Kaito Itō 99 Kōta Yamashita Manager 80 Shinnosuke Abe Coaches 75 Shūichi Murata (position player) 85 Toshiya Sugiuchi (pitching) 78 Hiroshi Kisanuki (pitching) 70 Yasuyuki Kataoka (infield defense) 84 Tetsuya Matsumoto (outfield defense) 79 Kazunari Sanematsu (battery) Development Players 001 Kenshin Higa (IF) 003 Tomohiro Yamakawa (P) 004 Shun Kasai (OF) 005 Rui Harohata (C) 006 Sōta Katō (OF) 007 Shōhei Koyama (C) 008 Kōki Orishita (IF) 010 Ryūtarō Takayama (C) 011 Suguru Takai (P) 012 Kaisei Hirai (P) 013 Tappei Tanioka (P) 015 Daisuke Tatsumi (P) 016 Shōhei Numata (P) 017 Shingo Yamakami (P) 018 Toyoki Tanaka (P) 019 Yūdai Tanaka (P) 020 Atsurō Hashimoto (P) 022 Sōta Arai (OF) 025 Reimin Ramos (P) 026 Estamy Urena (IF) Updated January 23, 2020 → All NPB rosters Former players  United States Chuck Cary – P  United States Jesse Barfield – OF #  United States Phil Bradley  United States Keith Comstock  United States Warren Cromartie – OF  Dominican Republic Mariano Duncan  Japan Suguru Egawa (江川 卓)  Dominican Republic Balvino Gálvez  United States Dan Gladden  United States Gary Glover – P  Venezuela Luis González – 2B  United States Bill Gullickson – P  South Korea Isao Harimoto (Jang Hun) (張本 勲)  Japan Tatsuro Hirooka (広岡 達郎)  United States Damon Hollins – OF  Japan Tsuneo Horiuchi (堀内 恒夫)  United States Gabe Kapler – OF, later manager of the Philadelphia Phillies  Japan Masumi Kuwata (桑田 真澄) – P  Japan Tetsuharu Kawakami (川上 哲治)  Japan Kazuhiro Kiyohara(清原 和博)  Japan Norihiro Komada (駒田 徳広)  United States Davey Johnson – Manager  United States Chris Latham  United States Shane Mack  Japan Yukinaga Maeda (前田 幸長) – P  Japan Hiromi Makihara (槙原 寛己)  Japan Hideki Matsui (松井 秀喜)  United States Miles Mikolas – P  Japan Shigeo Nagashima (長嶋 茂雄)  Japan Kiyoshi Nakahata (中畑 清)  Japan Hiromitsu Ochiai (落合 博満)  Taiwan Sadaharu Oh (王 貞治)  Japan Hideki Okajima (岡島 秀樹)  Venezuela Roberto Petagine  United States Jeremy Powell  United States Tuffy Rhodes  Japan Masaki Saito (斎藤 雅樹)  Japan Eiji Sawamura (沢村 栄治) [2], [3]  Japan Kazunori Shinozuka (篠塚 和典)  United States Reggie Smith  Russia Victor Starffin [4]  United States John Wasdin  United States Roy White  United States Clyde Wright  United States Wally Yonamine (与那嶺 要)  Japan Shohei Baba (pitcher; later a pro wrestler, founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling)  South Korea Lee Seung-Yeop (李承燁) Retired numbers 1 Taiwan Sadaharu Oh (王 貞治) 3 Japan Shigeo Nagashima (長嶋 茂雄) 4 Japan Toshio Kurosawa (黒沢 俊夫) 14 Japan Eiji Sawamura (沢村 栄治) 16 Japan Tetsuharu Kawakami (川上 哲治) 34 Japan Masaichi Kaneda (金田 正一) Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, % = Win Percentage Season GP W L T % Finish Playoffs 2015 143 75 67 1 .528 2nd, Central Lost in League Final Stage, 1-4 (Swallows) 2016 143 71 69 3 .507 2st, Central Lost in League First Stage, 1-2 (Baystars) 2017 143 72 68 3 .514 4th, Central Did not qualify 2018 143 67 71 5 .486 3rd, Central Lost in League Final Stage, 0-4 (Carp) 2019 143 77 64 2 .546 1st, Central "Japan's team" and allegations of corruption Tokyo Dome is the Giants' home field since 1988 Due to the Yomiuri company's vast influence in Japan as a major media conglomerate, the Giants are successfully marketed to the Japanese people as "Japan's Team". In fact, for some years the Giants' uniforms had "Tokyo" on the jersey instead of "Yomiuri" or "Giants", seeming to imply that the Giants represent the vast metropolis and geopolitical center of Japan, even though the Yakult Swallows are also based in Tokyo and three other teams play in the Greater Tokyo Area. This bandwagon appeal has been compared with the marketability of the New York Yankees, Real Madrid, and Manchester United, except that support for the Giants nearly exceeds 50% of those polled, while in the United States and England, support is judged to be between 30 and 40 percent for the New York Yankees and Manchester United, respectively. Correspondingly, fans of other professional baseball teams in Japan are often openly derisive and contemptuous of the Giants' bandwagon marketing tactics, and an "anti-Giants" movement exists in protest of the near hegemony established by the Yomiuri Giants.[3] It has also long been alleged that the Giants rely on underhanded tactics to recruit the best players, involving bribes to players and amateur coaches, or using their influence on the governing council of Japanese professional baseball to pass rules that favors their recruiting efforts. This may be one explanation for the Giants' abundance of success in league play.[3] In August 2004, Yomiuri president Tsuneo Watanabe resigned after it was revealed that the club had violated scouting rules by paying ¥2 million to pitching prospect Yasuhiro Ichiba. Ten months later, Watanabe was hired as chairman of the Yomiuri corporation.[4] In 2012, Asahi Shimbun discovered that the Giants had violated NPB rules by secretly paying pitcher Takahiko Nomaguchi while he was still an amateur playing in Japan's corporate league.[5] In 2009, the Giants played the Japan national baseball team in an unofficial goodwill game before the World Baseball Classic. Controversies 1973 First nine consecutive victories in professional baseball history As of October 21 before this game was played, the game difference with the Hanshin Tigers was 0.5, this game resulting 9 to 0 victory over Tigers on October 22, infielder Shozo Doi and catcher Masaaki Mori are each 3 hits and Doi takes two point homerun in fifth innings from Kenji Furusawa. And Giants 4 to 1 win from Nankai Hawks (now Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks) in Japan Series, starter Kazumi Takahashi (23 win, 13 defeat) contribution this season.[6] Oh home run controversy In 1985, American Randy Bass, playing for the Hanshin Tigers, came into the last game of the season against the Oh-managed Giants with 54 home runs, one short of manager Sadaharu Oh's single-season record of 55. Bass was intentionally walked four times on four straight pitches each time, leading Bass to famously hold his bat upside down. Bass reached over the plate on the fifth occasion and batted the ball into the outfield for a single. After the game, Oh denied ordering his pitchers to walk Bass, but Keith Comstock, an American pitcher for the Giants, later stated that an unnamed Giants coach had threatened a fine of $1,000 for every strike that any Giants pitcher threw to Bass. The magazine Takarajima investigated the incident and reported that the Giants front office had likely ordered the team not to allow Bass an opportunity to tie or break Oh's record. For the most part the Japanese media remained silent on the incident as did league commissioner Takeso Shimoda.[7] A similar situation to this was presented in the 1992 movie Mr. Baseball. 1994 8 October tie-breaker game For the first time in Japanese professional baseball history, the game with Giants and Chunichi Dragons ranked at the same percentage of the league warfare winning percentage, became a winning battle in which they competed directly in the final game, Giants won 6 to 3 against Dragons, and takes Championship on Central League and Japan Series on this season.(see 1994 Central League tie-breaker game)[page needed] 1996 Nagashima controversy The team accelerates at a stretch when winning in nine consecutive hits of professional baseball tie-record in one inning of July 9 against Hiroshima Carp's game. Both main starter, Masaki Saito, Dominican Balvino Galvez raised 16 won games the most wins on this season, relief pitcher, Mario Brito who reinforced during the season and Hirofumi Kono supported the team, Hideki Matsui was very success as a main season. Rookies Toshihisa Nishi and Takayuki Shimizu were active and generation change was also decided admirably. At the time I reached the biggest 11.5 game difference in league history and accomplished the league championship. Although defeated lost 1 to 4 games by Orix BlueWave (now Orix Buffaloes) on Japan Series.[page needed] 2008 Miracle season Despite losing five consecutive games from the opening game on March 28, On May 26, banned drug was detected by Luis Gonzalez, the player was suspended for 1 year from Nippon Professional Baseball due to doping violation, and on the following day he decided to cancel the contract with the same player. At the time, October reached the biggest 13 game (as July) difference in league history and accomplished the league championship, from September 19, including the 3rd consecutive victory with the Hanshin Tigers, they recorded a total of 12 consecutive victories for the first time in 32 years, followed by 3 to 1 winning the final direct confrontation on October 8, contributors player, including Shinnosuke Abe, Yoshinobu Takahashi, Michihiro Ogasawara, Alex Ramirez, Seth Adam Greisinger, Marc Jason Kroon, Hisanori Takahashi, Tetsuya Utsumi, Although defeated lost 3 to 4 games by Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan Series.[page needed] 2011 Kiyotake controversy On 18 November 2011, Giants' general manager Hidetoshi Kiyotake was fired by the Yomiuri organization for "defamation of the team and Yomiuri newspaper group". Kiyotake had recommended that Kaoru Okazaki be retained as the team's 2012 head coach. After Yomiuri chairman Tsuneo Watanabe ordered Kiyotake to replace Okazaki with Suguru Egawa, Kiyotake called a public press conference on 11 November 2011 to complain about Watanabe's interference in the club's decision-making processes. Yomiuri's response was to fire Kiyotake.[4] Okazaki was eventually selected to remain as the next season's coach. The story made major headlines in the Japanese media.[8] On 13 December 2011, Kiyotake sued Yomiuri for ¥62 million for unfair dismissal and defamation and demanded that the company issue him a formal apology, printed in the Yomiuri Shimbun.[9] Yomiuri counter-sued Kiyotake for ¥100 million, saying that he had damaged the team's image. The suits, combined into one case, opened in Tokyo District Court on 2 February 2012.[10] 2012 Hara controversy In 2012 Japanese weekly Shukan Bunshun reported that current team manager Tatsunori Hara had paid ¥100 million to a former Yakuza gangster in response to a threat to go public on an extra-marital affair that Hara had been involved in. The Yomiuri corporation admitted that the payout had been made, but sued Shukan Bunshun for insinuating that the incident had underworld connections. The suit is pending.[11] 2015 gambling controversy In 2015, an investigation by the league found that three Giants pitchers: Shoki Kasahara, Ryuya Matsumoto, and Satoshi Fukuda had bet on NPB and other sporting events with underworld bookmakers. The Giants claimed that the three did not bet on Giants games. Placing wagers on baseball games or associating with criminal elements is expressly prohibited in the contracts that all NPB players must sign, a rule similar to Major League Baseball's Rule 21 in North America, intended to prevent a repeat of the Black Sox Scandal of 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.[12] On 9 November 2015, the Giants organization terminated the contracts of all three players, with the league placing an indefinite disqualification on the players. MLB players Hideki Matsui Active: Taylor Jungmann (2015–2017) Retired: Takashi Kashiwada (1998) Takahito Nomura (2002) Masumi Kuwata (2007) Ken Kadokura (2009) Hideki Matsui (2003–2012) Hideki Okajima (2007–2011, 2013) Hisanori Takahashi (2010–2013) Koji Uehara (2009–2017) he essay that follows, with a primary focus on professional baseball, is intended as an introductory comparative overview of a game long played in the US and Japan. I hope it will provide readers with some context to learn more about a complex, evolving, and, most of all, fascinating topic, especially for lovers of baseball on both sides of the Pacific. Baseball, although seriously challenged by the popularity of other sports, has traditionally been considered America’s pastime and was for a long time the nation’s most popular sport. The game is an original American sport, but has sunk deep roots into other regions, including Latin America and East Asia. Baseball was introduced to Japan in the late nineteenth century and became the national sport there during the early post-World War II period. The game as it is played and organized in both countries, however, is considerably different. The basic rules are mostly the same, but cultural differences between Americans and Japanese are clearly reflected in how both nations approach their versions of baseball. Although players from both countries have flourished in both American and Japanese leagues, at times the cultural differences are substantial, and some attempts to bridge the gaps have ended in failure. Still, while doubtful the Japanese version has changed the American game, there is some evidence that the American version has exerted some changes in the Japanese game. → A 1927 photo of Kenichi Zenimura, the father of Japanese-American baseball, standing between Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. 42 Education About ASIA Volume 21, Number 2 Fall 2016 Sports, Culture, and Asia Baseball in the United States is essentially a nineteenth-century sport that has made the necessary adaptations to survive in the modern era. The first recognizable teams appeared in the 1850s and 1860s. Professional teams emerged with the formation of the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869 and the team that became the Boston (now Atlanta) Braves in 1871. The first organization of professional teams came with the creation of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1871, which would become the National League (NL) in 1876, and the NL is still part of Major League Baseball (MLB) today. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, baseball had developed a strong national following and became the most popular sport in the country. Horace Wilson, an American English teacher at the Kaisei Academy in Tokyo, first introduced baseball to Japan in 1872, and other American teachers and missionaries popularized the game throughout Japan in the 1870s and 1880s. Popularity among Japanese grew slowly and led to the establishment of Japan’s first organized baseball team, the Shimbashi Athletic Club, in 1878. The convincing victory of a team from Tokyo’s Ichikō High School in 1896 over a team of select foreigners from the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club drew wide coverage in the Japanese press and contributed greatly to the popularity of baseball as a school sport. The rapidly growing popularity of baseball led to the development of high school, college, and university teams throughout Japan in the early 1900s. Important rivalries developed at the high school and university levels, highlighted by the intense battles between Keio University and Waseda University—which started in 1903 as an annual competition between the two schools and continues to this day. Photographs from 1903 onward show large crowded stadiums as Waseda, Keio, and the Imperial universities fought for the annual championship. High school tournaments also gained popularity in the early 1900s and remain immensely popular today. Despite their cultural differences, the growing popularity of baseball in Japan encouraged Japanese university teams and other baseball clubs, led by a team from Waseda University in 1905, to travel to the United States in the early 1900s to study American baseball more closely and play exhibition games against American teams. In return, American professional teams made annual trips to Japan between 1908 and 1935 after the World Series to play Japanese teams. Japanese baseball teams rarely prevailed against their American counterparts, but their improvement was steady. Professional baseball in Japan began slowly in the 1920s, and the first professional team, The Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club, was formed in 1934 by a prominent Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun publisher, Shōriki Matsutarō. The club’s success against an all-star American team of professionals that included Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Charlie Gehringer encouraged the development of the first professional 1869 lithograph of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team. Horace Wilson. Source: JapaneseBallPlayers.com at The Keio University baseball team 1928–1929. 43 Sports, Culture, and Asia al baseball league in Japan in 1936, the Japanese Baseball League (Nihon Yakyū Renmei). The league disbanded briefly in 1944 due to Allied bombing of Japan, but it resumed play during the Allied Occupation following the war. In 1950, the league would become Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB; Nippon Yakyū Kikō) and was large enough to divide into two leagues: the Central League and the Pacific League. NPB still exists today, and the best-known teams in the Central League are the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants and the Osaka-based Hanshin Tigers. The most famous Pacific League team is the Tokyo region-based Seibu Lions. It was only in the 1960s that Japan had enough players to compete seriously against the best in America. American teams again began visiting Japan as early as 1949 with the minor league San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), soon followed by visits of MLB teams, including the Brooklyn Dodgers, who played in exhibition games against Japanese teams. Japanese baseball rules allowed each Japanese team to sign a maximum of two foreign players (later raised to four). The result has been a steady flow of American players coming to play in Japan since the early 1950s. Americans continue to play on Japanese teams today, though a growing number now come from other Asian countries such as Taiwan and South Korea. No Japanese players attempted to join Major League Baseball until 1964, when a young pitcher, Masanori ("Mashi") Murakami, made a sensational debut with the San Francisco Giants. By 2015, over fifty Japanese players had played in the major leagues. American and Japanese Baseball Relations American-Japanese baseball historian Robert K. Fitts identifies three players who had key roles in developing a strong baseball relationship between the United States and Japan: Babe Ruth (1895–1948), Wally Yonamine (1925–2011), and Masanori Murakami (b. 1944). Ruth was long past his prime in 1934 when Shōriki Matsutarō announced that he wished to sponsor a tour of American all-stars in November. The editor wanted to boost his paper’s sagging circulation with the publicity such a tour featuring Ruth, who was as famous in Japan as he was in the United States, might bring. Prominent citizens in both countries, such as American Ambassador Joseph Grew and Japanese Prime Minister Reijirō Wakatsuki, worried by the already-tense relations between their governments, hoped a goodwill visit by Ruth and other star players would be a critical exercise in soft-power diplomacy that would ease tensions. In his 2012 book Banzai Babe Ruth, Fitts describes the huge and warm reception the Americans received when they arrived in Tokyo. Over a half-million Japanese watched the Americans as they made their way in an open-car motorcade from Tokyo Station to the Imperial Hotel where they stayed. The Japanese all yelled, “Banzai [long live] Babe Ruth!” and treated him almost as a god. The American players obliged, playing very well and showing maximum courtesy to their hosts and the Japanese ball players. Ruth was an outstanding cultural diplomat, willing to embrace the Japanese players, people, food, and drink. His towering home runs brought warm cheers from spectators. The Japanese people were thrilled when Ruth made many warm comments and gestures about the host nation, and the success of several Japanese players such as pitcher Eiji Sawamura (1917–1944) brought on a wave of national pride. The success of the 1934 tour did much to further popularize baseball in Japan. Manager Connie Mack (1862–1956) later called the four-week tour, which included eighteen games in twelve cities, one of the greatest peace measures in the history of nations. However, the goodwill eventually wore off. Fitts notes sardonically that several of the Japanese players such as Sawamura went on to serve in the Japanese army in World War II and developed strong anti-American feelings. Sawamura’s pitching arm came in handy when hurling grenades at American troops before his transport ship was sunk by an American submarine, with no survivors. General Douglas MacArthur ordered the reintroduction of the game at the very start of the Occupation he directed, beginning in 1945. MacArthur noted that baseball had been hugely popular before the war and that playing ball might divert the attention of Japanese from the misery of living in a war-ravaged land. A key figure in the resurgence of Japanese baseball was Hawaiian-born Japanese-American athlete Wallace “Wally” Yonamine. Fitts in his 2008 Babe Ruth with Eiji Sawamura on November 20, 1934, the seventeen-year-old Sawamura struck out Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx in succession. All-star US baseball players visited Japan in 1934. From left: organizer Shōriki Matsutarō, US Ambassador to Japan Joseph Grew, Manager Connie Mack of the Philadelphia A’s, an unidentified man, and Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees. 44 Education About ASIA Volume 21, Number 2 Fall 2016 Sports, Culture, and Asia Japanese Baseball Collectibles Much like in America, collecting baseball memorabilia became a popular hobby for Japanese as the sport grew in Japan. The first baseball card made in Japan appeared in 1897 as a circular cardboard disc for Menko, a game with cards displaying images from Japanese popular culture where players attempt to flip a flat-laying card with their own card. The card displayed a generic baseball player and is the only known piece of Japanese baseball collectible dated from the nineteenth century. In the early 1900s, Japanese baseball clubs commonly produced postcards of their team as advertising, selling packs of cards featuring players posing, action game shots, and full team images. By the 1920s, Menko was on the rise again after a lapse in popularity and new card shapes were developed, including rectangles similar to typical American baseball cards and cards in the shape of their subject, such as an animal or a popular baseball player (for example, a giraffe card is shaped like a giraffe). Other popular baseball collectibles that emerged in the 1920s were bromides, mass-distributed photographs ranging from small and large sizes of popular singers, actors, and athletes; and furoku, large magazine inserts that measure up to a foot long. In 1950, Japanese gum and candy stores, mirroring a US trend, began producing and packing Nippon Professional Baseball player cards with their products. Baseball cards became the most popular baseball memorabilia in Japan, especially as the popularity of Menko waned. While only two major gum companies in the US, Bowman Gum and Topps Chewing Gum, were granted rights to produce baseball cards by the MLB, a wide variety of Japanese candy manufacturers produced their own cards. Dagashiya, cheap Japanese candy stores, popularly distributed lower-quality baseball collectibles. The Japanese company Kabaya Leaf produced the first large set of baseball cards in Japan in 1967, featuring 105 players, and only produced for one year. In 1973, the Calbee Food Company produced its first modern baseball card set of ninety-one cards. The company includes a baseball card in every pack of potato chips they produce—a trend they continue today. Calbee card sets have ranged in size from 1,436 in 1975–1976 to 144 cards in 1993, and remain the most widely collected baseball cards in Japan today. MATTHEW TORMEY AND JEFFREY MELNIK SOURCES John Gall and Gary Engel, Sayonara Home Run!: The Art of the Japanese Baseball Card (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2006). Dennis King, “A History of Japanese Baseball Cards,” Japanese Baseball Card Quarterly (1991). biography of Yonamine credits this superb athlete as playing an important role in bringing about reconciliation between the United States and Japan in the immediate postwar period. Yonamine was a natural athlete. Yonamine played one season for the San Francisco 49ers in 1947, becoming the first Japanese-American to play in the National Football League (NFL). He also became one of the first Americans to make it big playing baseball in Japan. His natural ability and starring role with the preeminent Japanese baseball franchise, the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants from 1951 to 1960, helped create both sporting and cultural bonds between the United States and Japan that remain to this day. Yonamine was a hero in other ways, too. He came to Japan at the end of the American Occupation, when some Japanese still harbored anger at the United States. Feelings were especially strong against Nisei like Yonamine, a second-generation ethnic Japanese born in the United States. Even in 1950, five years after Japan’s surrender, living conditions in Tokyo were still harsh by Amercan standards. High-quality food was difficult to obtain, and fuel for heat was scarce. Some Japanese viewed Nisei as traitors for not joining their mother country during the war. Furthermore, many of the Giants’ stars were war veterans. Would they accept an American as a teammate? Fans and fellow players showered Yonamine with a cascade of insults and occasional rocks and trash, but like Jackie Robinson in the United States, he endured these attacks with a quiet and positive demeanor. He played hard and introduced a hustling and brash form of base running common in the United States but unheard of in Japan. Aggressive moves like sliding into a second baseman to break up a double play were routine in the US, but not in Japan. Yonamine demonstrated raw talent that invigorated and brought quick success to the Giants. Yonamine’s positive attitude and sheer talent eventually bought both players and fans to appreciate him. His aggressive style was adopted by more and more Japanese players, whose overall skills improved. He became a very popular goodwill ambassador and a clear bridge between the two former adversarial nations. Other American players were soon invited to play on Japanese teams. While American players thrived in Japan in the 1950s and early 1960s, no Japanese national played in the MLB until 1964, when a young pitcher Wallace “Wally” Yonamine. Source: Los Angeles Times Afterward Calbee 2015 card for Seiji Kobayashi. Calbee 2015 card for Daisuke Matsuzaka. Sports, Culture, and Asia for the Nankai Hawks, Mashi Murakami, made a successful debut as a late-season roster addition for the San Francisco Giants. That year, Mashi was only supposed to play in the American minor leagues, but the San Francisco Giants were so impressed with Mashi that they called him up for the last few weeks of the season. Mashi’s historic moment came on September 1, 1964, against the then-lowly New York Mets. He struck out two and completed a full inning of relief. Mashi’s impressive debut drew attention in the American and Japanese press because it was the first time that a native Japanese player had played in the majors—and had been successful, to top it off. Mashi continued his hot streak and appeared in relief eight more times before the season ended in early October. He was a hot commodity with a strong record of strikeouts of opposing players.  Mashi’s success created instant demand for his services in 1965 from both the San Francisco Giants and Nankai Hawks. Each team claimed Mashi, and although he appeared in spring training with Nankai, by the start of the 1965 season, Mashi was back in San Francisco. His full season in the majors was again successful—Mashi appeared in forty-five games, had a respectable ERA of 3.75, and was credited with four wins and only one loss. The Giants were so impressed with their star Japanese pitcher that they wanted him back in 1966, but pleas from his parents to come home and Mashi’s sense of responsibility to the Nankai Hawks convinced him to return to Japanese baseball for good. Although Mashi was good for a short time, thirty more years would pass until the first Japanese superstar, pitcher Hideo Nomo (b. 1968), made his 1995 debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nomo would become an all-star, win National League Rookie of the Year, lead the league in strikeouts in his debut season, and have a successful thirteen-season career in the MLB with various teams. His success would help bring future Japanese stars to MLB, including Suzuki Ichirō, who debuted in 2001 for the Seattle Mariners. Ichirō, still an active major league player in the US, holds both MLB records for hits in a single season with 262 and the longest consecutive season streak of 200-hit seasons at ten. Cultural Differences between Baseball in Japan and the United States? One of the most widely known and interesting treatments of the cultural differences between the way baseball is played in the United States and Japan is Robert Whiting’s 1989 book, You Gotta Have Wa. According to Whiting, despite virtually identical rules, American players arriving in Japan very quickly notice big differences in how the game is played and organized in Japan. The emphasis in the United States is on the role of the individual, but that is not as much the case in Japan, where the focus is on the strength and harmony of the group. The same rules apply for the worker on the assembly line as for the baseball player. Whiting insists that the key difference is wa—team spirit or unity. There is a much greater sense of playing for the team and much less emphasis on individual success in Japan than the United States. Whiting has compared the typical Japanese player’s ethos to that of samurai in earlier periods of the nation’s history. Whiting’s strong assertions regarding cultural differences have not gone unchallenged and are the subject of some controversy. Yale University Professor James Kelly, who has published extensively on Japanese baseball, recognizes Whiting’s extensive knowledge of the game. He agrees that some professional baseball in Japan fits the samurai stereotype, “not entirely, not convincingly, not uniquely, but enough to feed the press mills and the front offices and the television analysts.” In fact, he says, this “spin” is part of the game. Our job is “not to dismiss this commentary as misguided (though much of it clearly is)” but to ask who is putting these ideas about, who is believing them, and why they are appealing: “The myths are essential to the reality. . . .” Japanese baseball is “not a window onto a homogenous and unchanging national character, but is a fascinating sight for seeing how these national debates and concerns play out—just as in the United States.”1 Controversies notwithstanding, famous stars in Japanese baseball receive far lower salaries than in the US and are said to be valued for their contributions to their teams rather than for their individual exploits. Salaries in Japan for NPB players in 2014 ranged from US $44,000 to US $6 million, while the range in the United States for MLB players in the same year went from US $500,000 to US $26 million.2 Most Japanese professional teams are owned by major corporations for public relations purposes. Team names reflect their owners rather than the cities the teams call home. For example, the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants are owned by Japanese media conglomerate, the Yomiuri Group. There is another downtown Tokyo team, the Yakult Swallows, who are owned by dairy probiotic drink company Yakult Hansha Co. Ltd. The Hiroshima Tōyō Carp are owned by the Tōyō Kōgyō Co. Ltd., the owners of Mazda. In a rather unique case, Japanese electronics and entertainment software company Nintendo was majority owner of the Seattle Mariners of the MLB in a similar fashion from 1992 to 2016. When Americans come to play in Japan, they are often startled by the amount of time that they are expected to stay at the ballpark for what Nomo Hideo Topps baseball card. Source: Garvey Cey Russel Lopes blog at 46 Education About ASIA Volume 21, Number 2 Fall 2016 Sports, Culture, and Asia seems to them to be endless practice sessions that could last every day for ten or more hours. Players are expected to push themselves to the limit even when they have a day off and have to practice. Even injured American players are told to go out into the field with the team. Not to do so would, some say, destroy the team’s quintessential wa. Whiting feels that while Americans “play” ball, the Japanese really “work” at it, and suggests that a key difference between American and Japanese baseball is the idea of individual initiative. While American players certainly exhibit some team spirit, they are also playing for their own benefit. If they get a high average, win a lot of games pitching, or hit a ton of home runs, they can earn much higher salaries than are possible in Japan. Many American players are said to lack team loyalty and move on to new teams that offer better salaries and playing conditions. Japanese players at home show far greater team loyalty by playing with the same team much of the time. There are trades and the like, but there is far less emphasis on players changing teams.  The lure of American salaries has altered this tendency since many stars leave or consider abandoning their Japanese squad for the higher salaries and greater fame possible in the MLB. NPB teams have countered this through establishing a posting system between their league and the MLB, where MLB teams must pay a Japanese player’s team a fee in addition to negotiating the player’s contract for their team after the NPB team has made that player available to the MLB. This allows NPB teams to receive compensation for players leaving to play in the MLB. However, Kelly and others have justifiably pointed out that in a game where individual statistics can make or break a player, there is always tension between personal and team goals. Also, as is the case in the US, different professional organizations have contrasting expectations and organizational styles that reflect the personalities of their owners.3 Despite differences that preclude sweeping generalizations, Japanese teams are more regimented than their American counterparts. Many Japanese players see their team as family and are expected to show utmost respect and loyalty to their team. The team manager has absolute authority, and it is a major sin for any player to disobey or criticize the manager. Players who show a lack of wa, even if they are winning a lot of games with home runs or fine pitching, can be relegated to the bench or even removed from the team. Although Whiting’s book was written in 1989, he feels that little has changed today. In 2012, he wrote: Besuboru—or “yakyū” (field ball), as it is also called—is the national sport of Japan, but it is not the game that Americans know and love. Take a trip to a Japanese ballpark such as the Tokyo Dome, home of the Yomiuri Giants, and a completely different baseball culture will reveal itself. It’s not just the sake and squid and the beer girls in short shorts carrying draft beer kegs. It is the values of group harmony and discipline that mirror the society at large. Besuboru strategy focuses on tactics like the sacrifice bunt, something most American managers eschew. There is a decided lack of the hard slides and brushback pitches typical of Major League Baseball: A pitcher who accidentally hits a batter will politely tip his cap in apology.4 Bobby Valentine’s Difficult Managing Experience in Japan: A Clash of Cultures Bobby Valentine was a very successful Major League Baseball manager in the 1990s. He gained respect for his ability to turn mediocre teams into pennant contenders. His success in the United States persuaded Japanese baseball team The Chiba Lotte Marines to hire him to manage the team in 1995. Valentine’s experiences in Japan clearly illustrate several key cultural differences between American and Japanese baseball cultures.5 The Marines had been perennial losers for a great many years, but the management hoped Valentine could transform them into championship contenders. Unfortunately, upon arriving in 1995, Valentine almost immediately clashed with a coaching staff determined to maintain the rigorous training program that dated back to the nineteenth century, when baseball was first introduced to Japan. It was a system that featured dawn-to-dusk spring training camps that were three to four times longer than in the US. Coaches focused on so-called “guts” drills, where players were made to field balls to the point of exhaustion and on occasion entailed corporal punishment for slackers. Valentine introduced his own hybrid approach brought from his experience in the United States. During spring training, he conducted short, snappy practices limited to three hours a day, not nine, as in other camps. Valentine contended that the long drills during spring training so exhausted the players that their play suffered when the season began in April. During the season, he reduced the time spent in pregame workouts to conserve players’ energy for the games. He reduced the number and length of pregame meetings, and discouraged the use of the sacrifice bunt—long a favorite tactic of most Japanese managers—believing that a sacrifice was just a waste of an out. Although the overall play of the Marines improved markedly in 1995, the clash between Valentine and his coaches grew in intensity. As the season ended, the coaches complained to management that Valentine did not make enough of an effort to comprehend the psychological value of the traditional approach to Japanese baseball. Management sided with the coaches and fired Valentine. Although Valentine returned to Japan for another successful stint of managing the Marines from 2004 to 2009, including winning the Nippon Series in 2005, the traditionalist approach to management still appears to dominate Japanese baseball today. By 2009, Marines team management felt Valentine was not performing up to his expensive contract, and the team was losing money after making substantial upgrades to their stadium, including large, HD video screens. One Japanese critic claimed that Valentine’s easygoing American approach and lack of discipline had backfired and were destroying team harmony (or wa). The Japanese professional leagues also tried a novel experiment with foreign umpires in 1997, when they hired a young but experienced American umpire, Mike DiMuro, to work in Japan. DiMuro immediately encountered trouble in Japan because his American interpretation of baseball rules often differed from those employed in Japan. His interpretation of the strike zone and what constituted a balk enraged Japanese players and management, and soon led to DiMuro’s firing. Baseball’s Future in Japan and the US Baseball will remain a highly popular sport in Japan and the US for a long time, but scholars, sportswriters, and, most importantly, sports fans know whether they admit it or not that the sport is no longer “the national pastime” in either nation. Japan is today experiencing a soccer boom, and many Japanese college students seem to prefer J1-League soccer over baseball. Japanese overall still regard baseball as the most popular sport, but the popularity of soccer is growing rapidly. According to one survey in 2005, 52 percent of respondants rated professional baseball as the most popular sport in Japan with only 23 percent of respondents selecting soccer. The same survey in 2013 showed 48 percent supporting baseball and 36 percent in favor of soccer. Today, soccer has replaced baseball as the favorite sport among middle school students in Japan according to surveys by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.6  The overall popularity of Japanese baseball is further diminished by the fact that many Japanese leading baseball stars have left for the “greener pastures” of Major League Baseball. Football today is more popular than baseball with the American public. It is clear that the National Football League (NFL) dominates fan interest in the United States. For example, the 2014 AFC Wild Card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts was watched by more people (27.6 million) than the World Cup Final (26.6 million), the NBA Finals (15.6 million), the World Series (13.8 million), and just about 47 Sports, Culture, and Asia every other televised sporting event of 2014. 7  In 2016, it is estimated that 111.9 million viewers tuned in to the 2016 Super Bowl 50 game, while only 14.7 million watched any part of the 2015 World Series. To make matters worse for Major League Baseball, the median age of Americans watching the World Series is approaching fifty-five, while the median age for the NFL’s Super Bowl is well under forty-five. 8 The situation is somewhat better in Japan. Baseball remains the most popular team sport in Japan, with high school, university, and professional games attracting the public and dominating the media during the spring and summer months. However, as is the case in the United States, oth - er sports such as professional soccer are attracting increasing numbers of younger viewers and fans. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the “grand old game” will continue to thrive in both Japan and the United States. The recent surge of interest in baseball in South Korea, Taiwan, and even China has sparked further interest in Japan, especially when national teams play each other in tourna - ment games. In the US, professional baseball, despite its secondary status compared to professional football, continues to be popular, and there is encouraging evidence Little League baseball is growing for the first time in many years in inner-city neighborhoods. The game is he
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases.[2] A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball out of the batter's reach. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes, while fielders can get the batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as the pitch clock to shorten game time. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression, have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the national sport of the United States, though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports, such as American football. In addition to North America, baseball is considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The World Baseball Classic, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. Baseball was played at the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008, and was reinstated in 2020. Rules and gameplay Further information: Baseball rules and Outline of baseball Diagram of a baseball field Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. 2013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 A baseball game is played between two teams, each usually composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning. A game consists of nine innings (seven innings at the high school level and in doubleheaders in college, Minor League Baseball and, since the 2020 season, Major League Baseball; and six innings at the Little League level).[3] One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning. The other team—customarily the home team—bats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of the game is to score more points (runs) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by touching all four bases, in order, set at the corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond. A player bats at home plate and must attempt to safely reach a base before proceeding, counterclockwise, from first base, to second base, third base, and back home to score a run. The team in the field attempts to prevent runs from scoring by recording outs, which remove opposing players from offensive action, until their next turn at bat comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played to resolve the contest. Many amateur games, particularly unorganized ones, involve different numbers of players and innings.[4] The game is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair territory; the 270-degree area outside them is foul territory. The part of the field enclosed by the bases and several yards beyond them is the infield; the area farther beyond the infield is the outfield. In the middle of the infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber plate (the rubber) at its center. The outer boundary of the outfield is typically demarcated by a raised fence, which may be of any material and height. The fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well.[5] There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, and the glove or mitt: The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching.[6] The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood. Other materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86 centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (110 centimeters).[7] The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of different fielding positions.[8] Protective helmets are also standard equipment for all batters.[9] At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players of the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher begins the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing toward home plate. Another fielding team player, the catcher, squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the fielding team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines (basepaths) between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the standard arrangement, there is a first baseman positioned several steps to the left of first base, a second baseman to the right of second base, a shortstop to the left of second base, and a third baseman to the right of third base. The basic outfield positions are left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. With the exception of the catcher, all fielders are required to be in fair territory when the pitch is delivered. A neutral umpire sets up behind the catcher.[10] Other umpires will be distributed around the field as well.[11] David Ortiz, the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire Play starts with a member of the batting team, the batter, standing in either of the two batter's boxes next to home plate, holding a bat.[12] The batter waits for the pitcher to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball[13] with the bat.[12] The catcher catches pitches that the batter does not hit—as a result of either electing not to swing or failing to connect—and returns them to the pitcher. A batter who hits the ball into the field of play must drop the bat and begin running toward first base, at which point the player is referred to as a runner (or, until the play is over, a batter-runner). A batter-runner who reaches first base without being put out is said to be safe and is on base. A batter-runner may choose to remain at first base or attempt to advance to second base or even beyond—however far the player believes can be reached safely. A player who reaches base despite proper play by the fielders has recorded a hit. A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is credited with a single. If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is a double; third base, a triple. If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire outfield (and outfield fence, if there is one), or if the batter-runner otherwise safely circles all the bases, it is a home run: the batter and any runners on base may all freely circle the bases, each scoring a run. This is the most desirable result for the batter. The ultimate and most desirable result possible for a batter would be to hit a home run while all three bases are occupied or "loaded", thus scoring four runs on a single hit. This is called a grand slam. A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hit—instead, the responsible fielder is charged with an error.[12] Any runners already on base may attempt to advance on batted balls that land, or contact the ground, in fair territory, before or after the ball lands. A runner on first base must attempt to advance if a ball lands in play, as only one runner may occupy a base at any given time. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield, it becomes dead and any runners must return to the base they occupied when the play began. If the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has flied out and any runners on base may attempt to advance only if they tag up (contact the base they occupied when the play began, as or after the ball is caught). Runners may also attempt to advance to the next base while the pitcher is in the process of delivering the ball to home plate; a successful effort is a stolen base.[14] A pitch that is not hit into the field of play is called either a strike or a ball. A batter against whom three strikes are recorded strikes out. A batter against whom four balls are recorded is awarded a base on balls or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely advance to first base if the batter's body or uniform is struck by a pitch outside the strike zone, provided the batter does not swing and attempts to avoid being hit.)[15] Crucial to determining balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the strike zone, a conceptual area above home plate extending from the midpoint between the batter's shoulders and belt down to the hollow of the knee.[16] Any pitch which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball, unless the batter either swings and misses at the pitch, or hits the pitch into foul territory; an exception generally occurs if the ball is hit into foul territory when the batter already has two strikes, in which case neither a ball nor a strike is called. A shortstop tries to tag out a runner who is sliding head first, attempting to reach second base. While the team at bat is trying to score runs, the team in the field is attempting to record outs. In addition to the strikeout and flyout, common ways a member of the batting team may be put out include the ground out, force out, and tag out. These occur either when a runner is forced to advance to a base, and a fielder with possession of the ball reaches that base before the runner does, or the runner is touched by the ball, held in a fielder's hand, while not on a base. (The batter-runner is always forced to advance to first base, and any other runners must advance to the next base if a teammate is forced to advance to their base.) It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same play. This is called a double play. Three outs in one play, a triple play, is possible, though rare. Players put out or retired must leave the field, returning to their team's dugout or bench. A runner may be stranded on base when a third out is recorded against another player on the team. Stranded runners do not benefit the team in its next turn at bat as every half-inning begins with the bases empty.[17] An individual player's turn batting or plate appearance is complete when the player reaches base, hits a home run, makes an out, or hits a ball that results in the team's third out, even if it is recorded against a teammate. On rare occasions, a batter may be at the plate when, without the batter's hitting the ball, a third out is recorded against a teammate—for instance, a runner getting caught stealing (tagged out attempting to steal a base). A batter with this sort of incomplete plate appearance starts off the team's next turn batting; any balls or strikes recorded against the batter the previous inning are erased. A runner may circle the bases only once per plate appearance and thus can score at most a single run per batting turn. Once a player has completed a plate appearance, that player may not bat again until the eight other members of the player's team have all taken their turn at bat in the batting order. The batting order is set before the game begins, and may not be altered except for substitutions. Once a player has been removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have more lenient rules, such as Little League rules, which allow players to be substituted back into the same game.[3][18] If the designated hitter (DH) rule is in effect, each team has a tenth player whose sole responsibility is to bat (and run). The DH takes the place of another player—almost invariably the pitcher—in the batting order, but does not field. Thus, even with the DH, each team still has a batting order of nine players and a fielding arrangement of nine players.[19] Personnel See also: Baseball positions Players Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) See also the categories Baseball players and Lists of baseball players The number of players on a baseball roster, or squad, varies by league and by the level of organized play. A Major League Baseball (MLB) team has a roster of 26 players with specific roles. A typical roster features the following players:[20] Eight position players: the catcher, four infielders, and three outfielders—all of whom play on a regular basis Five starting pitchers who constitute the team's pitching rotation or starting rotation Seven relief pitchers, including one closer, who constitute the team's bullpen (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up) One backup, or substitute, catcher Five backup infielders and backup outfielders, or players who can play multiple positions, known as utility players. Most baseball leagues worldwide have the DH rule, including MLB, Japan's Pacific League, and Caribbean professional leagues, along with major American amateur organizations.[21] The Central League in Japan does not have the rule and high-level minor league clubs connected to National League teams are not required to field a DH.[22] In leagues that apply the designated hitter rule, a typical team has nine offensive regulars (including the DH), five starting pitchers,[23] seven or eight relievers, a backup catcher, and two or three other reserve players.[24][25] Managers and coaches The manager, or head coach, oversees the team's major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each game, and making substitutions during games—in particular, bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by two or more coaches; they may have specialized responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting, fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning. At most levels of organized play, two coaches are stationed on the field when the team is at bat: the first base coach and third base coach, who occupy designated coaches' boxes, just outside the foul lines. These coaches assist in the direction of baserunners, when the ball is in play, and relay tactical signals from the manager to batters and runners, during pauses in play.[26] In contrast to many other team sports, baseball managers and coaches generally wear their team's uniforms; coaches must be in uniform to be allowed on the field to confer with players during a game.[27] Umpires Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In MLB, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul lines.[28] Strategy See also: Baseball positioning Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.[29] A manager with several left-handed batters in the regular lineup, who knows the team will be facing a left-handed starting pitcher, may respond by starting one or more of the right-handed backups on the team's roster. During the late innings of a game, as relief pitchers and pinch hitters are brought in, the opposing managers will often go back and forth trying to create favorable matchups with their substitutions. The manager of the fielding team trying to arrange same-handed pitcher-batter matchups and the manager of the batting team trying to arrange opposite-handed matchups. With a team that has the lead in the late innings, a manager may remove a starting position player—especially one whose turn at bat is not likely to come up again—for a more skillful fielder (known as a defensive substitution).[30] Tactics Pitching and fielding A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. See also: Pitch (baseball) The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch selection.[31] By gripping and then releasing the baseball in a certain manner, and by throwing it at a certain speed, pitchers can cause the baseball to break to either side, or downward, as it approaches the batter, thus creating differing pitches that can be selected.[32] Among the resulting wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the fastball, the changeup (or off-speed pitch), and two breaking balls—the curveball and the slider.[33] Pitchers have different repertoires of pitches they are skillful at throwing. Conventionally, before each pitch, the catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to throw, as well as its general vertical and/or horizontal location.[34] If there is disagreement on the selection, the pitcher may shake off the sign and the catcher will call for a different pitch. With a runner on base and taking a lead, the pitcher may attempt a pickoff, a quick throw to a fielder covering the base to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out.[35] Pickoff attempts, however, are subject to rules that severely restrict the pitcher's movements before and during the pickoff attempt. Violation of any one of these rules could result in the umpire calling a balk against the pitcher, which permits any runners on base to advance one base with impunity.[36] If an attempted stolen base is anticipated, the catcher may call for a pitchout, a ball thrown deliberately off the plate, allowing the catcher to catch it while standing and throw quickly to a base.[37] Facing a batter with a strong tendency to hit to one side of the field, the fielding team may employ a shift, with most or all of the fielders moving to the left or right of their usual positions. With a runner on third base, the infielders may play in, moving closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on a ground ball, though a sharply hit grounder is more likely to carry through a drawn-in infield.[38] Batting and baserunning Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The hit and run is sometimes employed, with a skillful contact hitter, the runner takes off with the pitch, drawing the shortstop or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the ball through.[39] The sacrifice bunt, calls for the batter to focus on making soft contact with the ball, so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into scoring position as the batter is thrown out at first. A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to bunt for a hit. A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a squeeze play.[40] With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter, in this case, gets credit for a sacrifice fly.[38] In order to increase the chance of advancing a batter to first base via a walk, the manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ahead in the count (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to take, or not swing at, the next pitch. The batter's potential reward of reaching base (via a walk) exceeds the disadvantage if the next pitch is a strike.[41] History Main article: History of baseball Further information: Origins of baseball The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular among children in Great Britain and Ireland.[42][43][44] American baseball historian David Block suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tut-ball".[42] The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery.[45] Block discovered that the first recorded game of "Bass-Ball" took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player.[46] This early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants.[47] By the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America.[48] The first officially recorded baseball game in North America was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada, on June 4, 1838.[49] In 1845, Alexander Cartwright, a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club, led the codification of the so-called Knickerbocker Rules,[50] which in turn were based on rules developed in 1837 by William R. Wheaton of the Gotham Club.[51] While there are reports that the New York Knickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey: the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.[52] With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century.[53] By the time of the Civil War, baseball had begun to overtake its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket in popularity within the United States, due in part to baseball being of a much shorter duration than the form of cricket played at the time, as well as the fact that troops during the Civil War did not need a specialized playing surface to play baseball, as they would have required for cricket.[54][55] In the United States Further information: Baseball in the United States and History of baseball in the United States Establishment of professional leagues In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area,[56] and by 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game".[57] A year later, the sport's first governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players, was formed. In 1867, it barred participation by African Americans.[58] The more formally structured National League was founded in 1876.[59] Professional Negro leagues formed, but quickly folded.[60] In 1887, softball, under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game.[61] The National League's first successful counterpart, the American League, which evolved from the minor Western League, was established in 1893, and virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by then.[62][63] The National Agreement of 1903 formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's minor professional leagues.[64] The World Series, pitting the two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall.[65] The Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series led to the formation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball.[66] The first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the Negro National League; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by the Eastern Colored League.[67] Rise of Ruth and racial integration Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early 20th century was lower-scoring, and pitchers were more dominant.[68] The so-called dead-ball era ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governed the ball's size, shape and composition, along with a new rule officially banning the spitball and other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit.[69] The rise of the legendary player Babe Ruth, the first great power hitter of the new era, helped permanently alter the nature of the game.[70] In the late 1920s and early 1930s, St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey invested in several minor league clubs and developed the first modern farm system.[71] A new Negro National League was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the Negro American League. The first elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame took place in 1936. In 1939, Little League Baseball was founded in Pennsylvania.[72] Robinson posing in the uniform cap of the Kansas City Royals, a California Winter League barnstorming team, November 1945 (photo by Maurice Terrell) Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs A large number of minor league teams disbanded when World War II led to a player shortage. Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley led the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to help keep the game in the public eye.[73] The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred in 1945: Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal.[74] In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues' color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers.[75] Latin-American players, largely overlooked before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born Chico Carrasquel and black Cuban-born Minnie Miñoso, became the first Hispanic All-Stars.[76][77] Integration proceeded slowly: by 1953, only six of the 16 major league teams had a black player on the roster.[76] Attendance records and the age of steroids In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when the reserve clause was effectively struck down, leading to the free agency system.[78] Significant work stoppages occurred in 1981 and 1994, the latter forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.[79] Attendance had been growing steadily since the mid-1970s and in 1994, before the stoppage, the majors were setting their all-time record for per-game attendance.[80][81] After play resumed in 1995, non-division-winning wild card teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season interleague play was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set.[82] In 2000, the National and American Leagues were dissolved as legal entities. While their identities were maintained for scheduling purposes (and the designated hitter distinction), the regulations and other functions—such as player discipline and umpire supervision—they had administered separately were consolidated under the rubric of MLB.[83] In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. There had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part by the abuse of illegal steroids (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion), but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no penalty for the use of performance-enhancing drugs before 2004.[84] In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron, as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all-time highs.[85][86] Around the world With the historic popular moniker as "America's national pastime", baseball is well established in several other countries as well. As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association, featured teams from both Canada and the United States.[87] While baseball is widely played in Canada and many minor league teams have been based in the country,[88][89] the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the Montreal Expos joined the National League as an expansion team. In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League.[90] Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa, Veracruz.[91] The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition. The Dominican Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912.[92] Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938).[93] The Japanese major leagues have long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States.[94] Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s,[95] and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American countries, most prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955).[96] Since the early 1970s, the annual Caribbean Series has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990) and China (2003) all have professional leagues.[97] The English football club, Aston Villa, were the first British baseball champions winning the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain.[98][99] The 2020 National Champions were the London Mets. Other European countries have seen professional leagues; the most successful, other than the Dutch league, is the Italian league, founded in 1948.[100] In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games.[101] The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a number of competitions between clubs from different countries. Other competitions between national teams, such as the Baseball World Cup and the Olympic baseball tournament, were administered by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from its formation in 1938 until its 2013 merger with the International Softball Federation to create the current joint governing body for both sports, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).[102] Women's baseball is played on an organized amateur basis in numerous countries.[103] After being admitted to the Olympics as a medal sport beginning with the 1992 Games, baseball was dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games at the 2005 International Olympic Committee meeting. It remained part of the 2008 Games.[104] While the sport's lack of a following in much of the world was a factor,[105] more important was MLB's reluctance to allow its players to participate during the major league season.[106] MLB initiated the World Baseball Classic, scheduled to precede its season, partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The inaugural Classic, held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number of MLB participants.[107][108] The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic.[109] Distinctive elements Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following. All of these sports use a clock,[110] play is less individual,[111] and the variation between playing fields is not as substantial or important.[112] The comparison between cricket and baseball demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways with its cousin sports.[113] No clock to kill A well-worn baseball In clock-limited sports, games often end with a team that holds the lead killing the clock rather than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock, thus a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. At almost any turn in any baseball game, the most advantageous strategy is some form of aggressive strategy.[114] Whereas, in the case of multi-day Test and first-class cricket, the possibility of a draw (which occurs because of the restrictions on time, which like in baseball, originally did not exist[115]) often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind, to bat defensively and run out the clock, giving up any faint chance at a win, to avoid an overall loss.[116] While nine innings has been the standard since the beginning of professional baseball, the duration of the average major league game has increased steadily through the years. At the turn of the 20th century, games typically took an hour and a half to play. In the 1920s, they averaged just less than two hours, which eventually ballooned to 2:38 in 1960.[117] By 1997, the average American League game lasted 2:57 (National League games were about 10 minutes shorter—pitchers at the plate making for quicker outs than designated hitters).[118] In 2004, Major League Baseball declared that its goal was an average game of 2:45.[117] By 2014, though, the average MLB game took over three hours to complete.[119] The lengthening of games is attributed to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play, with pitchers taking more time between each delivery, and batters stepping out of the box more frequently.[117][118] Other leagues have experienced similar issues. In 2008, Nippon Professional Baseball took steps aimed at shortening games by 12 minutes from the preceding decade's average of 3:18.[120] In 2016, the average nine-inning playoff game in Major League baseball was 3 hours and 35 minutes. This was up 10 minutes from 2015 and 21 minutes from 2014.[121] In response to the lengthening of the game, MLB decided from the 2023 season onward to institute a pitch clock rule to penalize batters and pitchers who take too much time between pitches.[122] Individual focus Babe Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the New York Yankees Although baseball is a team sport, individual players are often placed under scrutiny and pressure. While rewarding, it has sometimes been described as "ruthless" due to the pressure on the individual player.[123] In 1915, a baseball instructional manual pointed out that every single pitch, of which there are often more than two hundred in a game, involves an individual, one-on-one contest: "the pitcher and the batter in a battle of wits".[124] Pitcher, batter, and fielder all act essentially independent of each other. While coaching staffs can signal pitcher or batter to pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder is solely responsible for deciding to try to catch it or play it on the bounce and for succeeding or failing. The statistical precision of baseball is both facilitated by this isolation and reinforces it. Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the individual focus in cricket is mitigated by the importance of the batting partnership and the practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy the wicket for an hour or much more.[125] There is no statistical equivalent in cricket for the fielding error and thus less emphasis on personal responsibility in this area of play.[126] Uniqueness of parks Further information: Ballpark Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. Unlike those of most sports, baseball playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape. While the dimensions of the infield are specifically regulated, the only constraint on outfield size and shape for professional teams, following the rules of MLB and Minor League Baseball, is that fields built or remodeled since June 1, 1958, must have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 feet (122 m) to center.[127] Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at Minute Maid Park, which became the home of the Houston Astros in 2000, the Crawford Boxes in left field are only 315 feet (96 m) from home plate.[128] There are no rules at all that address the height of fences or other structures at the edge of the outfield. The most famously idiosyncratic outfield boundary is the left-field wall at Boston's Fenway Park, in use since 1912: the Green Monster is 310 feet (94 m) from home plate down the line and 37 feet (11 m) tall.[129] Similarly, there are no regulations at all concerning the dimensions of foul territory. Thus a foul fly ball may be entirely out of play in a park with little space between the foul lines and the stands, but a foulout in a park with more expansive foul ground.[130] A fence in foul territory that is close to the outfield line will tend to direct balls that strike it back toward the fielders, while one that is farther away may actually prompt more collisions, as outfielders run full speed to field balls deep in the corner. These variations can make the difference between a double and a triple or inside-the-park home run.[131] The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the adjacent image shows a traditional field surfacing arrangement (and the one used by virtually all MLB teams with naturally surfaced fields), teams are free to decide what areas will be grassed or bare.[132] Some fields—including several in MLB—use artificial turf. Surface variations can have a significant effect on how ground balls behave and are fielded as well as on baserunning. Similarly, the presence of a roof (seven major league teams play in stadiums with permanent or retractable roofs) can greatly affect how fly balls are played.[133] While football and soccer players deal with similar variations of field surface and stadium covering, the size and shape of their fields are much more standardized. The area out-of-bounds on a football or soccer field does not affect play the way foul territory in baseball does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant.[134] A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park These physical variations create a distinctive set of playing conditions at each ballpark. Other local factors, such as altitude and climate, can also significantly affect play. A given stadium may acquire a reputation as a pitcher's park or a hitter's park, if one or the other discipline notably benefits from its unique mix of elements. The most exceptional park in this regard is Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. Its high altitude—5,282 feet (1,610 m) above sea level—is partly responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues due to the low air pressure.[135] Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is known for its fickle disposition: a pitcher's park when the strong winds off Lake Michigan are blowing in, it becomes more of a hitter's park when they are blowing out.[136] The absence of a standardized field affects not only how particular games play out, but the nature of team rosters and players' statistical records. For example, hitting a fly ball 330 feet (100 m) into right field might result in an easy catch on the warning track at one park, and a home run at another. A team that plays in a park with a relatively short right field, such as the New York Yankees, will tend to stock its roster with left-handed pull hitters, who can best exploit it. On the individual level, a player who spends most of his career with a team that plays in a hitter's park will gain an advantage in batting statistics over time—even more so if his talents are especially suited to the park.[137] Statistics Further information: Baseball statistics Organized baseball lends itself to statistics to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. In the late 19th century, a former cricket player, English-born Henry Chadwick of Brooklyn, was responsible for the "development of the box score, tabular standings, the annual baseball guide, the batting average, and most of the common statistics and tables used to describe baseball."[138] The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that Chadwick came to be known as Father Baseball.[138] In the 1920s, American newspapers began devoting more and more attention to baseball statistics, initiating what journalist and historian Alan Schwarz describes as a "tectonic shift in sports, as intrigue that once focused mostly on teams began to go to individual players and their statistics lines."[139] The Official Baseball Rules administered by MLB require the official scorer to categorize each baseball play unambiguously. The rules provide detailed criteria to promote consistency. The score report is the official basis for both the box score of the game and the relevant statistical records.[140] General managers, managers, and baseball scouts use statistics to evaluate players and make strategic decisions. Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most baseball fans. The basic batting statistics include:[141] At bats: plate appearances, excluding walks and hit by pitches—where the batter's ability is not fully tested—and sacrifices and sacrifice flies—where the batter intentionally makes an out in order to advance one or more baserunners Hits: times a base is reached safely, because of a batted, fair ball without a fielding error or fielder's choice Runs: times circling the bases and reaching home safely Runs batted in (RBIs): number of runners who scored due to a batter's action (including the batter, in the case of a home run), except when batter grounded into double play or reached on an error Home runs: hits on which the batter successfully touched all four bases, without the contribution of a fielding error Batting average: hits divided by at bats—the traditional measure of batting ability The basic baserunning statistics include:[142] Stolen bases: times advancing to the next base entirely due to the runner's own efforts, generally while the pitcher is preparing to deliver or delivering the ball Caught stealing: times tagged out while attempting to steal a base Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. The basic pitching statistics include:[143] Wins: credited to pitcher on winning team who last pitched before the team took a lead that it never relinquished (a starting pitcher must pitch at least five innings to qualify for a win) Losses: charged to pitcher on losing team who was pitching when the opposing team took a lead that it never relinquished Saves: games where the pitcher enters a game led by the pitcher's team, finishes the game without surrendering the lead, is not the winning pitcher, and either (a) the lead was three runs or less when the pitcher entered the game; (b) the potential tying run was on base, at bat, or on deck; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings Innings pitched: outs recorded while pitching divided by three (partial innings are conventionally recorded as, e.g., "5.2" or "7.1", the last digit actually representing thirds, not tenths, of an inning) Strikeouts: times pitching three strikes to a batter Winning percentage: wins divided by decisions (wins plus losses) Earned run average (ERA): runs allowed, excluding those resulting from fielding errors, per nine innings pitched The basic fielding statistics include:[144] Putouts: times the fielder catches a fly ball, tags or forces out a runner, or otherwise directly effects an out Assists: times a putout by another fielder was recorded following the fielder touching the ball Errors: times the fielder fails to make a play that should have been made with common effort, and the batting team benefits as a result Total chances: putouts plus assists plus errors Fielding average: successful chances (putouts plus assists) divided by total chances Among the many other statistics that are kept are those collectively known as situational statistics. For example, statistics can indicate which specific pitchers a certain batter performs best against. If a given situation statistically favors a certain batter, the manager of the fielding team may be more likely to change pitchers or have the pitcher intentionally walk the batter in order to face one who is less likely to succeed.[145] Sabermetrics Sabermetrics refers to the field of baseball statistical study and the development of new statistics and analytical tools. The term is also used to refer directly to new statistics themselves. The term was coined around 1980 by one of the field's leading proponents, Bill James, and derives from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).[146] The growing popularity of sabermetrics since the early 1980s has brought more attention to two batting statistics that sabermetricians argue are much better gauges of a batter's skill than batting average:[147] On-base percentage (OBP) measures a batter's ability to get on base. It is calculated by taking the sum of the batter's successes in getting on base (hits plus walks plus hit by pitches) and dividing that by the batter's total plate appearances (at bats plus walks plus hit by pitches plus sacrifice flies), except for sacrifice bunts.[148] Slugging percentage (SLG) measures a batter's ability to hit for power. It is calculated by taking the batter's total bases (one per each single, two per double, three per triple, and four per home run) and dividing that by the batter's at bats.[149] Some of the new statistics devised by sabermetricians have gained wide use: On-base plus slugging (OPS) measures a batter's overall ability. It is calculated by adding the batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.[150] Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) measures a pitcher's ability at preventing hitters from reaching base. It is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits a pitcher surrendered, then dividing by the number of innings pitched.[151] Wins Above Replacement (WAR) measures number of additional wins his team has achieved above the number of expected team wins if that player were substituted with a replacement-level player.[152] Popularity and cultural impact Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 Writing in 1919, philosopher Morris Raphael Cohen described baseball as the national religion of the US.[153] In the words of sports columnist Jayson Stark, baseball has long been "a unique paragon of American culture"—a status he sees as devastated by the steroid abuse scandal.[154] Baseball has an important place in other national cultures as well: Scholar Peter Bjarkman describes "how deeply the sport is ingrained in the history and culture of a nation such as Cuba, [and] how thoroughly it was radically reshaped and nativized in Japan."[155] In the United States The major league game in the United States was originally targeted toward a middle-class, white-collar audience: relative to other spectator pastimes, the National League's set ticket price of 50 cents in 1876 was high, while the location of playing fields outside the inner city and the workweek daytime scheduling of games were also obstacles to a blue-collar audience.[156] A century later, the situation was very different. With the rise in popularity of other team sports with much higher average ticket prices—football, basketball, and hockey—professional baseball had become among the most blue-collar-oriented of leading American spectator sports.[157] The Tampere Tigers celebrating the 2017 title in Turku, Finland Overall, baseball has a large following in the United States; a 2006 poll found that nearly half of Americans are fans.[158] In the late 1900s and early 2000s, baseball's position compared to football in the United States moved in contradictory directions. In 2008, MLB set a revenue record of $6.5 billion, matching the NFL's revenue for the first time in decades.[159] A new MLB revenue record of more than $10 billion was set in 2017.[160] On the other hand, the percentage of American sports fans polled who named baseball as their favorite sport was 9%, compared to pro football at 37%.[161] In 1985, the respective figures were pro football 24%, baseball 23%.[162] Because there are so many more major league games played, there is no comparison in overall attendance.[163] In 2008, total attendance at major league games was the second-highest in history: 78.6 million, 0.7% off the record set the previous year.[85] The following year, amid the U.S. recession, attendance fell by 6.6% to 73.4 million.[164] Eight years later, it dropped under 73 million.[165] Attendance at games held under the Minor League Baseball umbrella set a record in 2008, with 43.3 million.[166] While MLB games have not drawn the same national TV viewership as football games, MLB games are dominant in teams' local markets and regularly lead all programs in primetime in their markets during the summer.[167] Caribbean Since the early 1980s, the Dominican Republic, in particular the city of San Pedro de Macorís, has been the major leagues' primary source of foreign talent.[168] In 2017, 83 of the 868 players on MLB Opening Day rosters (and disabled lists) were from the country. Among other Caribbean countries and territories, a combined 97 MLB players were born in Venezuela, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.[169] Hall-of-Famer Roberto Clemente remains one of the greatest national heroes in Puerto Rico's history.[170] While baseball has long been the island's primary athletic pastime, its once well-attended professional winter league has declined in popularity since 1990, when young Puerto Rican players began to be included in the major leagues' annual first-year player draft.[171] In Cuba, where baseball is by every reckoning the national sport,[172] the national team overshadows the city and provincial teams that play in the top-level domestic leagues.[173] Asia An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 In Asia, baseball is among the most popular sports in Japan and South Korea.[174] In Japan, where baseball is inarguably the leading spectator team sport, combined revenue for the twelve teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the body that oversees both the Central and Pacific Leagues, was estimated at $1 billion in 2007. Total NPB attendance for the year was approximately 20 million. While in the preceding two decades, MLB attendance grew by 50 percent and revenue nearly tripled, the comparable NPB figures were stagnant. There are concerns that MLB's growing interest in acquiring star Japanese players will hurt the game in their home country.[175] Revenue figures are not released for the country's amateur system. Similarly, according to one official pronouncement, the sport's governing authority "has never taken into account attendance ... because its greatest interest has always been the development of athletes".[176] In Taiwan, baseball is one of the most widely spectated sports, with the origins dating back to Japanese rule.[177] Among children As of 2018, Little League Baseball oversees leagues with close to 2.4 million participants in over 80 countries.[178] The number of players has fallen since the 1990s, when 3 million children took part in Little League Baseball annually.[179] Babe Ruth League teams have over 1 million participants.[180] According to the president of the International Baseball Federation, between 300,000 and 500,000 women and girls play baseball around the world, including Little League and the introductory game of Tee Ball.[181] A varsity baseball team is an established part of physical education departments at most high schools and colleges in the United States.[182] In 2015, nearly half a million high schoolers and over 34,000 collegians played on their schools' baseball teams.[183] By early in the 20th century, intercollegiate baseball was Japan's leading sport. Today, high school baseball in particular is immensely popular there.[184] The final rounds of the two annual tournaments—the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring, and the even more important National High School Baseball Championship in the summer—are broadcast around the country. The tournaments are known, respectively, as Spring Koshien and Summer Koshien after the 55,000-capacity stadium where they are played.[185] In Cuba, baseball is a mandatory part of the state system of physical education, which begins at age six. Talented children as young as seven are sent to special district schools for more intensive training—the first step on a ladder whose acme is the national baseball team.[173] In popular culture The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million.[186] Baseball has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the United States and elsewhere. Dozens of English-language idioms have been derived from baseball; in particular, the game is the source of a number of widely used sexual euphemisms.[187] The first networked radio broadcasts in North America were of the 1922 World Series: famed sportswriter Grantland Rice announced play-by-play from New York City's Polo Grounds on WJZ–Newark, New Jersey, which was connected by wire to WGY–Schenectady, New York, and WBZ–Springfield, Massachusetts.[188] The baseball cap has become a ubiquitous fashion item not only in the United States and Japan, but also in countries where the sport itself is not particularly popular, such as the United Kingdom.[189] Baseball has inspired many works of art and entertainment. One of the first major examples, Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat", appeared in 1888. A wry description of the failure of a star player in what would now be called a "clutch situation", the poem became the source of vaudeville and other staged performances, audio recordings, film adaptations, and an opera, as well as a host of sequels and parodies in various media. There have been many baseball movies, including the Academy Award–winning The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and the Oscar nominees The Natural (1984) and Field of Dreams (1989). The American Film Institute's selection of the ten best sports movies includes The Pride of the Yankees at number 3 and Bull Durham (1988) at number 5.[190] Baseball has provided thematic material for hits on both stage—the Adler–Ross musical Damn Yankees—and record—George J. Gaskin's "Slide, Kelly, Slide", Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", and John Fogerty's "Centerfield".[191] The baseball-inspired comedic sketch "Who's on First?", popularized by Abbott and Costello in 1938, quickly became famous. Six decades later, Time named it the best comedy routine of the 20th century.[192] Literary works connected to the game include the short fiction of Ring Lardner and novels such as Bernard Malamud's The Natural (the source for the movie), Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., John Grisham's Calico Joe and W. P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe (the source for Field of Dreams). Baseball's literary canon also includes the beat reportage of Damon Runyon; the columns of Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Dick Young, and Peter Gammons; and the essays of Roger Angell. Among the celebrated nonfiction books in the field are Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory of Their Times, Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, and Michael Lewis's Moneyball. The 1970 publication of major league pitcher Jim Bouton's tell-all chronicle Ball Four is considered a turning point in the reporting of professional sports.[193] Baseball has also inspired the creation of new cultural forms. Baseball cards were introduced in the late 19th century as trade cards. A typical example featured an image of a baseball player on one side and advertising for a business on the other. In the early 1900s they were produced widely as promotional items by tobacco and confectionery companies. The 1930s saw the popularization of the modern style of baseball card, with a player photograph accompanied on the rear by statistics and biographical data. Baseball cards—many of which are now prized collectibles—are the source of the much broader trading card industry, involving similar products for different sports and non-sports-related fields.[194] Modern fantasy sports began in 1980 with the invention of Rotisserie League Baseball by New York writer Daniel Okrent and several friends. Participants in a Rotisserie league draft notional teams from the list of active MLB players and play out an entire imaginary season with game outcomes based on the players' latest real-world statistics. Rotisserie-style play quickly became a phenomenon. Now known more generically as fantasy baseball, it has inspired similar games based on an array of different sports.[195] The field boomed with increasing Internet access and new fantasy sports-related websites. By 2008, 29.9 million people in the United States and Canada were playing fantasy sports, spending $800 million on the hobby.[196] The burgeoning popularity of fantasy baseball is also credited with the increasing attention paid to sabermetrics—first among fans, only later among baseball professionals.[197] Derivative games Main article: Variations of baseball Informal variations of baseball have popped up over time, with games like corkball reflecting local traditions and allowing the game to be played in diverse environments.[198] Two variations of baseball, softball and Baseball5, are internationally governed alongside baseball by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.[199] British baseball Main article: British baseball American professional baseball teams toured Britain in 1874 and 1889, and had a great effect on similar sports in Britain. In Wales and Merseyside, a strong community game had already developed with skills and plays more in keeping with the American game and the Welsh began to informally adopt the name "baseball" (Pêl Fas), to reflect the American style. By the 1890s, calls were made to follow the success of other working class sports (like Rugby in Wales and Soccer in Merseyside) and adopt a distinct set of rules and bureaucracy.[200] During the 1892 season rules for the game of "baseball" were agreed and the game was officially codified.[201] Finnish baseball Main article: Pesäpallo Finnish baseball, known as pesäpallo, is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and North American baseball, invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s.[202] The basic idea of pesäpallo is similar to that of baseball: the offense tries to score by hitting the ball successfully and running through the bases, while the defense tries to put the batter and runners out. One of the most important differences between pesäpallo and baseball is that the ball is pitched vertically, which makes hitting the ball, as well as controlling the power and direction of the hit, much easier. This gives the offensive game more variety, speed, and tactical aspects compared to baseball.[202] See also icon Baseball portal Baseball awards Baseball clothing and equipment List of baseball films List of organized baseball leagues Women in baseball Related sports Brännboll (Scandinavian bat-and-ball game) Comparison of baseball and cricket Lapta (game) (Russian bat-and-ball game) Oină (Romanian bat-and-ball game) Snow baseball (with similar rules played in India during winters) Stickball Stoop ball Vitilla Wiffle ball
  • Type: Photograph
  • Subject: Baseball
  • Year of Production: 1953

PicClick Insights - Baseball Japanese Tokyo Giants Pitcher Hollywood Stars Minoru Suzuki 1953 PicClick Exclusive

  •  Popularity - 0 watchers, 0.0 new watchers per day, 7 days for sale on eBay. 0 sold, 1 available.
  •  Best Price -
  •  Seller - 808+ items sold. 0% negative feedback. Great seller with very good positive feedback and over 50 ratings.

People Also Loved PicClick Exclusive